Oct. 15, 2002
Students and Professors Learn from Hewlett Classes
Professors Meet Monthly To Discuss Progress
By Greg
Licamele
If you plot a map of the places that 252 GW students and eight faculty
members will visit this semester, it could resemble a tourist’s
dream. But the realities of the Washington-based Hewlett Foundation
classes in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS) are being
fulfilled every week as these students explore area resources —
The Kennedy Center, Frederick Douglass’ House in Anacostia, the
Library of Congress, public affairs offices, museums and galleries,
and DC courts, among others.
These dreams and subsequent realities of problem-based learning that
the Hewlett grant encourages are changing the basis of undergraduate
education at GW, especially for freshmen who are predominantly enrolled
in the classes. In addition to discovering information in Washington,
these classes require students to rely on their intuition, skills, and
resources to answer questions instead of waiting for someone else to
answer, says Patricia Phalen, associate professor of media and public
affairs.
“Problem-based learning is really about teaching students to think
for themselves and to become confident in their own ability to be pro-active
learners,” Phalen says.
Phalen, along with seven faculty members currently teaching Hewlett
classes and other facilitators, meet monthly to discuss the progress
of the courses and to learn from each other.
“One of the most exciting components of the Hewlett grant is that
it brings together a group of talented, seasoned, and enthusiastic faculty,
from diverse disciplines,” says Cheryl Beil, director of academic
planning and assessment. “(At these meetings), they explore a variety
of pedagogies, share their collective experiences in the classroom,
exchange ideas about pedagogical tools and grading practices, and participate
in very lively discussions on topics such as how to engage students
in their courses and how do we know that students are learning what
we are teaching them.”
One of the early challenges for some faculty members was letting students
talk more than the professor.
Jeffrey Stephanic, associate professor of design, teaches “Monuments
as Image? On Becoming an Artist.” For this class, 10 freshmen must
produce an art show, complete with securing a venue, promoting the event,
and planning receptions. Stephanic wants students to understand what
it’s like to be a professional artist. He says students spend class
time either in committees setting the course structure and planning
their shows, or in the field creating art. For Stephanic, he thought
he was more of a problem-based instructor, but now he realizes he was
not.
“My studio classes were very authoritarian,” he says. “This
is how you do this. Try this first before you do anything else. To sit
back and let it just continue until it drifts too far away is hard.
I drink a lot of water to keep my mouth busy. I’m learning to ask
and not inject.”
Chris Sten, professor of English, underscores this point, but from a
student perspective.
“On the second day of class, a student said, ‘We have to be
sure we’re talking to one another and not just the professor.’
”
Some classes, such as Don Ullman’s “Mathematics of Social
Choice,” call for a more traditional learning experience because
of the subject matter. But Ullman, professor of mathematics, encourages
group activity in exploring such questions as how could Ralph Nader
have won the 2000 presidential election (the answer is if it was based
on the least-disliked candidate).
Seven Hewlett classes will be offered in the spring and then the $150,000
grant expires. However, William Frawley, CCAS dean, plans to continue
these problem-based, Washington-area classes as part of an expanded
dean’s seminars program.
“The Hewlett seminars are just the sort of thing I’d hope
would characterize the freshman experience — focused, thematically
organized courses taught by senior people,” Frawley says.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
