[tips] Intro textbooks
Many questions have arisen recently on the other teaching list about intro textbooks. I have not recommended any to anyone because I am sort of floundering with my own musings on this topic of what is going on in the intro textbook domain. I remember my intro textbook I used in college in 1969 (gasp!) and I still have my high school text book from around 1967... VERY MUCH of what was in those text books is what is in modern textbooks--and not a whole lot more beyond the 1970's/1980's in terms of how psychologists THINK :( I am beginning to bothered by the notion that much of what we are teaching in intro seems to me to be a history of the overview of the field of psychology rather than a brief overview and into the current state of affairs. In addition I think that history is a bit revisionist. I mean was Freud EVER a central figure for PSYCHOLOGISTS? Not psychiatrists or clinicians--and my impression is that even at that time experimental psychology was a much larger field than clinical. Yet the way most intro psych texts portray this it seems that clinical psychology and Freud and psychoanalysis DOMINATED the 1930's-1950's. See the developmental and personality and therapy chapters! But those texts from the late 60's were completely focused on the current state of affairs of their time. It's very sad for me to think that most chapters on developmental, in intro have massive amounts of memorizable factoids on Piaget, Erikson, Freud, but little if nothing on important later theorists such as Bronfenbrenner and other modern developmental researchers who are doing good, quality work. The old stuff can now be nicely compartmentalized for easy memorization of facts but I'm not sure it teaches students how to think about the field. Same for Personality. That has to be the worst offender in modern intro textbooks with very little about the newest work that is being done--and admittedly this is an area with less newer work than some other areas. Even cognitive, my area, is better than most but still has little to nothing on neural network explanations of cognitive phenomena. The focus still seems to be on c. 1970's information processing. I wonder if anyone on this list has been thinking about this. Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph. D. Professor, Psychological Sciences University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110-2492 tay...@sandiego.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=38219 or send a blank email to leave-38219-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
[tips] Elevated levels of C-reactive protein in pregnant women linked to an increased risk for schizophrenia in offspring?
The following report appeared on Medscape week in review today. I know many TIPS subscribers don't subscribe to Medscape, but since it is freely available I'm pasting it here. I find it very encouraging, but I'd love to hear what others think of this. Carol - Elevated levels of C-reactive protein in pregnant women are strongly linked to an increased risk for schizophrenia in offspring, new research shows. A nested case-control study showed that increasing maternal levels of C-reactive protein, a well-established and reliable marker of inflammation, were associated with a nearly 60% increased risk for schizophrenia in children. The finding remained significant after adjusting for a wide range of potential confounders, including parental history of mental illness. This finding provides the most robust evidence to date that maternal inflammation may play a significant role in schizophrenia, with possible implication for identifying preventive strategies and pathogenic mechanisms in schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders, the authors, led by Sarah Cannetta, PhD, Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City, write. The study is published http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1885777 in the September issue of the *American Journal of Psychiatry.* *Priming the Brain* A growing body of epidemiologic and preclinical evidence suggests that infection and subsequent immune activation play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia, the researchers note. The most convincing epidemiologic studies were based on birth cohorts in which maternal biomarkers of infection and inflammation were assayed from prospectively archived maternal serologic specimens drawn during pregnancy. These studies revealed associations between offspring with schizophrenia and elevated maternal antibody to influenza, rubella, toxoplasma gondii, and herpes simplex virus type 2, the authors write. To investigate whether maternal inflammation during pregnancy is linked to schizophrenia in offspring, the researchers examined C-reactive protein levels in prospectively collected and archived serum samples of pregnant women and validated offspring diagnoses from all schizophrenia cases in Finland via national registries. They point out that to our knowledge no previous study has examined maternal C-reactive protein in relation to schizophrenia in offspring A total of 777 schizophrenia patients (schizophrenia, n = 630; schizoaffective disorder, n = 147) with maternal serum samples were identified and matched to 777 control persons. Results revealed that increasing maternal C-reactive protein levels, classified as a continuous variable, were significantly associated with schizophrenia in offspring (adjusted odds ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.10 - 1.56) and that the risk remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders. Overall, the median maternal C-reactive protein level for case patients was 2.47 mg/L. The median level for control individuals was 2.17 mg/L. The investigators