THE LANCE
Official Publication of the Student Body of St. Andrews Presbyterian College-
VOL. 14 NO. 3
ST. ANDREWS PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, LAURINBURG, N. C.
Thursday, September 26,1974
Small Groups Significant in New Program
by DIANE HOGG
This article is the first of a
series devoted to an
evaluative exploration of the
St. Andrews Studies program.
I. Group Learning in S.A.S.
“An education in things
not.” R. W. Emerson
IS
Use of smaU group learning
techniques in the SAS core
program is a significant
departure from past
educational directicm. The im
pact of a move to group lear
ning will be seen throughout
the school: curriculum
changes may occur as a re
sult of support for a new mode
of teacWng. Relations bet
ween students and faculty
may be altered with the pro
fessor’s shift from “teacher”
to “facilitator.” Student’s at
titudes toward each other may
be effected by an increased
demand for responsiveness in
education.
FOUNDATIONS OF SGL
■flie key assumptions of the
small group learning
technique are that persons
have natural potential for
learning. Learning should in
volve both feeling and in
tellect, and significant lear
ning takes place when the sub
ject matter is seen as
relevant. Relevant knowledge
is defined vyhen the earner
assumes responsibility in the
learning process by setting
goals or course objectives.
The small group stnictiu^
differs from a classroom in
that members are seen as
resources for each other
rather than competing for
grades. Elach member must
CMitribute to the learning of
the other members and there
is some attempt to deal with
“below the surface” conflict
or tension. The directiwi of the
group may be ejq)rQssed as,
“The most important and
useful learning is the learning
of the processes of learning
which includes openness to ex
perience and change.”
IMPACT AT S.A.
Small group learning
techniques demand a
dramatic change in the role of
the professor. In freshman
SAS the ‘tutor’ must operate
as a “facilitator of learning”
rather than as an “imparter
of knowledge.” The class
room professor plans course
objectives, delivers lectures
and assigns grades. The tutor
"lay do some of these things,
but his or her role as
“listener” and reflective
gudie is emphasized.
Group learning also entails
a change in the way students
view education. There is great
potential in a co-operative ap
proach to learning. Group
development aims toward
better awareness of the in
dividual’s relation to others.
Competition may become
unimportant as group in
teraction is furthered through
candid discussion of conflict.
Increased responsibility for
determing educational ob
jectives may help to foster a
re;^ct for and love of lear-
nife.
PROBLEMS & DANGERS
The ‘group’ approach to
learning is not a panacea for
all educational and relational
ills. The limitations and subtle
dangers of groilp process must
be recognized. Tte possibility
of Group Think-the tendency
to preserve group co-hesive-
ness by adopting acceptable
opmions-is an underlying
threat. Grol^)s may have a
tendency to formulate more
conservative positions than in
dividuals. Groups are not as
creative as individuals.
Although there is no overt con
trol of the group, opportunities
for manipulation exist, for any
strong-willed person, in
cluding the professor.
raE WOMEN IN WILMINGTON dorm took the iniative in redecorating last Saturday morning.
Betsy Neff, Wilmington Social Chairperson was up bright and early giving out paint so each suite of
Wibnington could paint and decorate according to the individual suite’s taste.
Rude Speaks on Crowds in Revolution
Professor George Rude told
a St. Andrews audience Wed
nesday that the common
people can be a major force in
bringing about change
through revolution. Rude, an
historian at Sir George
Williams University in Mon
treal, spoke as part of the SAS
Common Experience
program. He is an expert on
the topic “The People in
Revolutiwi”, and has written
or edited about ten books on
the subject.
To illustrate his thesis, Rude
spoke mostly of the French
Revoluti(Hi of 1789. He pointed
out that although this was
“essentially a bourgeois
revolution”, the common
people, both urban and rural,
played a large part in its in
ception.
Rude claimed that there
were several different kin^ of
French peasants at that tirne,
differentiated by socio
economic class. The common
bond holding them together
was a desire to scale down
taxes paid to the king, tithes
paid to the Church, and dues
Oct. 14 End of
Competition
All seniors are invited to en
ter the Alan Bunn Memorial
Chapbook series. Students
may enter either fiction,
“try, or drama. The sub
mitted work is judged by an
Sampus professional
writer. Two of the best works
will be chosen and their wwk
will be published in
chapbooks, ^hi‘*.,fltate
distributed around the state.
paid to the lords of Oie village.
Rude explained that the
presence of village lords was a
remnant of feudalism which
lasted until 1793.
The fact that taxes and
tithes ^creased and feudal
lords vanished illustrates the
growing pow^r of the peasan
try by 1793.
The common people in Paris
were known as the sans culot
tes (Uterally “without brit
ches”) because they wore
trousers instead of the knee-
britches favored by wealthier
Frenchmen.
Rude mentioned two
especilly interesting factors
contributing to the sans culot
tes’ jKirtidpation in the
Revolution. The first was the
growing unrest as the price of
bread increased, since
eighteenth century Fren
chmen spent about half of
their income on bread. Rude
stated that the price of bread
was of greater concern to a
Frenchman than his wage
packet, although the two are
closely interrelated.
The second factor in
fluencing the participation of
the sans culcites was their
own tendency 'toward egali
tarianism. This tendency,
present in the people even be
fore the Revolutirai, greatly
contributed to the revolu
tionary spirit. Because of this
commitment to egalitar
ianism the French Revolu-
(See Crowds and Revolutions
Page 2)
Appalshop to be this Weekend
This weekend brings
another Common Experience
program to St. Andrews; this
one connected with the Ap
palshop filmmakers on
Friday and Saturday, Sept. 27
and 28. At 2:00, both af
ternoons, workshops will be
filming and
and at 8:00 on
there will be
of various Ap
palshop films.
“Judge Wooten and Coon-
on-a-log” and “The Ra^ey
Trade Fair,” the two films
from Appalshop which were
shown here two weeks ago,
provoked a number of dif
fering reactions
ts and others. Some felt toat
the films glorified mountain
life others questioned the
value of the experience, while
still others expressed mter^t
in doing their own work with
filmmaking and videotapmg.
held on
videotaping,
both nights
showings
This weekend’s workshop
should go a long way toward
answering questions raised by
the first two films and will
give a more extensive look at
the Appalshop’s goals and
ideas about filmmaking in Ap
palachia.
The Appalshop’s movies do
not merely depict the glories
of mountain life. Their goals
fit in vrith the current direc
tion of S.A.S. and the concept
of a “real education.” The
Appalbrochure 1974 says,
“Beyond releasing new
creative energy from the
people learning new skills, we
are making a community
here in which we can live anc^
work. In the long range we
are tapping the power of mass
media for social change. The
aim is to create an Ap
palachian consciousness, a
sense of community and the
power as a group to deal ef
fectively with internal issues
and the overwhelming outside
exploitation.”
In their excellent and
provocative coverage of life
in coal-mining towns, the
problems and rewards of
growing up in Appalachia,
schools (or lack of them),
strip mining and farming, the
Appalshop filmmakers show a
real concern for and clear in
sight into both the positive
and negative sides of modem
Appalachia.
As for the relevance of their
work to S.A.S. and education
in general, Whitney Jones, co
ordinator of the workshops,
sees the community they
form as an example of a suc
cessful group endeavor. The
- 'S:A.S. program (especially in
the freshman sections) is
working toward a goal of lear
ning how to operate ef-
(See Appalshop Page 2)