I too agree that memorization of facts is necessary in some instances. However, it doesn’t always have to be “mindless memorization” (accepting that it is what is is just because…it is). Let me explain. My students are required to memorize the scientific name of 150+ plants commonly used in landscapes. Scientific names are always in Latin; thus, unless they have studied Latin, students generally resort to just remembering that Pinus strobus means white pine just because that’s the way it is. However, if I were to tell them that “strobus” translates to “cone” and that white pines are prolific cone-producers, students begin to actually learn the name and understand why it has this name rather than just memorizing it. Students have indicated that understanding the names, rather than simply memorizing them, has really helped them recall the name on tests and in the field.

I think the brief lecture/summary would be a great way to engage students! Rather than just memorizing facts, standing up and giving a synopsis of the previous lecture forces students to link ideas and make sense of the lecture material. Furthermore, the act of teaching is a great learning strategy. Great idea! You could also require one other student to ask the presenter a question on the subject matter.

Thanks for your comment, Ken. Nutrient use efficiency (percent of applied nutrients used by the plant) is less than 50% in containerized nursery-crop production. About 90% of what is not used by the plant runs off (very little remains in the container). This is the problem nurserymen are facing and the basis of my research. Your question is also the question I would hope my students would ask after given the above scenario.

I completely agree that some of my most stimulating, curiosity-invoking courses have been taught by professors who presented real-world applications of their course material. During my freshman year as an undergrad, I took a plant materials course with one such professor. That following summer, after the course was over, I worked at a retail nursery, and I remember sitting in my car before work, reviewing my course notes. I know this sounds geeky, but I was truly excited to put what I learned in that course into practice, knowing that this newfound knowledge increased my value as an employee.

Since then, I have had few course with such a direct applicability. However, I’ve also had few professors who have done such a great job at exemplifying the relevance of the course material. So, I guess to summarize, being given real world applications has been crucial for my learning experience, and I think real world applicability should be given greater emphasis in the classroom (at least in my field).

I really appreciated your post, Cody. I am a white, Christian male and am married, aside from that though, we are two very different people (especially considering I drive a dodge). Kidding aside, I agree with Dr. Nelson in that diversity comes in many different forms. In my opinion, how we are shaped throughout our upbringing is just as important as gender, race or sexual orientation, in terms of diversity. One advantage of having a diverse classroom is that each student can offer a unique perspective on any given topic. I would say that you don’t have to appear different to be able to bring something new to the table…if that makes sense.

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I agree with Laura. I really think your teaching self will (and should) change depending on the audience and the setting. From my personal experience, I’ve noticed that my “teaching self” when leading a lab is much different than when giving a lecture. I tend to be much more spontaneous while teaching a lab since I have 3 hours to teach 2 hours of material. However, in lecture, I have 2 hours of material to teach in a 1 hour class period (this is not be choice, obviously). Thus, I’m sure I seem much more uptight during my lectures. In addition, logistically speaking, I can’t really teach a group of 10 students in the same manner I teach a group of 100. Regarding the nerves, I’m sure they will go away with experience.

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What a great (and well-written) post, Cody. I could not agree more with the idea of adapting your teaching style to the audience. We often talk about how different students are today compared to 20 years ago. However, we often neglect how different our students this semester can be from those in the same class last semester.

Regarding getting to know your students on an individual basis, I love the idea of a mandatory, one-on-one meeting. This not only allows you to get to know the student, it also make you seem more approachable from the students’ perspective. Another idea is to take full advantage of the 10-15 mins. prior to class to get to know your students. While less personal that a one-on-one meeting, chatting with students during the “down-time” can still help you establish relationships and make connections with your students.

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Thanks for sharing! It’s great that you were able to take a step back and be in the moment. Responding to that non-verbal feedback (noticing your students robotically taking notes, then engaging them in discussion) is a great start to creating a student-centered classroom. I am working on the same thing in my own class.

I would agree that at the college level and especially the graduate level, for the most part, rubrics are unnecessary and can stifle creativity. However, I do think that rubrics have their place. For example, if I were writing a grant for a grant-writing course, I think having a rubric (and even being graded on that rubric) could be useful. While there is some creativity involved when grant writing, writing a grant with the minimum criteria or just the bare bones could be helpful for understanding the writing style. What do you think?

Clever title! Just a question in response to your description/list of benefits of mindfulness in the learning environment: do you think mindfulness promotes discovery? Even in the lab/field/research setting, we can get caught in that mindless mode propelled by muscle memory. I think it’s important to remember that mindfulness can encourage discovery, even during the most monotonous of tasks.

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