found that for every 1 mg/L increase in maternal C-reactive protein, the risk for schizophrenia was increased by 28%. Although the precise mechanism is not known, the investigators speculate that maternal inflammation during pregnancy may 'prime' the brain to broadly increase the risk for the later development of different types of psychiatric syndromes. They note that their previous research in this same Finnish national birth cohort demonstrated a significant increase in maternal C-reactive protein levels in pregnancies that gave rise to childhood autism. *Clinical Implications for Psychiatrists Too* At first glance, they note, protecting women from infection and stress might seem to be beyond the province of most psychiatrists. Indeed, infection during pregnancy is an increasing concern of obstetricians, since recent evidence indicates that pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to certain infections.In an accompanying editorial http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=1901577, Mary Cannon, MD, PhD, and colleagues from the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, emphasize that the findings are clinically relevant for all clinicians managing pregnant women, including psychiatrists. Nevertheless, they add, stress management, and treatment of depression and anxiety http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/286227-overview?src=wgt_edit_news_lsmlc=int_mb_1001, does encompass the responsibilities of psychiatrists who work with pregnant women. Comprehensive psychiatric and psychological treatment for expectant mothers, as well as physical monitoring, would now seem indicated not only for the health of the mother but also to thereby decrease the longer-term risk for mental illness in her child. *The authors and editorialists report no relevant financial relationships.* *Am J Psychiatry.* 2014;171:960-968, 901-905.
Re: [tips] Intro textbooks
I do explore/think about this as I am teaching a required class for prospective majors that uses K. Stanovich's text Thinking Straight About Psychology. In his preface he goes over similar problems we all encounter when dealing with students who completed Gen. Psych. They still believe Freud was the father of Psych, and still maintain many popular misconceptions/myths such as memory as tape recording, schizophrenia as multiple personalities, even ten percent myth. Many recall nothing (assuming it was covered) about scientific principles or basic methods. Most still think psychologists are all like Dr. Phil, and that clinical/mental health interests define the field. I personally don't think it's the text really, but the approach and perspective taken by the instructor. Just one view... G.L. (Gary) Peterson,Ph.D Psychology@SVSU On Sep 5, 2014, at 1:42 PM, Annette Taylor tay...@sandiego.edu wrote: Many questions have arisen recently on the other teaching list about intro textbooks. I have not recommended any to anyone because I am sort of floundering with my own musings on this topic of what is going on in the intro textbook domain. I remember my intro textbook I used in college in 1969 (gasp!) and I still have my high school text book from around 1967... VERY MUCH of what was in those text books is what is in modern textbooks--and not a whole lot more beyond the 1970's/1980's in terms of how psychologists THINK :( I am beginning to bothered by the notion that much of what we are teaching in intro seems to me to be a history of the overview of the field of psychology rather than a brief overview and into the current state of affairs. In addition I think that history is a bit revisionist. I mean was Freud EVER a central figure for PSYCHOLOGISTS? Not psychiatrists or clinicians--and my impression is that even at that time experimental psychology was a much larger field than clinical. Yet the way most intro psych texts portray this it seems that clinical psychology and Freud and psychoanalysis DOMINATED the 1930's-1950's. See the developmental and personality and therapy chapters! But those texts from the late 60's were completely focused on the current state of affairs of their time. It's very sad for me to think that most chapters on developmental, in intro have massive amounts of memorizable factoids on Piaget, Erikson, Freud, but little if nothing on important later theorists such as Bronfenbrenner and other modern developmental researchers who are doing good, quality work. The old stuff can now be nicely compartmentalized for easy memorization of facts but I'm not sure it teaches students how to think about the field. Same for Personality. That has to be the worst offender in modern intro textbooks with very little about the newest work that is being done--and admittedly this is an area with less newer work than some other areas. Even cognitive, my area, is better than most but still has little to nothing on neural network explanations of cognitive phenomena. The focus still seems to be on c. 1970's information processing. I wonder if anyone on this list has been thinking about this. Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph. D. Professor, Psychological Sciences University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110-2492 tay...@sandiego.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: peter...@svsu.edu. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13445.e3edca0f6e68bfb76eaf26a8eb6dd94bn=Tl=tipso=38219 or send a blank email to leave-38219-13445.e3edca0f6e68bfb76eaf26a8eb6dd...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=38221 or send a blank email to leave-38221-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
RE: [tips] Elevated levels of C-reactive protein in pregnant women linked to an increased risk for schizophrenia in offspring?
