Spring Break
Long on Talk, Short on Solutions
RC Students Sounds Off on LHBS
By Elana Green (NI), Associate Editor
Issue date: 10/14/08 Section: News
There is a new RC course this year called Learning at HBS. The course fosters class discussion about section norms and has even flirted with developing students' awareness of diversity-related issues. While many RC students see value in the course, many are also frustrated with the lack of concrete solutions developed in the classroom.
RC students have an additional mini-course to fit into their busy schedules this year - a five-class sequence, taught by section chairs, called Learning at HBS (LHBS). The course aims to help each section establish norms to abide by throughout the year. At least, I think that's what the goal is. Come to think of it, few sections have officially established any norms as a result of the discussion in LHBS. Hmm….so why have we spent all those extra hours in class for the past couple weeks? That could have been quality sleeping time!
Before I go into the pros and cons, here's some background for anyone not familiar with the course: The first LHBS class focused on the case method and instructed each of us to think about what we, individually, could do to increase the efficacy of the learning model. The second class focused on what the section could do collectively to aid the learning process. (My parents' reaction: What? You're learning how to learn? Um, yes.)
In the first two classes, several sections had fruitful discussions about norms. In my
own section, for example, the class served as a good opportunity to explicitly state that when a professor asks a question, you should only raise your hand if you intend to actually answer the question. You should NOT raise your hand if you are trying to use the opportunity to espouse your own viewpoint on an unrelated aspect of the case. (Consider this article a friendly reminder on that point!) Other common issues that were considered: Should each person limit themselves to one comment per class? Should there be a rule about the number of "I agree" comments that can be made? What is and is not appropriate fodder for Skydeck awards?
RC students have an additional mini-course to fit into their busy schedules this year - a five-class sequence, taught by section chairs, called Learning at HBS (LHBS). The course aims to help each section establish norms to abide by throughout the year. At least, I think that's what the goal is. Come to think of it, few sections have officially established any norms as a result of the discussion in LHBS. Hmm….so why have we spent all those extra hours in class for the past couple weeks? That could have been quality sleeping time!
Before I go into the pros and cons, here's some background for anyone not familiar with the course: The first LHBS class focused on the case method and instructed each of us to think about what we, individually, could do to increase the efficacy of the learning model. The second class focused on what the section could do collectively to aid the learning process. (My parents' reaction: What? You're learning how to learn? Um, yes.)
In the first two classes, several sections had fruitful discussions about norms. In my
own section, for example, the class served as a good opportunity to explicitly state that when a professor asks a question, you should only raise your hand if you intend to actually answer the question. You should NOT raise your hand if you are trying to use the opportunity to espouse your own viewpoint on an unrelated aspect of the case. (Consider this article a friendly reminder on that point!) Other common issues that were considered: Should each person limit themselves to one comment per class? Should there be a rule about the number of "I agree" comments that can be made? What is and is not appropriate fodder for Skydeck awards?
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Amike
posted 10/19/08 @ 2:41 PM EST
Why does the front page look so bad? No images. Not much content. What happened?
Post a Comment