Out of Ineptitude: Helpin0 the Self-Perceived Inept Student To Succeed Helen H. Neufeld' Glendale Community College, Glendale, CA 91208 Having taught college chemistry for some years, I have encountered many students who enter math and science classes in a near-paralytic state, brought on by their own certainty that they could not possibly learn the subject matter of those courses. I have never felt sure of an appropriate teaching method with these students. My own personal mindset has been that I could do anything if I worked at it hard enough, and I have tacitly assumed that others could as well. A small nick was made in this self-confidence when an art student in mv oreanic chemistrv class ever so tactfullv nresented me with :drawing of a reindeer to replace oneof my own which I had used as an attention-getter, always explaining, "This is a reindeer!' (The connection with organic chemistw is that reindeer have an unusual lipid in the feet and legs ihat acts as a natural antifreeze.) ~he'implicationof the student's gift was that I really should not use my own drawings of unrecognizable objects. This criticism was justifiable. I have long realized that I could not draw and have in fact. been sure.-for made iokes about this inabilitv. I have..~~ -~~~.~~~ my entire life that I could ne;er learn to draw. One dav. while wonderine once aeain how to helo another chernicalirand mathematihy inept student, it occurred to me that I would like to eet inside the student's mind. to find what it is like to he sure of failure, and to try to f i b r e out what could be done to overcome this feelineof ineotitude. At the same time, I was casting about for a s&batical project. I decided to ask the sabbatical committee to approve mv attendance, as an anonymous mature student, atan outst& ing community college in order to study specific aspects of being a student: one of these was the student attitude that ineptitude is permanent and failure is certain. The committee approved this proposal with enthusiasm. They would like to do that too, they said. I enrolled in beeinnine drawine. alone with other classes. at an excellent cokmun%y college, whigh was well removed from both my home and place of employment, so that I was known to no one. Since registration data is confidential, no word reached my instructors or fellow students with regard to my having graduate degrees or being a community college instructor. I maintained the image of a housewife who bad "always wanted to take an art co&e"-the truth, although not the entire truth of my persona-I do maintain a house. On my first day in art class, I arrived late, brought the wrong material, and had to be excused for an errand halfway through the class. I, who had survived the rigors of such coursesasphysicalorganicchemistry, did not intend to seem an inept student, but my attitude predisposed toward a poor start. During the initial class session, the instructor distributed a syllab& that made it clear thatuudiness and early leaving would result in a lower zrade, that a break miaht be taken each hour, and that students must arrive in crass with the proper materials. The materials were clearly listed, along ~
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' Mailing address: P.0.Box 728, Mt. Baldy, CA 91759.
with their source. This also listed the assignments, dates due, and grade points for each one. The syllabus, in fact, contained answers to every question a student might ask. My anxiety level dropped slightly upon learning exactly what was expected of me. I felt I might be able to do these things well enough to earn a "C" in the course. The second step toward becoming "ept" was the successful accomplishment of a very simple task-that of drawing a scale showing the range of gray to black that could be produced with a pencil-a value scale. The drawing and shading of boxes, cylinders, a cone, and a sphere were within my abilities as well. The drawing of several single leaf structures, a stem and a flower, taken one at a time, were not daunting. Perspective was presented as a group of timehonored steps that, carefully followed, resulted in recognizable buildings or landscapes. A rendition of a long succession of arches, receding into the distance, was accomplished, having been produced by following the outlined principles of perspective. The third step was learning to see with the perception of an artist. I was asked to draw common objects-a rectangular kitchen utensil. shoes. soorts eanioment-all with the intent of carefully &servinglines, deGh, shadow, and pers~ective.I had never reallv looked at the shades of lirht and dark in an ancient football or a rolling pin, hut tI& also, building on prior learning, I could do. Finally I was asked to put it all together, twcombine the sincle principles into a unified whole. Confronted with a free-standing column with dozens of objects piled or wired into position around it, I was expected to produce a still life showing five or six of these that could be combined into a pleasing or meaningful arrangement. At this noint mv inentness resurfaced. after remainine fairiy placid and uneventful progress dormant &ring throueh the rudiments of drawine. The solution to this roblem required time. I tried a long succession of sketches of doors. boxes, ranch equipment, hats, pictures. and mechanics' relics. I ;egressed%ost of the drawings did not resemble the obiects. Finallv, after much muddling around, a group of things seemed stand out that were reminiscent of a familiar scene-a storage room in an old southern family home. Once I saw a possible pattern, I was able to build on this and to create a unique drawing which established a relatedness between some annarentlv randomlv selected nbjects. Two processes were necessary here-the expenditure of time to nut toeether seoaratelv learned manual skills. and the mental arrangementif apparently random patterns to create new variations. Only at this point were the studenta considered experienced and confident enough to benefit from a critique of their work by one another as well ashy the instructor. While earlier work had been checked for completeness, there had been no evaluation of its quality. This amounted to apreliminary inspection by the instructor, with suggestions as to how certain problems might be corrected, without an attached value judgment. After this opportunity to improve one's work, and only then, each student's work was dis-
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Volume 67 Number 8 August 1990
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played. The work was evaluated by the class as a whole and by the instructor in a group discussion of how well the works adhered to basic principles of drawing and how much creativitv had been shown in nroducine new natterns from simple familiar household items. Many principles of teaching can be transferred from the exceptionally fine management of this art class to the teaching of chemistrv. The students were informed, clearly and fir&ly, as to what the physical requirements of the class were to be: they were to be physically present during the entire time the class was in session; c&in materials were necessary; work was to be submitted at given times; and grades would be based upon this work. I t is easy, in teaching chemistry, to try to make the subject even more mysterious by merelv hintine to the students that. if thev read the material and
