In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Robert J. MacG. Dawson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>"Paul W. Jeffries" wrote:
> What are
>> list members views on teaching students to use tables. In the computer
>> age, tables are an anachronism. The vast majority of students will never
>> use a t table.
Not everything is available on computers, and often tables
have to be used. Not that the ones usually used are important.
> Were it only so... Unfortunately, most universities are not set up to
>give *examinations* using a computer for large service courses.
This should be coming.
>Moreover, it is sad but true that many students in large service courses
>simply do not want to be there, and in the absence of any real "buy-in"
>they are likely to do uninvigilated work by the easiest means available
>- plagiarism.
Plagiarism can be countered by giving students different problems.
Thus dumping examinations is not an option. Finally,
>students would get very angry if the professor announced "we can't put X
>on the examination and will examine you on Y instead; however, X is more
>important and we'll spend most of the classroom time on X." (To be more
>precise: if X is studied to the _exclusion_ of Y almost all students
>would get, quite justifiably, angry; but some have a very low threshold
>indeed for _any_ classroom time spent on _anything_ that does not
>contribute directly to passing the examination.)
If you mean that the students are asked to memorize X,
I agree. But I do not believe that this is worth
testing; the test should be on things which they can
approach understanding the course, but not if they
have memorized the definitions, formulas, and methods.
> Until such a time as universities such as mine are set up to examine
>300 students using computers, while providing proper security [so, in my
>opinion, requiring each student to bring their own laptop is NOT an
>option, at least for lower-level exams for which an open-book format is
>rarely appropriate.
For the important part, it is ALWAYS appropriate. An
argument against open book is that they spend too much
time looking things up, but I always allow crib sheets.
This way they know that they will get no credit for
memorizing definitions and formulas.
What is important is that they can use the material in
unexpected types of situations, and not graded so much
on the answer, but more on understanding the question.
Advanced scientific calculators are not impossible,
>but I am not sure that practicing scientists will use these any more
>than they use tables!] the t-table wil be an unfortunate holdover.
--
This address is for information only. I do not claim that these views
are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University.
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: (765)494-6054 FAX: (765)494-0558
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