Recently, the phenomenon of "water classes" in colleges and universities has attracted people's attention.
In the "water class", students do not bring textbooks, take notes, or ask questions. As far as the eye can see, the front row of the classroom is empty, and the students are crowded in groups in the back row or corner, burying their heads in their own business.
To this end, colleges and universities in many places across the country have carried out activities to build the style of study, and the inspection points include:Attendance rate, front-row seating rate, head-up rate, questioning rate, interaction rate.
Some schools require student leaders to lead by example, go to the classroom 10 minutes before class to prepare for class, and take the initiative to sit in the front row;There are also colleges and universities clearIf the front row is not full, the last row will be violatedStudents who repeatedly violate the rules may need parents to come to the school to "accompany them".
The reasons behind the reluctance of students to sit in the front row and actively participate in "water lessons" are complex.
One of them is related to the assessment mechanism of universities, as we all know, colleges and universities now generally implement quantitative management, students want to quantify their performance, teachers need to complete a specific "number of class hours" every year.
In this assessment mode, it is reasonable for some teachers to emphasize scientific research and ignore teaching. The "water class" that college students hate, the teacher is actually helpless.
Corresponding to the activities of building the style of study carried out by colleges and universities in many places, the school newspaper of Peking University recently published an article "Giving Up Grade Points - Performance Evaluation Reform in "Biology"".
In order to change the status quo of students falling into unnecessary involution,The School of Life Sciences of Peking University has launched a pilot reform, abandoning the GPA ranking and implementing a "grading" evaluation method oriented by freedom and comprehensiveness, so that students have the energy to improve their quality.
At the same time, a number of colleges and universities have also tried to eliminate grade points. In addition to Peking University and Tsinghua University, universities such as East China Normal University and ShanghaiTech University have also adopted a hierarchical evaluation system.
This made the world's "hard work" college students applaud, one student frankly admitted: "It's not that I want to surpass myself, but I want to surpass others This kind of competition is terrible."
Indeed, there is a problem with the university classroom behind the phenomenon of water classesOur universities need to say goodbye to grade points, avoid becoming a "performance-oriented" field, and become what universities really should be.
In addition to the "absent-mindedness" of students, there are also teachers "co-starring", and the "battle for water classes" is staged during the course selection season.
no.1
How much moisture is there in a college classroom?
The fact that no one listens in class does not mean that students do not study seriously, but that many people have to find online classes to learn by themselves after class.
There is such a question on Zhihu, "How do you think about the phenomenon that college students don't like to listen to their teachers' classes and like to watch online classes?".”
Some respondents answered this question from the point of view that what the teacher said in class did not meet the students' actual expectations.
Source: Zhihu user @Fo Raccoon.
Source: Zhihu user @brellalove
Previous surveys have shown that among the reasons why students are reluctant to sit in the front row, a very important point is that some university teachers are seriously "paddling" in class, either reading PPT according to the script, or putting **, even if students want to actively participate in the class, it is difficult to find opportunities.
In stark contrast, in the classrooms of famous teachers such as Dai Jianye, a professor at Central China Normal University, not only can they not grab the front seats, but they often can't even enter the classroom. This suggestsStimulating students' initiative in attending lectures clearly requires more engaging classroom teaching.
In addition to the low attractiveness of the teaching method, some teachers do not take elective courses seriously enough, and the phenomenon of setting courses and starting classes in a simple way is more common. Many teachers' teaching ppt has been the same for many years, and the content they talk about has long been out of touch with reality, resulting in students being unwilling to learn.
In order to attract students to choose courses, some teachers give random points just to cope with the assessment. And this kind of non-standard course assessment will obviously discourage students who are serious about attending classes.
Therefore,If few students listen carefully to a lesson, then it must not be the responsibility of the students alone。More commonly, under the podium are students who are "fishing", and on the podium are teachers who are "paddling", and they know each other.
no.2
Skipping classes behind the pressure of schoolwork
Today's college students choose courses as a "battle" that requires sufficient homework and preparation in advance.
Almost every university will circulate a 'water course encyclopedia', and the key to my course selection for these 41 credits is to be optimistic about whether it is good or not, whether the score is high or not, and whether the teacher does not name it. A college student said.
Students who meet the above requirements need to fight for Internet speed and hand speed to grab it, and for the kind of elective courses with many requirements, many homework, and strict marks, most of them are left out in the cold.
The General History of Science is usually not named, the exams are focused, and the scores are good;'Sports Appreciation' section node name, watch movies in class, and hand in at the end of the semester....Logging in to some university forums will find that these "water courses" that are circulated and updated among students have detailed descriptions of the content of the class and the scoring situation, and some are even dozens of pages long.
