Download Document - Office for Learning and Teaching

When they have difficulties in reading textbooks, one of them chose to consult adictionary and ask lecturers. He said, “The first thing I can do is to look at adictionary and find the meaning by myself. If I still can’t understand I will ask thelecturer, and they will give me information and help me”. Another chose to get helpfrom a learning assistant in the university. He said, “I went to a ‘Learning Official’,she was very nice, and guided me how to read the textbook properly, doassignments, everything. … sometimes I would ask my friends the meaning”. Six ofthem chose to discuss with their lecturers and classmates. For example, onegraduate said, “I’d normally ask in the tutorial, or if I don’t have a chance, I will askanother student, or wait and try to ask the lecturer after class”.(5) What constitutes a good textbook?There were 6 graduates who thought a good textbook should combine theory andpractical examples. For example, one graduate said, “I am especially interested inthe examples given in a book, real life examples and case studies. A textbook thatfocuses too hard on just theory is not very interesting, it can be boring.” Onegraduate considered picture and graph were essential parts of a good textbook. Hesaid, “When it has more topics, I like it to be easy to find keywords and have asimple structure.”(6) What do you learn most from a textbook?There were 4 graduates who thought that theory and concept from textbooks werevery important to them. For example, one graduate said, “I can learn most of thetheory from a textbook”. Two students prefer examples. One of them said he learnta lot of examples that address real world case studies, and calculations. Onegraduate thought he could find some detail about the course from a textbook; hesaid, “You learn the summary of your course from the textbook, and expand on thatwith lectures, internet and library material”. One graduate said he learned keyinformation about the subject from textbooks.(7) Do you think it’s important that a textbook emphasises theory?There were 2 graduates who thought that textbooks should emphasise theory. Fivegraduates believed that both theory and practical examples should be emphasised.For example, one of them said, “There is a bond between theories and exercises.You cannot separate those two processes as they are hand in hand ….”(8) Do you think reading the textbook is a very important learning exercise?There were 4 graduates who thought reading the textbook was very important fortheir learning. For example, one graduate said, “Yeah, I think so. Before I attendclass I will read the relevant material quickly, and after class I will go over it againbut more slowly, to fully understand those things”. Three graduates said this shoulddepend on whether the textbook has enough practical examples. For example, onegraduate said, “There are links between textbooks and exercise … Although thetheories from the textbook can sometimes guide you how to operate, when you areactually working, there are many differences between theories and learningexercise”.5.4.2 Teaching and Learning Methods(1) Can you tell me which teaching method(s) you have come across are the mosteffective?All graduates had their unique most effective teaching methods such as small groupteaching, group discussion, tutorial, lecture note and PowerPoint materials, casestudies and connections between lecturer and students. The comments were asfollows:““In my opinion, I feel that small groups …Therefore, I prefer the tutorial method ofteaching.”“PowerPoint is good for me.”90