浙大宁波理工外语平台三级阅读答案.docVIP

A feature of US education that we have not yet discussed is continuous classroom interaction between teacher and students. From Los Angeles to New York, and from Chicago to Houston, educators believe that students master information by discovering it for themselves. They believe that teachers do not actually teach, but simply help students learn. In this view, learning takes place through a process of challenging old ideas and asking questions. The faculty member aims to exchange ideas with students, rather than simply tell them what they should know. The concept of constantly exchanging ideas may seem strange to you at first. Perhaps you come from a country where people believe that whatever is written in a book must be true, and that teachers are always right in matters of learning. If so, you will probably find the United States system disquieting. Of course, American students know that their textbooks are mostly right and that their teachers are better informed than they are. But they think for themselves and their teachers expect them to ask questions and challenge ideas. The point, again, is not that Americans have the right approach to learning, but that the interactive classroom is a strong feature of US education. Comparatively few courses in the university classroom are so clearly organized for interaction. Nevertheless, the course in which a professor lectures steadily to hundreds of silent students is relatively rare in the United States. Enrollments are often limited (many classes will have fewer than 30 students, so that all students have a chance to participate. Where the lecture format is necessary, as in a freshman chemistry course, the large class meets once or twice a week, then divides into small group meetings. The lecture is used to present information efficiently - for example, through slides and demonstrations as well as actual lecturing - but group meetings provide important sessions where homework can be reviewed and questions answered. 1.