Page 221 - Making Instruction Work

chap 17 3/11/97 5:12 PM Page 207

sequencing 207

Example #4: Many years ago, when I taught introductory psy-
chology at a university, all of us on the faculty knew what
entering students were interested in. They were interested in
sex, ESP, hypnosis, and the behavior of that weird roommate.
But where did we begin the course? Why, with the history of
psychology. We told them about the good old days when the
crazies were chained in dungeons and about how . . .
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. And then we’d sit around the faculty lounge,
grousing about how students weren’t motivated like they were
when we went to school and scratching for things we could do
to wake them up. What incredible naiveté—not to mention
arrogance.
What should we have done? We should have started right on
the first day with one of those topics of high interest. We
wouldn’t have had to do much with it, but it would have
tugged the students further into the course by starting with
something they were known to be interested in, and by
promising more on that topic later on.
You don’t arouse anyone’s interest with the history of any-
thing. Once you have aroused interest by helping them devel-
op some skill and thereby some confidence, then students may
become interested in the history. After all, learning about the
history is one of the ways of “experiencing”a subject. But don’t
ever begin a course with history (unless it’s a history course).
Tell yourself that until students know something about your
subject and have developed at least some feeling of compe-
tence, history is interesting only to you.

To Learn More: See Resources #8, #15, and #16.