These comments prompted Elaine to put the class on the right track. "People—let me interrupt you for a moment. There is some confusion about the exercise. As I explained earlier, there are two parts. First, in your groups come up with some examples of behavior that you think is abnormal. This could be behavior that you have actually observed. Try to explain why you think it's abnormal. For the second part of the assignment you should use chapter 8 of the textbook that you read for today. Remember, the chapter discusses several theories about abnormal behavior. Try to determine whether each type of behavior you think is abnormal would be considered abnormal according to these theories. At the end of the class hand in a 2 page summary from your group explaining your conclusions. Got it? Ok, you have another 30 minutes. I'm going to circulate among the groups. So, when I get to your group you can ask me additional questions

The class returned to the task. Elaine was a little nervous about having students work in groups. In only her second year of college teaching, she usually lectured in class. However, she thought of her classes as active learning experiences; she encouraged students to ask questions and often had discussions going during her lectures. But, it seemed as though more and more colleagues were using group learning and she had decided to give it a try. One colleague's remark left a lasting impression. He said, "You know Elaine, I have nothing against lectures, but the person who learns the most from them is the lecturer—the person who puts it together thinks about it and tries to explain it to others. I try to use groups so that students do this too rather than just transcribe information."

Elaine wandered around the room, eavesdropping on the conversations, but it was difficult to determine what kind of progress the groups were making. It seemed like every time she got close to a group they quieted down. In the remaining minutes a few students asked questions about the format of the summaries. Should names be on the group summaries? Should they write a narrative or a list of things? But, none of the students asked about the theories and principles form the readings. She wondered if they really understood these.

At the end of the period she reminded the class about the next reading assignment. As students filed out of the room, several continued to talk about abnormal behavior. Another student on the way out the door said to a classmate, "This group stuff is bull; I didn't pay good money to listen to other students talk about the material when they don't know any more about it than me."

Later that day, Elaine skimmed over the group summaries in her office. The responses were unsettling. They were sketchy—the ideas were scattered, fragmented and underdeveloped. Based on these written summaries it was hard to say that students had learned anything from the experience.

This was not a good showing, and she started to mull over the merits of each approach to teaching—lecturing versus group learning. She felt secure in lecturing. She had control of the subject matter. And, students seemed to like her classes. They paid attention, got involved in the discussions, and she could tell what they were learning. The group learning approach gave more responsibility to students, and made it more difficult to make sure that students were learning exactly what she wanted them to learn. She wondered how students learned in a group setting, and she was uncertain about how to "teach" in that format. She felt herself wavering and felt tempted to abort the experiment. She wanted to forget about group learning and just do what she did best.

ASSIGNMENT DUE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

Class will meet in room 150 Murphy Library. This is the computer classroom on the north side of the building on first floor off the main entrance hallway.

Bring your assignment to class ON DISK.

This is our first Discussion Assignment. The purpose of  Discussion Assignments is to engage you in thinking about the readings and prepare you for discussing particular concepts and issues in class. They also provide me with information that I can use to prepare for class as well, and that is why I am asking you to send me the DA's before you come to class. As I said in the syllabus, reading (not lecture) is your first exposure to the material, and it is important that your read thoughtfully. The Discussion Assignment questions are intended to get you thinking about the concepts and ideas; they are not a test in which you try to impress me with how much you know. 

The Discussion Assignments comprise a portion of your course grade, and I evaluate them holistically. You will get full credit for them if you consistently write DA's in which it is clear that you have read the material and developed a reflective response to the questions or assignments. You will receive no credit for DA's that are off-the-cuff responses unrelated to the reading material.

Feedback on DA's. It is impossible to give constructive, extensive feedback on every DA. Sometimes I will respond individually to the DA's. In addition, when you submit DA's prior to class I am able to read them and address some of the ideas in class. This constitutes a kind of feedback, even though it might not be directed to you specifically. You will also get feedback on your ideas from classmates in group discussions as well.     

Monday's Assignment. Read the attached episode, and the article, "Cooperative Learning Returns to College." Answer the following question:

What do YOU think are the advantages and disadvantages of classes that are predominantly lecture-based and those that are predominantly group-learning based?