Thank for this Carol ___ José Ferreira-Alves, PhD Assistant Professor School of Psychology University of Minho Campus de Gualtar 4710-057 Braga Portugal Tel.cel. +351919378514 Tel. Gabinete: 253604233 Email: al...@psi.uminho.pt http://escola.psi.uminho.pt/docentes_investigadores/falves.html http://orcid.org/-0003-1967-0074 De: Carol DeVolder [mailto:devoldercar...@gmail.com] Enviada: 5 de setembro de 2014 19:26 Para: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Assunto: [tips] Elevated levels of C-reactive protein in pregnant women linked to an increased risk for schizophrenia in offspring? The following report appeared on Medscape week in review today. I know many TIPS subscribers don't subscribe to Medscape, but since it is freely available I'm pasting it here. I find it very encouraging, but I'd love to hear what others think of this. Carol - Elevated levels of C-reactive protein in pregnant women are strongly linked to an increased risk for schizophrenia in offspring, new research shows. A nested case-control study showed that increasing maternal levels of C-reactive protein, a well-established and reliable marker of inflammation, were associated with a nearly 60% increased risk for schizophrenia in children. The finding remained significant after adjusting for a wide range of potential confounders, including parental history of mental illness. This finding provides the most robust evidence to date that maternal inflammation may play a significant role in schizophrenia, with possible implication for identifying preventive strategies and pathogenic mechanisms in schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders, the authors, led by Sarah Cannetta, PhD, Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City, write. The study is publishedhttp://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1885777 in the September issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Priming the Brain A growing body of epidemiologic and preclinical evidence suggests that infection and subsequent immune activation play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia, the researchers note. The most convincing epidemiologic studies were based on birth cohorts in which maternal biomarkers of infection and inflammation were assayed from prospectively archived maternal serologic specimens drawn during pregnancy. These studies revealed associations between offspring with schizophrenia and elevated maternal antibody to influenza, rubella, toxoplasma gondii, and herpes simplex virus type 2, the authors write. To investigate whether maternal inflammation during pregnancy is linked to schizophrenia in offspring, the researchers examined C-reactive protein levels in prospectively collected and archived serum samples of pregnant women and validated offspring diagnoses from all schizophrenia cases in Finland via national registries. They point out that to our knowledge no previous study has examined maternal C-reactive protein in relation to schizophrenia in offspring A total of 777 schizophrenia patients (schizophrenia, n = 630; schizoaffective disorder, n = 147) with maternal serum samples were identified and matched to 777 control persons. Results revealed that increasing maternal C-reactive protein levels, classified as a continuous variable, were significantly associated with schizophrenia in offspring (adjusted odds ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.10 - 1.56) and that the risk remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders. Overall, the median maternal C-reactive protein level for case patients was 2.47 mg/L. The median level for control individuals was 2.17 mg/L. The investigators found that for every 1 mg/L increase in maternal C-reactive protein, the risk for schizophrenia was increased by 28%. Although the precise mechanism is not known, the investigators speculate that maternal inflammation during pregnancy may 'prime' the brain to broadly increase the risk for the later development of different types of psychiatric syndromes. They note that their previous research in this same Finnish national birth cohort demonstrated a significant increase in maternal C-reactive protein levels in pregnancies that gave rise to childhood autism. Clinical Implications for Psychiatrists Too At first glance, they note, protecting women from infection and stress might seem to be beyond the province of most psychiatrists. Indeed, infection during pregnancy is an increasing concern of obstetricians, since recent evidence indicates that pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to certain infections.In an accompanying editorialhttp://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=1901577, Mary Cannon, MD, PhD, and colleagues from the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, emphasize that the findings are clinically relevant for all clinicians managing
RE: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
