| Vignette Laboratory Group | |
| During the first session, you ask students to work on a problem with their neighbour. There is a pause, then a few students start mumbling to one another, not about the problem. When you ask them what is going on, they say fairly aggressively that they just want you to give them the answers and let them go home. When you suggest they would learn more by working on the problems in groups, they complain that no?one had told them that this course would involve compulsory group?work. Another group of students complain that it isn't fair that you will not tell them how the problems are solved as they paid for this course and they consider this part of the service they can expect. The rest of the students either look out of the window, just stare into their problem sheets or are occupied playing web games. | |
| You are a demonstrator in a large laboratory class. Students work in groups of 6. This is week 5 of semester. You have introduced the objectives of the experiment and highlighted some of the experimental techniques. You notice one particular group of 6 students that are working together. While all members of the group appear to be working, you notice that two of the group seem to be particularly involved while the other four are just following their instructions. Soon the experiment is complete. You check the work and find it has been done competently. As the students are leaving you hear one of the four remark "Even though you don't learn anything, at least you get out of the lab early" | |
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| A mature-age student with a degenerative illness comes to you for help in preparing an assignment that is due the following week. You already know that he has major difficulties working sufficiently fast to keep up with the class. He explains that he has only had the energy to work through two of the set problems and he still does not understand the principles involved. | |
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| A group of students asks you for help with using a piece of equipment. It's clear that they haven't done the preparation exercises designed to explain how it works, and you realise you're not too sure about demonstrating it to them. What do you do? | |
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| A group of students habitually divides up the work for any laboratory activity and pools results at the end of the experiment. Does this worry you, and if so, what do you do about it? One of the students comes up to you and asks, "Is this right?" What do you do next? | |
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| The class carries out an experiment and shares results at the end of the lab. Your student groups seem to have results very different to the rest of the class. How do you discuss these with the group, and what will you recommend they discuss in their lab report? | |
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| Vignette Tutorial Group | |
You are tutoring an evening class of 22 students, most of whom are part-time, mature age students. As a result you are younger than most of your class. In a particular tutorial you have finished showing a video, and are trying to inspire a discussion when one of the students claims to 'have worked in a job just like this, and this is not what we did'. The student proceeds to tell the class exactly what they think about the issue, is hard to interrupt, and argues quite viciously every time you or another student tries to interject. At the end of the class the student asks to have a word with you and says that they are dissatisfied with the way the class is being taught and they intend to complain if you do not change your teaching style. | |
| During one of your first tutorials you notice a student holding an English-Chinese dictionary struggling to keep up. At first the student very obviously asks a colleague to translate what you are saying to them, but when this becomes too disruptive, the student interrupts and ask you to explain almost everything again. Moans are heard from several other members of the class. | |
| A student with a degenerative illness comes to you for help in preparing an assignment that is due the following week. You already know that he has major difficulties working sufficiently fast to keep up with the class. He explains that he has only had the energy to work through two of the set problems and he still does not understand the principles |
| For further information contact Kaye Placing |
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