Comments on: Undergraduate research: A lab as a family enhances the experience http://www.otherlobe.com/2010/07/undergraduate-research-a-lab-as-a-family-enhances-the-experience/ A Blog About Experiential Education, Social Media, and the Brain... Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:43:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By:   Homeschooled for the big school by The Other Lobe of The Brain http://www.otherlobe.com/2010/07/undergraduate-research-a-lab-as-a-family-enhances-the-experience/comment-page-1/#comment-882   Homeschooled for the big school by The Other Lobe of The Brain Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:04:16 +0000 http://www.otherlobe.com/?p=348#comment-882 [...] discovery.  If it works, the parent teacher can play that role superbly.  Maybe this is why in a recent post the laboratory was referred to as a family.  Emotional processing on the value of and perspective [...] [...] discovery.  If it works, the parent teacher can play that role superbly.  Maybe this is why in a recent post the laboratory was referred to as a family.  Emotional processing on the value of and perspective [...]

]]> By: Lauren Donohoe http://www.otherlobe.com/2010/07/undergraduate-research-a-lab-as-a-family-enhances-the-experience/comment-page-1/#comment-833 Lauren Donohoe Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:27:27 +0000 http://www.otherlobe.com/?p=348#comment-833 Vanessa, I completely agree with what you're saying. When I work in the lab, it really helps that rigidity does not exist. Of course we are all expected to hand in our work on time but the great thing is that we have flexibility, for example, that we have the privilege of working in the lab whenever we have free time. I really appreciate that Dr. Calandruccio trusts all of us to act responsibly in the lab and to get our work done. This idea of “trust” goes back to us seeing our lab as a “family,” because it is important to have trust in your family. Dr. Calandruccio also allows us to do a lot of work at home, which is really helpful to us as well. In terms of informal learning in classrooms, I have the perfect example of how much of a difference it makes- the example being myself over the past three years as an Undergraduate student. In my experience, if I ever have a class that is very structured and the Professor simply reads from their notes and puts up PowerPoint slides that we are expected to copy down, I do not enjoy the class. Sure, I may learn a few things, but I am always so concerned with getting everything that is typed on the slides in my notebook, that I really don’t pay attention to what the Professor is saying. I enjoy classes where the Professor lectures without PowerPoint and you have to pay attention and decide for yourself what is important to write down. In this type of class, Professors will often go a bit off tangent with their lessons to, for example, to talk about a client that they have treated. Since I hope to become a speech-language pathologist, I really pay attention and enjoy stories of how my Professor helped their client. It gives a little break from taking notes and I think these stories are just as educational as the material from the textbook. When we are “out in the world” working, we cannot expect to “turn to the books” if we have trouble. We need to be able to think on our feet and this is where I really think informal learning is a major plus. Let me know what you think of this post, I would really appreciate the feedback. Vanessa, I completely agree with what you’re saying. When I work in the lab, it really helps that rigidity does not exist. Of course we are all expected to hand in our work on time but the great thing is that we have flexibility, for example, that we have the privilege of working in the lab whenever we have free time. I really appreciate that Dr. Calandruccio trusts all of us to act responsibly in the lab and to get our work done. This idea of “trust” goes back to us seeing our lab as a “family,” because it is important to have trust in your family. Dr. Calandruccio also allows us to do a lot of work at home, which is really helpful to us as well.

In terms of informal learning in classrooms, I have the perfect example of how much of a difference it makes- the example being myself over the past three years as an Undergraduate student. In my experience, if I ever have a class that is very structured and the Professor simply reads from their notes and puts up PowerPoint slides that we are expected to copy down, I do not enjoy the class. Sure, I may learn a few things, but I am always so concerned with getting everything that is typed on the slides in my notebook, that I really don’t pay attention to what the Professor is saying. I enjoy classes where the Professor lectures without PowerPoint and you have to pay attention and decide for yourself what is important to write down. In this type of class, Professors will often go a bit off tangent with their lessons to, for example, to talk about a client that they have treated. Since I hope to become a speech-language pathologist, I really pay attention and enjoy stories of how my Professor helped their client. It gives a little break from taking notes and I think these stories are just as educational as the material from the textbook. When we are “out in the world” working, we cannot expect to “turn to the books” if we have trouble. We need to be able to think on our feet and this is where I really think informal learning is a major plus. Let me know what you think of this post, I would really appreciate the feedback.

]]> By: Vanessa http://www.otherlobe.com/2010/07/undergraduate-research-a-lab-as-a-family-enhances-the-experience/comment-page-1/#comment-805 Vanessa Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:15:59 +0000 http://www.otherlobe.com/?p=348#comment-805 Hi! I just wanted to make one comment about the suggestion that this type of learning is informal as opposed to a more formal education in the classroom. With all the current debate on grade inflation and memorization for the sake of memorization (rather than learning) I think this post is a much needed reality check for the education system. It is not surprising that informal environments result in better learning, given that most people probably spend the majority of their own personal time in informal settings. Therefore, informal environments may be viewed as more personal, and identifying something as personal may result in greater investments and appraisals, in return resulting in better performance and learning. Another line of thinking involves the multiple roles that often exist in formal settings: the roles of being courteous, respectful, socially responsible, appropriate, intelligent, etc. Informal settings are different in that these stresses are minimized and people are allowed to be themselves without the added stress of micromanaging their behaviors to fit predetermined roles. Hi! I just wanted to make one comment about the suggestion that this type of learning is informal as opposed to a more formal education in the classroom. With all the current debate on grade inflation and memorization for the sake of memorization (rather than learning) I think this post is a much needed reality check for the education system. It is not surprising that informal environments result in better learning, given that most people probably spend the majority of their own personal time in informal settings. Therefore, informal environments may be viewed as more personal, and identifying something as personal may result in greater investments and appraisals, in return resulting in better performance and learning. Another line of thinking involves the multiple roles that often exist in formal settings: the roles of being courteous, respectful, socially responsible, appropriate, intelligent, etc. Informal settings are different in that these stresses are minimized and people are allowed to be themselves without the added stress of micromanaging their behaviors to fit predetermined roles.

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