The China Youth Daily School Media Alliance has launched a questionnaire survey with 532 college students from more than 100 colleges and universities across the country85.1% of the surveyed college students said that elective courses are not only for credits, but also the level of teachers' teaching, the difficulty of examinations, the amount of homework, and the practicality of courses have become important factors affecting students' course selection.
The usual coursework pressure is already very high, and it is good to be able to pass the elective courses easily. Some students said frankly.
no.3
It is difficult to squeeze out communication time between teachers and students
Teachers and students have a joint "water class", and students rarely have contact with the teacher except for class, and the number of times the two sides meet is only a handful after a semester, which creates an embarrassing situation where students and teachers are strangers after class.
Every exam season, some funny ** will pop up on the Internet, such as asking you what the name of the teacher is during the exam, putting 4 pictures for you to choose the teacher's appearance, and so on. "There are college students to share.
During class, the teacher lectures on the stage, some students listen, and some students play with their mobile phones and sleepAs soon as class starts, most of the teachers leave with their bags, and it has become a common phenomenon that teachers and students are basically strangers.
It is difficult to cultivate high-quality human resources by maintaining such a state among university teachers and students.
University education should not only stop at the level of imparting knowledge, but should be the unity of teaching and educating people.
The significance of teachers to students is not only to teach and solve doubts, but also to guide thoughts, cultivate personality, and care for the soul.
The fact that university classrooms have become what they are today is not intentional on the part of students and teachers, but that we need to explore the reasons for the root of the system.
no.1
Behind the course schedule
Students are "selectively slacking" for grade points
Compared with secondary schools, there has been a qualitative leap in the depth of the curriculum at universities. If students want to understand a theory or skills course thoroughly, they must spend a lot of time reading literature and practicing various hardware and software outside of class.
However, at present, the undergraduate curriculum of most colleges and universities is greedy for perfection, and students are tired of running between classrooms, and are overwhelmed by all kinds of group work, mid-term tests, and final assignments, and rarely have time for in-depth self-study.
In addition, there are many student activities and competitions to participate in to accumulate comprehensive test results, and the time is even less so.
For example, a student in a university in Tianjin can only graduate after completing 147 credits, and in addition to the 73 credits of public compulsory courses and 33 credits of professional compulsory courses at the school and college levels, he also needs to complete 26 credits of professional elective courses and 15 credits of optional courses.
These courses often need to be completed in the first three years, as most students also need to complete various important tasks such as graduation**, internships, job hunting, or graduate school entrance examinations, public entrance examinations, and study abroad in the final year.
And if you want to get various awards in school, or have a good "outlet" after graduation,Students have to pay attention to the hard indicator of "grade point".Therefore, it is necessary to weigh in the selection of courses, and those courses that are not high in score and strict in terms of requirements are naturally not willing to be chosen.
Faced with the conflict between heavy courses and limited energy, most students have to adopt such a strategy: under the premise of energy allowing, choose a few "abuse courses" with dry goods, and then pair them with some "water courses" with fewer requirements and high scores.
One student said bluntly"Why should I take a water class?With so many courses in a semester and water classes, we can survive. ”
After all, universities seem to be reduced to a "performance-oriented" field, where everyone finds their place in the GPA calculation formula.
no.2
The assessment system is unreasonable
In addition to students, university teachers also suffer from irrational institutional arrangements.
Currently,Most universities' evaluation policies for faculty are centered on the production of scientific research results.
In addition, in recent years, most colleges and universities have implemented the so-called "either promotion or leaving" assessment policyYoung teachers are under great pressure in scientific research, and too much investment in teaching undoubtedly occupies their own scientific research energy.
A respondent on Zhihu told about his own experience, lamenting that the completion of scientific research tasks of college teachers is the most important indicator of assessment, and it is difficult to gain from serious classes.
In addition, in terms of course evaluation, most colleges and universities mainly use student evaluation, and those courses that are strict and difficult are often given low scores by students, and teachers' evaluation of teaching activities is affected, and they are naturally unwilling to be strict with students, thus forming a vicious circle.
For example, some students rate teachers based on the high scores they give in the course, and if the students are not satisfied with the marks they have received on the course, the teacher will encounter a "bad evaluation".
