Everybody knows (or should know) that a large share of college students are not exactly eager learners. Perhaps a majority of students, at least in the first year or two, view the college experience as primarily a time for partying, figuring out adult relationships, and ?partying. And they also want to have the credentials for a good job when the party?s over. What occurs in the classroom is often perceived as an irrelevant irritant.
Jane Shaw?s latest article, ?Engaging the Disengaged Student,? reviews The First Year Out, a new book suggesting all those big brains in academia figure out how to teach to such students in ways that they will actually learn, instead of pretending that the current methods are working just fine. What is it they say about doing the exact same thing over and over and expecting different results each time?
