T4-C: Lecture/Laboratory Instructor Pairings: Does It Make a Difference?

Location

Bill France C

Start Date

6-3-2018 8:40 AM

Description

Many colleges and universities do not necessarily make a concerted effort to pair the same lecture instructors with their associated laboratories. This can lead to students being subjected to several classroom scenarios that can have a detrimental effect on learning. Some of these scenarios can include, but are not limited to, lecture and laboratory instructors that utilize different terminology than their counterparts; provide inconsistent emphasis on topics between the lecture and the laboratory sections; and present topics in an order that are not consistent between the lecture and the laboratory sections. The Citadel is no different when it comes to the assignment of its lecture and laboratory instructors, as students will often have a different instructor for each. This paper provides an indirect assessment of instructor/student perceptions as it pertains to the impact of several of the aforementioned classroom scenarios on student learning within associated Mechanics of Materials lecture and laboratory courses. The results show that instructors and students feel that overall learning is increased when a lecture and laboratory is taught by the same instructor which provides consistency in terminology, lecture/laboratory topics, and promotes overall better instructor/student rapport.

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Mar 6th, 8:40 AM

T4-C: Lecture/Laboratory Instructor Pairings: Does It Make a Difference?

Bill France C

Many colleges and universities do not necessarily make a concerted effort to pair the same lecture instructors with their associated laboratories. This can lead to students being subjected to several classroom scenarios that can have a detrimental effect on learning. Some of these scenarios can include, but are not limited to, lecture and laboratory instructors that utilize different terminology than their counterparts; provide inconsistent emphasis on topics between the lecture and the laboratory sections; and present topics in an order that are not consistent between the lecture and the laboratory sections. The Citadel is no different when it comes to the assignment of its lecture and laboratory instructors, as students will often have a different instructor for each. This paper provides an indirect assessment of instructor/student perceptions as it pertains to the impact of several of the aforementioned classroom scenarios on student learning within associated Mechanics of Materials lecture and laboratory courses. The results show that instructors and students feel that overall learning is increased when a lecture and laboratory is taught by the same instructor which provides consistency in terminology, lecture/laboratory topics, and promotes overall better instructor/student rapport.