Old and Modern Method of College Education

Name Professor: WRT 102 10 March 2019 Old and Modern Method of College Education In the 21st century, technology has been developing very rapidly, and everyone in college has a computer to help them learn and gain knowledge every semester. The article “Lecture Me. Really,” by Molly Worthen, in The New York Times, describes how the traditional lectures and handwritten notes on the blackboard are slowly disappearing from the university’s teaching methods, and this traditional method is being replaced by “active learning” methods like group work. In addition, Worthen expresses that she rejects modern tools and techniques while choosing traditional podiums and oral presentations, and she uses several professor's words to describe that students’ concentration in the lecture will improve the quality of students’ learning, and laptops are causing students to concentrate less in lectures. Although some science professors think lecture is useless, Worthen believes that students can get benefits when they go to humanities lecture and take notes by hand. Her article is very organized, and the content of her article is very plentiful. In addition, Molly Worthen uses some experiences of professors and students, and she uses some peer studies to prove that the traditional education method is better than the active learning method on an individual and societal level. However, some quotes that Molly Worthen used are not very appropriate. Therefore, this paper seeks to critically analyze the article, dissect its contents while at the same time identifying its strengths and weaknesses. Firstly, the author has started off by writing the article through his firsthand experience or rather using the first person narrative. Worthen has effectively brought readers into her world to effectively give them a clear picture of the experience that she had. This makes her arguments more believable and credible given she had a firsthand experience on the matter. In particular, when she talks of the way she had to wait for weeks to receive a wooden stand for her lectures in the classroom, it paints a clear picture on how technology had overtaken the old methods of lecturing. She says "The piece of technology that I really needed is centuries old: a simple wooden lectern to hold my lecture notes. I managed to obtain one, but it took a week of emails and phone calls." She appeared out of place and somehow unable to adapt to the modern systems of technology in lecture rooms. With this picture in the mind of the reader it is now possible not only to get interested in the story but also to view it from her side. Worthem has also used logos to convince and appeal to the readers by presenting facts that have been research by authoritative people who can be trusted. When reading through the text, she has analyzed and given several citations for other senior professors that make it easy to be persuaded into believing her argument because it is based on facts. For instance, she has talked about Harvard physicist Eric Mazur who supports her ideology that technology does not support active learning. She further states that a study was conducted which showed performance in science courses improved with implementation of active learning methods. To further advance her ideology, Worthen has also cited the historical work of John Henry Newman (1852) who opined that “The Idea of a University” that true learning “consists, not merely in the passive reception into the mind of a number of ideas hitherto unknown to it, but in the mind’s energetic and simultaneous action upon and towards and among those new ideas.” She als...