tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post1121799962266521422..comments2024-03-27T21:39:27.170-07:00Comments on The Adventures of Notorious Ph.D., Girl Scholar: The thing I actually said to my students in class yesterdayNotorious Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08700875559325201086noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-56346356897283221222011-10-07T21:09:26.683-07:002011-10-07T21:09:26.683-07:00Oh, Notorious, your comment was far funnier than m...Oh, Notorious, your comment was far funnier than my comment, and--like any good teacher--I may steal that sometime. Humor can work wonders too. I find smiling at the students helps a lot too.Matt Duckworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355063130728040393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-36348473004405402432011-10-07T21:06:04.197-07:002011-10-07T21:06:04.197-07:00I will sometimes point out that while I am comfort...I will sometimes point out that while I am comfortable with the silence in the classroom and that I am fine if we don't quite get to everything I had planned for us to discuss for the midterm, they might want us to get to more of the material that's going to be on the midterm. That works for a day or so. And, frankly, just calling on people for a few days usually sets the pattern for talking in class too.Matt Duckworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355063130728040393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-3067049611618711022011-10-06T08:15:07.879-07:002011-10-06T08:15:07.879-07:00@ J. Otto -- It's likely as much the way you s...@ J. Otto -- It's likely as much the way you say it as what you say. But yes, cultural differences are important as well.Notorious Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08700875559325201086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-3380598237286604902011-10-06T01:30:12.242-07:002011-10-06T01:30:12.242-07:00My experience is that if I tried this then a very ...My experience is that if I tried this then a very large number of my classes, maybe a majority would be totally silent. Getting undergraduates to talk may be easy in the US, I do not know. But, I have found it very difficult here in Ghana and it was equally hard in Kyrgyzstan. Maybe its just me.J. Otto Pohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-43135873380405439052011-10-05T21:43:44.945-07:002011-10-05T21:43:44.945-07:00I love this! Wish I could have said it.I love this! Wish I could have said it.Good Enough Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-88781388915201195282011-10-05T21:39:50.963-07:002011-10-05T21:39:50.963-07:00@Sydney: Oh, please, if it's all right, I made...@Sydney: Oh, please, if it's all right, I made need to appropriate that quotation for my classes. :DDr. Kosharyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07777054788430587906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-91220533488157673742011-10-05T21:38:14.323-07:002011-10-05T21:38:14.323-07:00LOL! In fact, I have said something similar to at...LOL! In fact, I have said something similar to at least one of my classes, although I'm not a yoga practitioner, and so I left out the one-legged part.<br /><br />I've always been inspired by a story that a history prof told us when I was freshman in college: a senior colleague of his was implacable in making students participate in discussion. He would begin class by asking them a question to get the ball rolling, and if no one responded after a short period of time, he would announce, "Well, if you don't have anything to say, I <i>certainly</i> don't have anything to say." And he would sit there in the increasingly uncomfortable (but productive!) silence until the students piped up.Dr. Kosharyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07777054788430587906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-67998375587507345522011-10-05T16:55:12.182-07:002011-10-05T16:55:12.182-07:00@ Anon: Okay, now I'm a little scared. But I ...@ Anon: Okay, now <i>I'm</i> a little scared. But I will make sure to come to class prepared from now on!Notorious Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08700875559325201086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-91387271914248472492011-10-05T16:23:57.285-07:002011-10-05T16:23:57.285-07:00"There's something you should know about ..."There's something you should know about me. I grew up in a house full of guns. That's unusual for a Commie social scientist, I know, but it's true. I also learned to speak when spoken to. I am speaking to you. You are not speaking. Do you know what my parents did to me when I didn't speak?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-9830561358234580202011-10-05T14:13:35.542-07:002011-10-05T14:13:35.542-07:00This is AWESOME. Nicely done.
On the other hand,...This is AWESOME. Nicely done. <br /><br />On the other hand, if they're sitting in productive silence, that's not a bad thing. Just not necessarily comfortable. I sometimes worry that I don't create enough time/space for silence in my classroom.<br /><br />(I had my first day of seminar here today!)Dr. Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05710707191216637159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-11480960549624115662011-10-05T13:52:05.392-07:002011-10-05T13:52:05.392-07:00Awesome. Did it work?Awesome. Did it work?QueSerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10959663812711093395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-50780317926851892442011-10-05T13:38:09.590-07:002011-10-05T13:38:09.590-07:00I had a teaching mentor during my brief stint at a...I had a teaching mentor during my brief stint at a private boarding school who would begin the first day of class discussion by telling her students, "I'm a Quaker. This means I'm *very* comfortable with silence, and I will wait as long as I have to until one of you has something to say." She meant it, too.Sydneyhttp://moretowrite.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com