Re: lecturing; formal discourse
Robin Harwood (HARWOOD who-is-at UConnVM.UConn.Edu)
Sun, 31 Mar 96 13:54:39 EST
Jay, I appreciate your thoughts on the relative merits of lecturing
(or not). I have just two questions: (a) which do you personally
think would be more effective and why--Terrific Professor X on tape,
Terrific Professor X live, or some other alternative; and (b) where
do you think the economics and politics of mass higher education
will lead--maintenance of the status quo in terms of lecturing, or
exploration of new (presumably "high-tech") options? I'm sorry that
I'm not able to theoretically embed these practical questions--perhaps
someone else on the list can help with this?
In terms of the constraints of formal discourse, I agree with Judy & Angel
that becoming fluent in the conventions and constraints of a particular
formal discourse is very much a part of one's ideological--and professional--
becoming. I think what's needed is a balance of the formal and the
less formal: practice in the former allows us to realize a certain
type of fluency among a group of peers (e.g., knowing what counts as
legitimate discourse), whereas inclusion of the latter allows those
with less fluency to feel free to participate and thus to practice
those particular discourse skills.
Robin