I teach at a small liberal arts college and although I’m sure students have lied to me in the past I do not experience these situations very often. If students have a legitimate reason to not take an exam (usually illness) I simple arrange for them to take it within a week. So my students would not gain anything by making a more elaborate (untrue) excuse. I find it easier to assume that the student is telling the truth. Of course it is against our community disciplinary code to lie to a professor and on a small campus it is easy to be found out (I might see them in town or on campus at night when they were supposed to be at a funeral in another state). Marie Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Professor l Department of Psychology Chair, Health Studies Certificate Program Office hours Fall 2014: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:30-11:30 Kaufman 168 l Dickinson College Phone 717.245.1562 l Fax 717.245.1971 http://users.dickinson.edu/~helwegm/index.html From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 7:35 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent And let us not forget Mike Adams' classic: The dead grandmother/exam syndrome and the potential downfall of American society. http://www.math.toronto.edu/mpugh/DeadGrandmother.pdf - Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 Canada chri...@yorku.camailto:chri...@yorku.ca On Sep 3, 2014, at 4:39 PM, Jeffry Ricker jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edumailto:jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu wrote: Hi all, I have required proof of the death of a family member for a long time now. I do this because, years ago, a student told me that he had missed a test in my class because his grandmother had died; and then several weeks later, in another instructor's class, he missed a test because (he told the instructor) that grandmother died! Apparently, she rose from the dead after the first funeral, only to die a short time later. The poor lady! Caron, Whitbourne, Halgin (1992) looked at fraudulent versus legitimate excuse-making, and found no difference in the frequency of these among college students. One difference they did find, however, is the greater number of fraudulent excuses claiming that there was a family emergency (p. 91). On the other hand, legitimate excuses were more likely than fraudulent ones to involve the death of a grandparent. Go figure. I seem to remember another paper, mentioned on TIPS a long time ago, showing that grandparents are more likely to die just before test days. Is this a false memory? Best, Jeff Reference Caron, M. D., Whitbourne, S. K., Halgin, R. P. (1992). Fraudulent excuse making among college students. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 90-93 On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 5:49 AM, Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.commailto:beth.ben...@gmail.com wrote: Claudia and others, I didn't receive Nancy Melucci's initial post either, but read it at the bottom of Tim's reply. I don't recall this happening before, so hope it's just a quirk. Or maybe that's what happened to two previous posts of mine that got no replies? Beth Benoit Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:51 PM, Claudia Stanny csta...@uwf.edumailto:csta...@uwf.edu wrote: Nancy, Given your institution's policies, you had no choice but to drop her if she did not show up. I expect she had the same experience in multiple classes if she was out of town for a funeral, which probably adds to her stress but should send her a clear message that this is what happens at this institution. Now if yours was the only class she missed and was dropped from, that raises a new set of questions, doesn't it? If she were out of town, wouldn't she have missed multiple classes? Just asking. . . . I think you were most kind and generous to offer to reinstate her. But I know how rigid the rules about attendance can be at two-year institutions. I learned recently that in Florida, students who miss more than a certain number of classes must be withdrawn by the instructor, even if the student is doing well in the class. Something about the regulations related to financial aid awards at 2-year schools. (The four-year schools don't have this policy, so it came as quite a surprise to me when this matter came up in a faculty development activity that involved multiple people from 2-year schools.) Perhaps if you had reinforced the message that this was not entirely your decision by telling her you would attempt to get her reinstated, assuming you could persuade the registrar or whoever to accept her documentation, you might have gotten a less hostile response. (And it would have saved you some additional grief if your attempts to reinstate her hit a bureaucratic wall.) But I wouldn't guarantee that! :-) Claudia BTW Anyone else on TIPS not getting all of the messages? I received Tim's
[tips] scheduling makeup exams
There has been some interesting discussion about deceased grandparents, missing tests and how makeups should/should not be handled. We've discussed makeup tests in the past on TIPS, but it's been a while and we do seem to have some new people. When it was previously discussed I offered something I picked up at an APA poster session some years ago. The poster discussed a paper that was done about how best to handle makeup tests, and the conclusion of the author was that it worked well for both students and instructors to give all makeup tests - regardless of reason - on the day of the final exam. So that's what I've been doing and I don't have to waste any time weeding through whether or not a students reasons for missing are valid. (Sadly, and with much embarrassment, I have lost the name of the presenter so can't give credit.) Here's how I go about it: I have the student take the final exam (my university typically allows 2 1/2 hours, which is much, much more than is ever needed for my final exams), and after the student has completed the exam, I give him/her a sheet with questions (different from the original test which was missed) for each test that was given. I usually have about ten essay questions for each test. The student then answers questions for the test(s) missed. My experience has been that the makeup tests tend to follow about the same grade pattern the student has had, so there doesn't seem to be any particular advantage or disadvantage to doing it this way. It also saves me the time it takes to schedule and supervise a separate time for a makeup test after every test. Incidentally, I continue to see some kind of this might be phishing or something like that or my posts, as well as others who use gmail. I haven't figured out how to get around it, and hope that I haven't lost too much by people who are leery of opening an email from me. I'm toying with the idea of removing my TIPS gmail address and using my school email address. Perhaps that will solve the problem. Any other advice? (I love my gmail and it's faster than my school address.) Beth Benoit Plymouth State University Plymouth NH --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=38226 or send a blank email to leave-38226-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
