Multigenerational approach to teaching research.

Abstract

A strategy for overcoming some of the problems associated with teaching research methods in a single academic term was developed. The strategy termed "a multigenerational approach" allowed for a closer approximation to the actual research practices of social scientists by extending a community based project over several cohorts of methods students. The strategy as implemented is described. Results from an evaluation of this strategy suggest it helps overcome some of the problems identified.

Introduction

Most teachers encounter a stage in a course they are presenting where they reach one of two opposite circumstances. In one condition, they conclude, "I have basically covered the syllabus. I have reviewed the relevant theories and concepts. We have considered the most salient examples and illustrations. I really don't have that much more to offer." In this situation, the remainder of the term is "ad-libbed" with each instructor finding his or her own way to fill the remaining sessions. The antithetical experience arises when the instructor looking at the calendar concludes "I'll never have enough time to deal with everything that should be covered in this course. I'll either have to omit certain subjects or compress the material." Thus too much or too little instructional time compromise the educational process and can be traced to the same structural source, namely, the institutional schedule. A number of commentators have written about the "tyranny" of the schedule or organizational calendar (Glaser & Strauss, 1971; Zerubavel, 1979). The temporal structures of academic work have been described as "a sort of prison in which members of the organization are confined" (Ylijoki & Mantyla, 2003, p. 57). While self-paced online or correspondence courses avoid inflexible schedules much of current online course work predetermines the pace at which material is presented. Recently, a colleague who wished to extend the date of the final examinations found his attempt overridden by the software package prepared for the course.

If power is defined as the ability to control the behavior of others, then the arbitrary restriction of activities to specific days of the week and hours of the day is a classic example of the exercise of power. Such constraints are magnified when the activity must commence and terminate at pre-designated times. The authority to construct the schedule has made the responsible college or university officials into powerful staff figures. Faculty members who have tried to renegotiate their schedules will acknowledge the formidable obstacles that must be overcome to obtain even slight adjustments. Generally speaking, organizational time demands take precedence over personal time (Lewis & Weigert, 1981). Viijoki and Mantyla (2003, p. 60) assert that "although academics usually have some negotiation power in setting schedules, working according to externally imposed and controlled timetables is felt as an external constraint to which one simply has to adapt." The motivation for such efforts tends to be faculty convenience rather than learning effectiveness. The success of such negotiations is usually determined by the extent of the countervailing power that can be mobilized. The authors, all present or former departmental chairs, found faculty to be more accepting of imposed schedules which complicated instruction but were not personally inconveniencing.

What is less often discussed is the impact the schedule has on shaping the rhythm and content of the educational experience. This paper presents a unique approach to surmounting the educational limitations imposed by bureaucratically constructed course schedules that are increasingly governed by the logic of management systems along with limited faculty and space resources. This approach while acknowledging the relatively inflexibility of such rationally constructed schedules allows the lengthening of the learning experience without altering the administratively imposed course timetable. The extent to which a pre-set schedule affects the organization and presentation of course material will vary from subject to subject. An example of such an effect is reported about medical and dental education (Zakrzewska, Fry & Larkin, 2003). Emerging areas for study, new techniques and sub-specialties constantly created by science introduce new subjects into the curriculum while the established topics remain. The resulting "curriculum overload" causes "teachers to teach and students to learn in contexts that are less than optimal" (p. 39). If some topics are treated superficially because of insufficient lecture time, understanding and performance in more advanced courses will be negatively affected. This ...