Students learn internally. Period.
The teacher has actually not always got much to do with that process. MOST students learn best through human contact and immersion with the material, but the particular form also has to be a good match for their preferred learning style.
My experience is that cdfox's teacher is absolutely right.
My DH and I have always had a saying that perfectly encapsulates this.
There are two types of students in higher ed. Those who want to learn FROM you, and those that want you to learn it TO them.
The latter group demands entertainment, but it's kind of pointless since they aren't motivated to engage with the material either way. If you actually do the things that set them up for learning (very high expectations, many opportunities via formative assessment practices and fostering learning community among peers), they bitterly complain about the amount of work that it all is.
While it is true that autonomous learning produces the BEST results... a particular course of study is still a useful thing. Would you really want a physician who has "designed her own" med school program? No? Neither would I. I would also hope that she'd have been sufficiently mature to generate her OWN enthusiasm for whatever coursework she was taking, quite frankly.
Very few college courses outside of one's major (and related disciplines) are "requirements" at the post-secondary level. You do get to choose WHICH general education courses to take to meet those requirements.
From the point of view of a faculty member, though, what those studies suggest is that student evaluations are worthless, for the most part. Something which teachers/faculty have always known. The students are too close to the situation to really provide valid feedback. ALUMNI, on the other hand, are often a great source of constructive criticism.