I just allow my students to drop a test grade. That way I don't have to decide if an excuse is legitimate or not. I give four exams, counting the final, and the end result is usually that the good students don't have to take the final exam (and can leave for home earlier, which they appreciate). It's worked very well for me. Raechel On Sep 5, 2014, at 4:11 PM, Helweg-Larsen, Marie helw...@dickinson.edumailto:helw...@dickinson.edu wrote: I teach at a small liberal arts college and although I’m sure students have lied to me in the past I do not experience these situations very often. If students have a legitimate reason to not take an exam (usually illness) I simple arrange for them to take it within a week. So my students would not gain anything by making a more elaborate (untrue) excuse. I find it easier to assume that the student is telling the truth. Of course it is against our community disciplinary code to lie to a professor and on a small campus it is easy to be found out (I might see them in town or on campus at night when they were supposed to be at a funeral in another state). Marie Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Professor l Department of Psychology Chair, Health Studies Certificate Program Office hours Fall 2014: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:30-11:30 Kaufman 168 l Dickinson College Phone 717.245.1562 l Fax 717.245.1971 http://users.dickinson.edu/~helwegm/index.html From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 7:35 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent And let us not forget Mike Adams' classic: The dead grandmother/exam syndrome and the potential downfall of American society. http://www.math.toronto.edu/mpugh/DeadGrandmother.pdf - Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 Canada chri...@yorku.camailto:chri...@yorku.ca On Sep 3, 2014, at 4:39 PM, Jeffry Ricker jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edumailto:jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu wrote: Hi all, I have required proof of the death of a family member for a long time now. I do this because, years ago, a student told me that he had missed a test in my class because his grandmother had died; and then several weeks later, in another instructor's class, he missed a test because (he told the instructor) that grandmother died! Apparently, she rose from the dead after the first funeral, only to die a short time later. The poor lady! Caron, Whitbourne, Halgin (1992) looked at fraudulent versus legitimate excuse-making, and found no difference in the frequency of these among college students. One difference they did find, however, is the greater number of fraudulent excuses claiming that there was a family emergency (p. 91). On the other hand, legitimate excuses were more likely than fraudulent ones to involve the death of a grandparent. Go figure. I seem to remember another paper, mentioned on TIPS a long time ago, showing that grandparents are more likely to die just before test days. Is this a false memory? Best, Jeff Reference Caron, M. D., Whitbourne, S. K., Halgin, R. P. (1992). Fraudulent excuse making among college students. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 90-93 On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 5:49 AM, Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.commailto:beth.ben...@gmail.com wrote: Claudia and others, I didn't receive Nancy Melucci's initial post either, but read it at the bottom of Tim's reply. I don't recall this happening before, so hope it's just a quirk. Or maybe that's what happened to two previous posts of mine that got no replies? Beth Benoit Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:51 PM, Claudia Stanny csta...@uwf.edumailto:csta...@uwf.edu wrote: Nancy, Given your institution's policies, you had no choice but to drop her if she did not show up. I expect she had the same experience in multiple classes if she was out of town for a funeral, which probably adds to her stress but should send her a clear message that this is what happens at this institution. Now if yours was the only class she missed and was dropped from, that raises a new set of questions, doesn't it? If she were out of town, wouldn't she have missed multiple classes? Just asking. . . . I think you were most kind and generous to offer to reinstate her. But I know how rigid the rules about attendance can be at two-year institutions. I learned recently that in Florida, students who miss more than a certain number of classes must be withdrawn by the instructor, even if the student is doing well in the class. Something about the regulations related to financial aid awards at 2-year schools. (The four-year schools don't have this policy, so it came as quite a surprise to me when this matter came up in a faculty development activity that involved multiple people from 2-year schools.) Perhaps if you had reinforced the message that this
Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
I tried that for a couple of semesters but found that if students were satisfied with their first three tests, they SKIPPED the final fourth of the class, skipped the fourth test and then the final. How did you get around that? Beth Benoit Plymouth State University Plymouth NH On Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 6:48 PM, Raechel Soicher raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edu wrote: I just allow my students to drop a test grade. That way I don't have to decide if an excuse is legitimate or not. I give four exams, counting the final, and the end result is usually that the good students don't have to take the final exam (and can leave for home earlier, which they appreciate). It's worked very well for me. Raechel On Sep 5, 2014, at 4:11 PM, Helweg-Larsen, Marie helw...@dickinson.edu wrote: I teach at a small liberal arts college and although I’m sure students have lied to me in the past I do not experience these situations very often. If students have a legitimate reason to not take an exam (usually illness) I simple arrange for them to take it within a week. So my students would not gain anything by making a more elaborate (untrue) excuse. I find it easier to assume that the student is telling the truth. Of course it is against our community disciplinary code to lie to a professor and on a small campus it is easy to be found out (I might see them in town or on campus at night when they were supposed to be at a funeral in another state). Marie *Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D.* Professor l Department of Psychology Chair, Health Studies Certificate Program Office hours Fall 2014: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:30-11:30 Kaufman 168 l Dickinson College Phone 717.245.1562 l Fax 717.245.1971 http://users.dickinson.edu/~helwegm/index.html *From:* Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca chri...@yorku.ca] *Sent:* Wednesday, September 03, 2014 7:35 PM *To:* Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) *Subject:* Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent And let us not forget Mike Adams' classic: The dead grandmother/exam syndrome and the potential downfall of American society. http://www.math.toronto.edu/mpugh/DeadGrandmother.pdf - Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 Canada chri...@yorku.ca On Sep 3, 2014, at 4:39 PM, Jeffry Ricker jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu wrote: Hi all, I have required proof of the death of a family member for a long time now. I do this because, years ago, a student told me that he had missed a test in my class because his grandmother had died; and then several weeks later, in another instructor's class, he missed a test because (he told the instructor) that grandmother died! Apparently, she rose from the dead after the first funeral, only to die a short time later. The poor lady! Caron, Whitbourne, Halgin (1992) looked at fraudulent versus legitimate excuse-making, and found no difference in the frequency of these among college students. One difference they did find, however, is the greater number of fraudulent excuses claiming that there was a family emergency (p. 91). On the other hand, legitimate excuses were more likely than fraudulent ones to involve the death of a grandparent. Go figure. I seem to remember another paper, mentioned on TIPS a long time ago, showing that grandparents are more likely to die just before test days. Is this a false memory? Best, Jeff Reference Caron, M. D., Whitbourne, S. K., Halgin, R. P. (1992). Fraudulent excuse making among college students. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 90-93 On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 5:49 AM, Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com wrote: Claudia and others, I didn't receive Nancy Melucci's initial post either, but read it at the bottom of Tim's reply. I don't recall this happening before, so hope it's just a quirk. Or maybe that's what happened to two previous posts of mine that got no replies? Beth Benoit Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:51 PM, Claudia Stanny csta...@uwf.edu wrote: Nancy, Given your institution's policies, you had no choice but to drop her if she did not show up. I expect she had the same experience in multiple classes if she was out of town for a funeral, which probably adds to her stress but should send her a clear message that this is what happens at this institution. Now if yours was the only class she missed and was dropped from, that raises a new set of questions, doesn't it? If she were out of town, wouldn't she have missed multiple classes? Just asking. . . . I think you were most kind and generous to offer to reinstate her. But I know how rigid the rules about attendance can be at two-year institutions. I learned recently that in Florida, students who miss more than a certain number of classes must be withdrawn by the instructor, even if the
Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
