Effective college teaching is the answer to the problem of an increasing amount of knowledge in the field of veterinary medicine,  stated Dean Kitchell about the mounting concern over how to secure more successful teaching techniques for the future

Harken, Kay

Rogers, Mark

English

"Effective college teaching is the answer to the problem of an increasing amount of knowledge in the field of veterinary medicine," stated Dean Kitchell about the mounting concern over how to secure more successful teaching techniques for the future.</p

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

A Chat With the Dean Kay Harken and Mark Rogers* "Effective college teaching is the answer to the oroblem of an increasing amount of knowledge in the field of veterinary medi-cine," stated Dean Kitchell about the mounting concern over how to secure more successful teaching techniques for the fu-ture. The Dean feels that motivation is the keystone in the learning process on the part of the student. "The responsibility for increasing the effectiveness of college teaching in the future in the face of in-creasing demands on the student belongs to the faculty," he remarked. "To do this we will need to weed out some of the less important material now taught and con-centrate more on pertinent and practical aspects. In addition, we must teach the student how to learn more quickly. This is one of our main objectives in the first quarter of the freshman year. Audiovisual aids must be used more in the future. The teacher must associate basic concepts with practical clinical material whenever possi-ble to develop learning by association. This will help to eliminate much of the strict memory work now being used by many students in the various Colleges of Veter-inary Medicine." Dean Kitchell also feels that the much disputed .idea of speCialization within the veterinary college is unnecessary at the present time, and similarly sees that there is no need for lengthening of the program within the college. STUDENT-FACULTY RELATIONS "Improvements in student-faculty rela-tions must begin with the student," said Dean Kitchell, "but I realize that this is * Kay and Mark are Juniors il;' th~ College of Vet· erinary Medicine, Iowa State University. 62 often difficult for him [the student] due to his position." The Dean is vitally concerned when stu-dents fail to pass courses in the veterinary college for any reason. He feels that stu-dents should consult privately with the faculty member concerned whenever prob-lems arise between him and his instructor. Instructors are often unaware that diffi-culties exist, and consultation initiated by the student is, many times, their only way of knowing. "The students must realize, however," he remarked, "that there is no simple solu-tion for many of these problems. All too often, it seems, students win misinterpret the absence of quick results as apathy or indifference on the part of the instructor or the faculty as a whole. Tolerance on the oart of b~th the studlmts and the fac-ulty - is essential for a satisfactory and eventual mutual understanding and solv-ing of the problem." Quoting a phrase from President Parks' recent commence-ment address, Dr. Kitchell stated that stu-dents "must realize that tolerance is a means of achieving their objectives, and notable and worthy goals pursued intoler-antly can never be fully or lastingly achieved." In short, Dean Kitchell feels that stu-dents must not only show concern by con-sUlting with the faculty, but also be pa-tient in order for the best solutions to b~ found. Often the primary problem is sim-ply a breakdown in communications and an unwillingness to consider that someone else might have a different point of view based upon quite a different background and experience. Again he emphasized the importance of tolerance. Iowa State University Veterinarian 

A Chat with the Dean

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A Chat with the Dean

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Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)