Suggestion 83. Encourage students to take a different approach from yours

IF YOU WANT TO:

• Invite criticism of your own ideas

• Discuss points of view other than your own

Encouraging students to take an approach different from the one you have adopted.

A professor of English uses this strategy in all of his literature courses. "I always approach literature from a historical point of view: history is a particular passion with me," he says. "At the same time, I point out that there are many other perspectives and encourage students to use alternative approaches, e.g., the psychoanalytic approach or that of the new literary criticism."

Limitations on Use of Suggestion

  Discipline:  Social Sciences and Humanities mainly
Course Level:  Upper division and graduate mainly
 Course Size:  None
        Mode:  Lecture/discussion/seminar

Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California

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