At 05:07 AM 2/3/2006, James Cassell wrote:
We got our first look at next Fall's schedule yesterday. It appears I may
have a new strategy for dealing with these issues in an 8AM class
1) teach statistics
2) require use of SPSS
3) give homework and exams
I predict that late comers will learn to adapt their behavior shortly
after the 1st exam...
Happy Friday,
James
PS: No, _I_ didn't ask to teach this class at 8AM
I've been teaching stats at 8 AM in alternate semesters for a long time
(back to the days when SPSS on a PC meant SPSS/PC, with a pre-Windows
command line interface). The reputation of the class is such that the
behavior of students is already what I'd like it to be without need of that
first exam experience. What I've found over the years is that students
will generally meet expectations (attendance, performance, etc.) if you
make them clear and apply them fairly. On the other hand, some will seize
any opportunity to do as little as possible. For that reason, I keep the
bar high (the average grade in the class is a high C--not even a BC) and
the loopholes closed. Result? It is the most popular stats class on
campus (despite being 4 credits rather than 3 as well), my student opinion
survey scores typically are in the low 4's on a 5-point scale, and when our
students have taken ETS' Major Field Test in Sociology, the average of
their performance has never been below the 80th percentile on the Methods
and Statistics indicator.
Why are some instructors (including, apparently, some on this list) afraid
of enforcing high standards, of demanding that their students develop a
disciplined approach to their studies? Allow me a strong statement on
this--"Stand and Deliver" was right, and you do both your students and the
field of sociology a disservice if you do not do so. You will be sending
an unintended message that sociology itself requires only a careless,
inattentive study.
We worship discipline in other endeavors. We're about to attend a major
worship service for it in the form of the Winter Olympics. I see it in the
unrivaled efforts of the students in our highly-regarded School of Nursing,
who make anything your students or my students are doing look like child's
play, and I am ever more glad of it as I age (and creak). Above all, it is
unmistakable in everyone who successfully completes a Ph.D. Is it good for
us, but not for our students?
A WAY OF ENCOURAGING ATTENDANCE
I use the following method only in my stats class. In that class, I found
I was giving too few high grades, but I simply will not lower the grade
lines (among other reasons, I was not nearly as concerned about the number
of low grades). With considerable student input, I devised the following
scheme. Right after each exam, I determine which questions were missed by
more than half the class. Then, every student who attended every class
since the previous test gets two points rather than one point for each of
those "toughie" questions that they got right. This makes it possible to
actually get more than 100% for a test, the most important result of which
is that it provides a cushion if you do less well on another test. No
excuses of any kind are accepted in regard to attendance--I simply will not
evaluate the legitimacy of absence explanations. BUT you can skip every
single class except the exams and get 100% and a high A for the class--all
you have to do is get every question right. Moreover, if you attend every
class but don't get the "toughies" right, no extra soup for you. In
effect, I reward attendance without penalizing failure to attend in an
absolute sense. I'm also rewarding performance on what seem to be the most
difficult questions.
It is a "rich get richer while the poor stay poor" scheme, and I tell
students just that on the first day of class. Low-performing students get
some questions wrong in sufficient numbers to create the "toughies",
high-performing students get those questions right and scoop up the extra
points. How do students feel about this? Come into my class after a few
exams, and try to take it away from my students--but be advised to be
wearing body armor.
Damn it, students want us to RESPECT them, and you don't show respect by
not demanding that they give us their best efforts--including showing up on
time.
Dr. Gerry Grzyb, Chair
Department of Sociology
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Office: Swart 317A
920-424-2040 (Personal office)
920-424-2030 (Sociology office)
920-424-1418 (Sociology fax)
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
