Brown's Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning released the results of an informal survey last month of undergraduates designed to reveal what styles of teaching help Brown students learn best. The survey, sent via e-mail this spring, asked students to describe three examples of the teaching techniques that allow them to learn most effectively. After evaluating responses, the Sheridan Center identified 13 "essential sites for (the students') learning."
The sites include class discussions, independent work, effective faculty presentations, assignments connected to course learning goals and active or hands-on learning experiences. The other learning sites mentioned in the survey were faculty mentoring programs, student presentations, class sizes, material linked to "real life application," well-organized courses, group projects, close readings and assessment forms.
"It really impressed me how much students know about their learning," said Rebecca More, director of the Sheridan Center and adjunct assistant professor of history. "No one asked people from my generation about what helped us learn." She said she was most impressed by how "articulate today's students are about how they learn."
Though only 227 of 5,754 Brown undergraduates participated in the survey, making the survey statistically insignificant, More said she is unconcerned by the limited response.
"It was a time of finals and exams," More said. "Some seniors responded and reflected upon the culmination of a four-year education at Brown." The survey's goal was to gain a general perspective on how students learn and on how the University's educators could either improve upon or maintain teaching standards.
The student survey was also intended to reveal students' true feelings about their Brown educations to their professors.
Though some of those who responded to the survey graduated this past spring, many of the same responses made in the survey are echoed by current freshmen new to the University.
Rob Ren-Pang '11 said he learns best in large lecture courses, supplemented by group interactive projects.
Hannah Recht '11 agreed. "I learn the most from courses taught in the lecture format - they can be just as engaging as my smaller, seminar-style classes with the right teaching style and subject matter," she said.
For Yeppii Lee '11, small group discussions allow for more interaction between students and teachers. Lucy Sedgwick '11 agreed, saying she finds small discussions in her English class help her "understand the context of what I'm reading."
More said the Sheridan Center will continue with the survey at least every other year and that the center will explore a similar survey for graduate students. Another of the center's projects, designed with help from Adjunct Professor of Psychology Brian Hayden, assesses professors' learning methods. The 10-minute online workshop for professors consists of five interactive sections and allows professors to consider how their own learning methods could affect their approaches in the classroom.
As a lifelong learner herself, More said she personally "appreciates structure and clear guidelines." She added that while the survey was useful and acknowledged by Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron, it was by no means "designed to change Brown policies."