Source: Zhihu user @iwjt3f
The causes of the problem of turning "water" into a university classroom are complex, and if you want to "squeeze water" into a university classroom, you must not only attack one of them, but take a multi-pronged approach to adjust the system.
no.1
Adjust the evaluation system for teachers and students
Li Qi, a professor at the Faculty of Education of Beijing Normal University, said: "It is necessary to have a scientific evaluation mechanism, change the way of standardized production and management, and make teaching a process of exploration, discovery, collision and sharing of ideas, rather than just a process of carrying and supervising handling." ”
Therefore, colleges and universities should adjust the assessment standards for teachers and the requirements for classroom design, so as to relieve pressure on teachers and let teachers have the spare energy to "educate people" in addition to achieving scientific research tasksand adjusting the evaluation criteria for students.
Peking University's abolition of the grade point assessment system is precisely to liberate students from the "involution" from the level of the student assessment system and spend time and energy on improving their comprehensive quality.
In addition, we can also try to develop more detailed standards in the process of teacher scoring, so as to prevent teachers from arbitrarily grading students in order to get high scores in the student evaluation process.
This not only requires strengthening the supervision of teachers' scoring standards and scoring work, but also needs to keep students' coursework and test papers on file and conduct regular spot checks.
This is a significant change and improvement for the university course evaluation system, and it will certainly take a lot of effort to implement it in the long run. However, these measures can encourage students to study hard instead of taking shortcuts to get good grades, and increase the sense of fairness in students' scores.
no.2
The course opening process is strictly controlled
Establish a mechanism for course supervision, evaluation and withdrawal
Lu Yi, an associate researcher at Fudan University's Institute of Higher Education, believes that to eliminate "water classes," it is necessary to work how and which classes to run. Deciding whether a course should be offered requires empirical investigation and scientific evaluation.
To this end, Fudan University has developed a survey tool to measure and evaluate the teaching quality of general education courses.
The survey tool is designed with eleven core indicators that provide a multi-faceted picture of the teaching quality of each course. After the survey, the "water blowing index" and "hard work index" will be generated based on the index data, which intuitively reflect which are the high-quality "golden courses" that students and teachers are satisfied with, and which are the "water courses" with low quality and efficiency, and give suggestions for improvement.
At the same time, teachers are encouraged to conduct classes carefully and respect teachers' teaching autonomyTeachers who open new high-quality courses will also be rewarded with up to hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Fudan University's approach reminds usThe curriculum is also a work that requires rigorous empirical research and scientific evaluation, and only by strictly controlling and survival of the fittest can we bring students' attention back to the university classroom.
no.3
Improve the overall quality of students
Improve the cultivation of students' personality
The phenomenon of "water lessons" in today's university classrooms is related to the fact that colleges and universities generally do not pay attention to general education.
General EducationThe aim is to cultivate students who are proficient in a wide range of subjects and who are truly whole-hearted.
For example, Peking University has many very important and high-quality educational resources, famous scientists, and masters of humanities, and each teacher has a different way of thinking and unique academic attainmentsHowever, students who excessively pursue high grade points are ** on the "chariot" of test scores, and they have no time to appreciate the charm of those "useless uses".
University education should be for the all-round development of people, the cultivation of students' comprehensive quality, the care for students' souls, and the guidance and shaping of students' world view, outlook on life, and values.
Source: Zhihu user @ Custard Big Bag.
When we pursue excellence marked by numbers, such as "excellent GPA" and "excellent comprehensive test", education will be reduced to a tool for employment and further educationGive birth to "mediocre excellence" and "ineffective involution".
If there is a compulsory course in college, it is perhaps first of all to find those classes that belong to you
You can pursue things that are valuable, and you can no longer be trapped in the GPA evaluation system, and become a multi-dimensional independent individual.
References: 1] Peking University Newspaper - Giving Up Grade Points -- The Reform of Achievement Evaluation in "Biology".
2] How to eliminate the "water class" in the university classroom
3] Southern Weekly - I audited the "water class" of the university for half a year, and finally understood the difficulties of teachers and students.
4] Liu Yunshan: Free Choice and Institutional Selection: Elite Training in the Era of Popular Higher Education.
5] Middle-aged and youth**-More than eighty percent of the college students surveyed said that elective courses are not just for credits.
6] China Education Report - Reporter Investigation: Elective Courses Become "Water Courses" What Happened to College Classrooms?
7] Hu Shouqiang - "80% of the classes in Chinese universities are water classes", the root cause is in the **??
8] Urge college students to "sit in the front row" and squeeze water for the "water class".Beijing News Quick Commentary.
9] Bright** - Focus on the unspeakable relationship between teachers and students in colleges and universities.
Educational explosive style making machine