Re: Classroom attendance and the fixed interval scallop

[Susan Cloninger]

I, too, notice this pattern of decreased attendance after exams. My hunch is that students have spent more than their usual time on my course, so feel they've developed a "credit." Or, less cognitively, they have to cram for something else now. An interesting empirical question. An exception: when I've promised to return exams on a specific day right after the exam, attendance is usually good.     Susan C. Cloninger, PhD   Professor of Psychology   The Sage Colleges   Troy, New York 12180   office: (518) 244-2071         ---------------------------------------   Original Email   From: Rick Froman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>  Sent: Oct 18, 2004 12:23 PM   To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>  Subject: Classroom attendance and the fixed interval scallop       I know that we have discussed the fact that studying over the course of a semester is not actually on a fixed interval (even with the phenomenon of cramming being so common) because that would mean that the first response of studying after the test would be reinforced. However, is it correct to say that attendance in class might be on a fixed interval schedule if test dates are fixed in the syllabus? The reason I ask is because attendance records in my Intro class show the usual scalloping patterns: high attendance right before a test with large dropoffs afterward with attendance increasing again right before and through the next test. This really seems counterinituitive from a rational or cognitive perspectve because I don�t review for tests during class and so no particular class period has an advantage over any other in terms of preparation for the test.  This clearly looks like a fixed interval pattern. Is this evidence that tests reinforce attendance behavior? On the other side of the coin, is it evidence that class periods in which tests are not given are not reinforcing? Possibly other more inherently interesting profs don�t see such a pronounced scallop in attendance patterns.   Rick Dr. Rick Froman Professor of Psychology John Brown University 2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR  72761 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (479) 524-7295 http://www.jbu.edu/academics/sbs/faculty/rfroman.asp --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]