I use the same technique as Raechel. My final is a cumulative final based on the information of the entire course. If a student is satisfied with their grade based on the 4 tests given during the semester, they can skip the final. If they want to try to improve their grade, the final will replace the lowest grade they earned during the semester. It has relieved a lot of headaches and pleas for mercy from the students in the classes I teach. - Original Message - From: Raechel Soicher raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu Sent: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 18:48:17 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent I just allow my students to drop a test grade. That way I don't have to decide if an excuse is legitimate or not. I give four exams, counting the final, and the end result is usually that the good students don't have to take the final exam (and can leave for home earlier, which they appreciate). It's worked very well for me. Raechel On Sep 5, 2014, at 4:11 PM, Helweg-Larsen, Marie helw...@dickinson.edu wrote: I teach at a small liberal arts college and although I’m sure students have lied to me in the past I do not experience these situations very often. If students have a legitimate reason to not take an exam (usually illness) I simple arrange for them to take it within a week. So my students would not gain anything by making a more elaborate (untrue) excuse. I find it easier to assume that the student is telling the truth.Of course it is against our community disciplinary code to lie to a professor and on a small campus it is easy to be found out (I might see them in town or on campus at night when they were supposed to be at a funeral in another state).Marie Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Professor l Department of PsychologyChair, Health Studies Certificate ProgramOffice hours Fall 2014: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:30-11:30Kaufman 168 l Dickinson CollegePhone 717.245.1562 l Fax 717.245.1971http://users.dickinson.edu/~helwegm/index.html From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 7:35 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent And let us not forget Mike Adams' classic: The dead grandmother/exam syndrome and the potential downfall of American society. http://www.math.toronto.edu/mpugh/DeadGrandmother.pdf -Christopher D. GreenDepartment of PsychologyYork UniversityToronto, ON M6C 1G4Canada chri...@yorku.ca On Sep 3, 2014, at 4:39 PM, Jeffry Ricker jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu wrote: Hi all, I have required proof of the death of a family member for a long time now. I do this because, years ago, a student told me that he had missed a test in my class because his grandmother had died; and then several weeks later, in another instructor's class, he missed a test because (he told the instructor) that grandmother died! Apparently, she rose from the dead after the first funeral, only to die a short time later. The poor lady! Caron, Whitbourne, Halgin (1992) looked at fraudulent versus legitimate excuse-making, and found no difference in the frequency of these among college students. One difference they did find, however, is the greater number of fraudulent excuses claiming that there was a family emergency (p. 91). On the other hand, legitimate excuses were more likely than fraudulent ones to involve the death of a grandparent. Go figure. I seem to remember another paper, mentioned on TIPS a long time ago, showing that grandparents are more likely to die just before test days. Is this a false memory? Best,Jeff ReferenceCaron, M. D., Whitbourne, S. K., Halgin, R. P. (1992). Fraudulent excuse making among college students. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 90-93 On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 5:49 AM, Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com wrote: Claudia and others,I didn't receive Nancy Melucci's initial post either, but read it at the bottom of Tim's reply. I don't recall this happening before, so hope it's just a quirk. Or maybe that's what happened to two previous posts of mine that got no replies?Beth BenoitPlymouth State UniversityNew Hampshire On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:51 PM, Claudia Stanny csta...@uwf.edu wrote: Nancy, Given your institution's policies, you had no choice but to drop her if she did not show up. I expect she had the same experience in multiple classes if she was out of town for a funeral, which probably adds to her stress but should send her a clear message that this is what happens at this institution. Now if yours was the only class she missed and was dropped from, that raises a new set of questions, doesn't it? If she were out of town, wouldn't she have missed multiple classes? Just asking. . . . I think you were most kind and generous to offer to reinstate her. But I know how rigid the rules about
Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
So do you require that students take all four tests before they can drop one? THat's a good solution to my previous dilemma. Beth Benoit Plymouth State University Plymouth NH On Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 7:08 PM, Dr. Bob Wildblood drb...@rcn.com wrote: I use the same technique as Raechel. My final is a cumulative final based on the information of the entire course. If a student is satisfied with their grade based on the 4 tests given during the semester, they can skip the final. If they want to try to improve their grade, the final will replace the lowest grade they earned during the semester. It has relieved a lot of headaches and pleas for mercy from the students in the classes I teach. - Original Message - From: Raechel Soicher raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu Sent: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 18:48:17 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent I just allow my students to drop a test grade. That way I don't have to decide if an excuse is legitimate or not. I give four exams, counting the final, and the end result is usually that the good students don't have to take the final exam (and can leave for home earlier, which they appreciate). It's worked very well for me. Raechel On Sep 5, 2014, at 4:11 PM, Helweg-Larsen, Marie helw...