Physician, Heal Thyself

WHEN I read the front page of the New York Times last Monday, I could not keep from snickering. The top news feature of the day described a study showing that small classes and attentive professors make for a more satisfying college experience.

Who discovered this gem of enlightenment? Researchers at none other than Harvard University--a true model of an institution committed to undergraduate education, a place where everyone can expect the very best in personal academic attention.

It is easy enough to be snide and not recognize steps that the University has taken in recent years to improve our undergraduate experiences. The Danforth Center--created to train section leaders and help professors plan courses--has grown in budget and size in the past few years. The center offers orientation for teaching fellows at the beginning of each semester and various teaching workshops throughout the year. Teaching fellows and professors can be videotaped and can review the tapes with the center's trained staff.

Some classes have also made useful changes. A few have instituted periodic assignments such as short, ungraded papers. Others require in-depth evaluations of the course a few weeks into the semester to find out how students are responding to the material.

But too many professors make no effort to find out if students are learning anything from their classes. The distinction between classes with competent, well-trained section leaders and classes with poor teaching is too obvious. Why can't all of our classes be good instead of just a tiny fraction?

THE studies are piling up, it seems. Harvard is well-versed in what makes a class memorable, what makes students interested and what makes them understand and use information instead of just memorizing it. The studies are so informative and groundbreaking that they make national news.

Wouldn't it be really groundbreaking if Harvard acted on its studies? It would just take a little concern and motivation on the part of University administrators, professors and section leaders to implement the "small changes" suggested in the study. Such changes, which the report says would "lead to significant gains for students," include:

. Returning assignments sooner. The report says that "quick turnaround" in handing back assignments is important. The likelihood that one will reread or learn from a corrected assignment goes down the longer it takes to get it back.

. Reducing sections sizes. The report says that students working in small groups speak more, ask more questions and generally learn more than students working in large groups. Who would have known?

These changes could be just the beginning, if the University is willing to act on the suggestions it has heard again and again. Harvard now has publicity for concluding that the education that it has been giving is not the best it could give. When Harvard administrators and faculty members read these studies and use them to improve the format and quality of teaching, that will be news.

Front page news, perhaps.