Extra-Sensory Learning

12/02/2014 12:19 PM

By Matt Hawkins

A day after an important men’s soccer victory, the familiar tune of “Hail, Red and White” echoes in an unlikely place — the corridors of Jobst Hall. Thermodynamics students sing the school song to celebrate, but more importantly, to engage the creative sides of their brains in a class that heavily relies on data analysis.

Mechanical engineering professor Dr. David Zietlow ’82, MSME ’88 leads the class in a couple rounds of the school song before he dives into a lecture on entropy. Zietlow uses music and several other innovations to bring life to math-heavy courses.

“Lecture is the least effective way to teach,” Zietlow said. “No matter how dynamic it is, you only retain 10 percent of the information, but retention goes up to 80 percent if you reinforce it somehow.”

Thus, Zietlow works to enhance classroom experiences. As a former Bradley Chorale member, music was the first innovation. He would sing the school song to classes at least once a semester, but he realized student participation would be the best way to engage minds. Now, he occasionally leads his thermodynamics classes in a couple rounds of the Hilltop’s anthem.

“There are many engineering jokes about how we are left-brained and analytical rather than right brained and artistic,” said Elizabeth Dutcher ‘16, of Williamston, Michigan. “To make sure we are using our entire brain, we wake up the right side with a musical number. It’s a little jolt to the system and entertaining, to say the least.”

In addition to music, Zietlow encourages class discussion by passing out rubber O-rings as rewards for participation. He also uses a “blended” instructional model in which students watch videotaped lectures ahead of time and discuss that material in class.

Singing and other activities foster discussion and innovation, which prepare students for professional endeavors. Engineers, Zietlow said, need to develop those right-brain skills to succeed. Because of that, and unique limits on mathematical creativity, he finds unconventional learning methods to boost those processes.

“Because we’re constrained by the laws of math and science, it takes a different level of creativity,” he said. “The more we activate the creative side of the brain, the better off we’ll be.”

The multiple learning methods have won the students’ approval.

“They help students connect dots and pull information from many sources,” Dutcher said. “They force you to pay attention and class is enjoyable because you are always preparing for an opportunity to speak. I follow conversations and think about what I could say if he asks a question.”