High-Tech versus High-Touch Teachers

Abstract

ESSAY That's how one of my colleagues in the Journalism Department at UMass has taken to differentiating among faculty - presumably those who rely heavily on new technology in their classrooms versus those whose teaching style remains more traditional. In describing the best teachers, however, high-tech AND high-touch seems more accurate to me. I base this conclusion in part on my work for several years with the Lilly Teaching Fellows Selection Committee, which involves interviews with two to three dozen new faculty who are asked about their approaches to teaching. This year, virtually all of the fellowship applicants described extensive use of technology in their courses - from e-- mail to web pages to chat rooms. All of them, however, agreed that technology is only effective if it enhances whatever the teacher already has established in the classroom. The bottom line seems to be that teachers, whether new or senior faculty, cannot succeed - with or without new technology - unless they keep in mind the dimensions of good teaching that allow them to connect with students in the first place. That connection, it seems, must be actual before it can be virtual. I'm continually reminded of this as I try to create within each of my required classes - history, law and ethics - something akin to a learning community. By this, I mean a group of people interested in these topics who come together twice weekly to explore the material together. I have come to envision myself not as a lecturer trying to fill each student with knowledge, but as a guide who encourages students to empty their minds and open themselves to new possibilities as we explore these topics together. This essay focuses on creating a learning community around five dimensions associated with effective teaching: Enthusiasm, Command of Subject, Organization, Faculty/Group Interaction and Faculty/Student Contact. Described by my UMass colleague Mary Deane Sorcinelli, director of the Center for Teaching and associate provost1, these five dimensions are inter-related, and none works effectively without attention to the others. Enthusiasm No matter one's teaching methodology or style, a teacher who enjoys the work of teaching is much more likely to be effective. Enthusiasm is contagious. I have a quote on my American Journalism syllabus from James Joyce: History is a subject from which I am trying to wake up. Many of my students share Joyce's view; I try not to meet that expectation. Almost every class begins with current events that illustrate how the theme we're discussing plays out today. Students are invited to share something they've read or experienced. I once was determined to limit this time devoted to current events, but now continue the discussion for as long as learning seems to be taking place. We spent thirty minutes in law class recently discussing confiscation of a local high school student's computer and his expulsion because of a web page he had developed at home. Napster also has been a popular topic. If Near v. Minnesota doesn't get students going, downloading Eminem free from the internet works every time. Once we start discussing the day's material, I try to convey as much as possible through stories. I work from an outline of major points, taking care to emphasize those points as I go. Historian David Thelen, editor of the Journal of American History, says the problem with American history today is lack of narrative: history has reached a point where dazzling people with the unfamiliar and erudite [is] more highly prized than telling a good story...2 The same could be said of other subject areas, and my students would agree. They value and remember stories and seem more likely then to remember major points associated with them. I watch students' faces carefully. I call on them sometimes before they ask questions because I can often tell by their expressions that something is puzzling them. …