Re: The survival of settings

Graham Nuthall (G.Nuthall who-is-at educ.canterbury.ac.nz)
Tue, 23 Sep 1997 09:07:53 +1300

The comments on settings are intriguing and leave my mind spinning as to
quite where the focus of the discussion might settle down.

Eva's and Kevin's comments connected with my struggles in this university
to find spaces where I can teach in the ways I believe are most effective.
I have an undergraduate class of 80 students that I try to get working
together in groups of 6-7. Finding spaces where they can work in groups and
then come together for whole class gatherings is nearly impossible.
The university is in the middle of a very large rebuilding program, but
remains tied to the belief that all university teaching should fit a small
number of fixed formats, with the emphasis on large whole-class lecture
spaces. I can see these formats being built into the institution for the
next 20-30 years, or as long as the buildings last.
Apart from the addition of hi-tech equipment, and considerable increase in
size, the physical teaching spaces in the university have retained the same
basic shapes for the last 100 years.
These are settings with a much longer life than 10 years, looking either
forwards or backwards.
Does any one else experience the same control-by-setting frustration? Must
I change to email/internet connected classes to get the freedom that good
teaching requires?
Graham

Graham Nuthall
Professor of Education
University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch, New Zealand
Phone 64 03 3642255 Fax 64 03 3642418
http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/educ/ultp.html