TV college course question.

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this question. If not please move it for me.

I happened to catch one of those televised college classes on our local PBS station early this morning. The subject matter was somewhat controversial and the instructor was completely out in left field with some of the information he was disseminating.

There were students in the room, however he never allowed discussion or participation from those in the class at all. His word was law and there was no room for disagreement.

Having never attended any college classes myself,(high schol then straight to the workforce). Is this the norm? Would I be expected to espouse his views on tests or papers that may have to be written on the subject just to recieve a passing grade? Would I be expected to belive as he does just because he said it?

I’m sure the answer would be that it depends on the instructor, but are there instructors that teach this way?

Sorry if this seems an odd question, it just seemed to me that he was an overbearing ass and would probably fail a student just for disagreeing with his theories. I would find that very counterproductive and remove myself from that class poste haste!

Actually I DID finish high school and CAN spell * school * and believe.
Crane feelin like a :wally

Yep, you might get college teachers like that.

In an advanced calculus class, a teacher I had would start writing on the black board at the beginning of class as fast as he could, filling the boards across the room without saying anything. Once it was filled, he would stop and look out the window for a while. Eventually, he would ask if everyone had copied what was on the boards.

I clearly remember a question from the class, and I remarked, “You just ruined the perfect math lecture”. Everyone laughed. He wasn’t angry, but somehow I got the impression he really did take that view of things.

There are professors like that, but they’re not the good ones.

Most televised courses are multi-faceted. You watch the lecture on TV, but you (generally) have discussions online via messageboard and e-mail lists.

That said, discussion in a televised setting is meaningless. It limits the information that is presented, and gives the opportunity for tangents that might cause problems with satisfying course objectives. Furthermore, the guy giving the lecture might not be the guy actually “teaching” the course. He might have different ideas of what he wants to accomplish in his course, and pre-recorded discussion might be detrimental to that.

Or the guy on TV might just be an ass. Who knows?

Robin

What subject was it? I think the subject would allow for more rigid-ness or flexibillity… Math Science and History would be more rigid than say Political Science or Business Law. ((Where ““current”” events could change what gets taught in class that day)).

They might not want to broadcast student input. Janet Jackson or Dale Earnhardt could have been taking the course.:smiley: