Myths of Teaching

================= ECONHIST.TEACH POSTING ================= In the August/Sept. 1989 issue of *The Teaching Professor* (which somehow mysteriously just appeared on the floor of my office), Wilma McClarty, lists "Three Myths of Teaching." Any comments on her myths? Does anyone have any further myths of teaching to offer? David Mitch From, "Three Myths of Teaching" by Wilma McClarty: Myth #1: "Students take classes." "Wrong! Students take *teachers*. An alumni officer who visits dozens of chapters told me former students always ask about teachers -- not buildings, not curricula, not classes: 'Is Dr. Jones still teaching .....' Long after the course content has vanished from memory, when the grade and even the class name are forgotten, the student still remembers the Prof. It's the person, not the knowledge." Myth #2: "All Students should be treated equally." "No, all students should not be treated equally: all need justice, but some need mercy as well." Myth #3: "The bell-shaped curve is an excellent grading guide." "In classes with fewer than one hundred students (I'd like to say one thousand), teachers should not apply the bell-shaped curve to the grade distribution, with only set nu8mbers getting A's, B's etc. Teh samplings in the class-rooms of this nation are far too small to be representatitve." "Teachers who insist on using the bell-shaped curve force their students to wish each other to do poorly, so they themselves look better. Although the curve stimulates some students to work harder, it can have the opposite effect on students at the bottom. And 'curve competition' is not the ideal academic motivation, particularly if you want to encourage interaction, discussion, and teamwork." from Wilma McClarty, "Three Myths of Teaching" *Teaching Professor* Aug/Sept 1989. ============ FOOTER TO ECONHIST.TEACH POSTING ============ For information, send the message "info ECONHIST.TEACH" to lists@cs.muohio.edu. >