As I study for finals, I am reminded just how much
assigned reading there has been in my classes this semester, reading that
contains information that I will be tested over in the next couple of days. At
the beginning of the semester I had an in-class discussion with one of my
professors. He had gotten angry at the class because no one had done the
assigned reading prior to class time. I proposed the argument that I often
prefer to do complex readings after class discussion and lecture because it
helps me understand it more. It is almost as if the lecture and notes provide
an abstract to a scholarly article and then I can go and read the material with
a better base understanding and make connections to discuss in the next class.
This is something I have done my entire college career.
Hearing this, my professor set me up to a challenge. He
offered me extra credit if I read the reading PRIOR to class and came up with
three discussion topics/questions and then discuss my experience in my weekly
journal. Always willing to take advantage of extra credit, I agreed to the
challenge. My journal response to him was as follows:
The motivation to read this week was the
potential for extra credit by creating discussion questions based on the
assigned materials gave me a little extra push to focus a little more in depth
on the readings. With the knowledge that I would have to generate discussion
questions, I was forced to spend more time to comprehend the material rather
than simply read and it. Using a highlighter was a technique that made me slow
down in my reading and spend more time with the material. Earlier this semester
we discussed the benefits of reading before class versus after class. This is a
good time to compare since the assignment provided opportunity and motivation
to be fully read prior to discussion, and I cannot say that I experienced much
difference. It did not alter my level of discussion or participation either way.
The interesting part of
this experiment was that it gave me confidence that I knew the material,
however, when I went to take the quiz, I received one of my lowest quiz scores
of the semester. As I reflect back, I still like to stick to my methods of
reading post-discussion because it ensures that I am learning it correctly.
Without a base of information, I drew conclusions of my own from the
information in the material, and the initial conclusions were the ones that
stuck in my memory as I completed my quiz.
This is not to say that everyone should always read
post-lecture rather than prior to class. It is essential for some classes
(discussion driven courses) to read prior to class time. It is to make a point
that everyone has different learning and reading habits and that is okay.
In all of my classes, I have been told to read beforehand so that I have a better understanding of the material. However, I’ve never experienced that for myself. I would always read the materials after lectures like you do. This comes from different learning styles like you said at the end of your blog, but it’s amazing that your professor was willing to basically make a bet with you regarding the different studying style. Personally, reading after class helps cement the ideas and draw lines from one point of focus to another point of focus. When I read beforehand in most classes I feel like I had to look at a Monet and try to distinguish where the lines end and begin well enough so that my professors could “color by numbers” their way to portray the Monet I was hoping for.
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