Consumer Attitude

A little over a week ago I stopped by my old research advisor's office to give her my lab notebook. She invited me to stay and talk, and we eventually got on the subjects of teaching methodology and a prevalent student attitude. She is concerned by what she calls a "consumer attitude" in students. This attitude describes those who want to receive the subject matter without much investigative effort. My professor's desire for students is that they go beyond what is fed to them, that they seek to engage the material from more than one angle. It bothers her that students don't go to her with questions about the material.
My discussion with her was a good challenge for me. I also have a consumer attitude. It's easiest to take what is given you, spend time to learn it, and not go beyond. Granted, there's more to life than school, but I plan to make an extra effort to be a true scholar.

For her systemic pathology topics, CL is interested in having us read her notes before class and then using class time to either answer questions that have arisen or to teach the material from a different angle (ie give us notes that start with etiology and lead to physical signs, then lecture starting with physical signs and leading to etiology (which is more like what we'll be doing in practice)). I think students will complain about the self-taught aspect, but it will be good for them if they (myself included!) go along with it.