@dickinson.edu wrote: I teach at a small liberal arts college and although I’m sure students have lied to me in the past I do not experience these situations very often. If students have a legitimate reason to not take an exam (usually illness) I simple arrange for them to take it within a week. So my students would not gain anything by making a more elaborate (untrue) excuse. I find it easier to assume that the student is telling the truth. Of course it is against our community disciplinary code to lie to a professor and on a small campus it is easy to be found out (I might see them in town or on campus at night when they were supposed to be at a funeral in another state). Marie *Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D.* Professor l Department of Psychology Chair, Health Studies Certificate Program Office hours Fall 2014: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:30-11:30 Kaufman 168 l Dickinson College Phone 717.245.1562 l Fax 717.245.1971 http://users.dickinson.edu/~helwegm/index.html *From:* Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca chri...@yorku.ca] *Sent:* Wednesday, September 03, 2014 7:35 PM *To:* Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) *Subject:* Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent And let us not forget Mike Adams' classic: The dead grandmother/exam syndrome and the potential downfall of American society. http://www.math.toronto.edu/mpugh/DeadGrandmother.pdf - Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 Canada chri...@yorku.ca On Sep 3, 2014, at 4:39 PM, Jeffry Ricker jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu wrote: Hi all, I have required proof of the death of a family member for a long time now. I do this because, years ago, a student told me that he had missed a test in my class because his grandmother had died; and then several weeks later, in another instructor's class, he missed a test because (he told the instructor) that grandmother died! Apparently, she rose from the dead after the first funeral, only to die a short time later. The poor lady! Caron, Whitbourne, Halgin (1992) looked at fraudulent versus legitimate excuse-making, and found no difference in the frequency of these among college students. One difference they did find, however, is the greater number of fraudulent excuses claiming that there was a family emergency (p. 91). On the other hand, legitimate excuses were more likely than fraudulent ones to involve the death of a grandparent. Go figure. I seem to remember another paper, mentioned on TIPS a long time ago, showing that grandparents are more likely to die just before test days. Is this a false memory? Best, Jeff Reference Caron, M. D., Whitbourne, S. K., Halgin, R. P. (1992). Fraudulent excuse making among college students. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 90-93 On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 5:49 AM, Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.com wrote: Claudia and others, I didn't receive Nancy Melucci's initial post either, but read it at the bottom of Tim's reply. I don't recall this happening before, so hope it's just a quirk. Or maybe that's what happened to two previous posts of mine that got no replies? Beth Benoit Plymouth State University New Hampshire On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:51 PM, Claudia Stanny csta...@uwf.edu wrote: Nancy, Given your institution's policies, you had no choice but to drop her if she did not show up. I expect she had the same experience in multiple classes if she was out of town for a funeral, which probably adds
Re: [tips] Intro textbooks
I do every 2 years. Every 2 years we switch intro books. I have chaired this committee for many a year and we have barely ever used the same books twice. Because I have looked at so many for so long, I am way more familiar with intro to psych books than I dare say most. I have complained about this for ages - to book reps, executives in book companies during focus groups, review of intro books, etc. Do other sciences do this? I just recently joked about this with a coworker - I have older copies of psych text (including one by woodworth) and the topics really haven't changed that much. Deb Deborah Briihl Dept of psych and counseling Valdosta state university dbri...@valdosta.edu ,Sent from my iPad On Sep 5, 2014, at 1:41 PM, Annette Taylor tay...@sandiego.edu wrote: Many questions have arisen recently on the other teaching list about intro textbooks. I have not recommended any to anyone because I am sort of floundering with my own musings on this topic of what is going on in the intro textbook domain. I remember my intro textbook I used in college in 1969 (gasp!) and I still have my high school text book from around 1967... VERY MUCH of what was in those text books is what is in modern textbooks--and not a whole lot more beyond the 1970's/1980's in terms of how psychologists THINK :( I am beginning to bothered by the notion that much of what we are teaching in intro seems to me to be a history of the overview of the field of psychology rather than a brief overview and into the current state of affairs. In addition I think that history is a bit revisionist. I mean was Freud EVER a central figure for PSYCHOLOGISTS? Not psychiatrists or clinicians--and my impression is that even at that time experimental psychology was a much larger field than clinical. Yet the way most intro psych texts portray this it seems that clinical psychology and Freud and psychoanalysis DOMINATED the 1930's-1950's. See the developmental and personality and therapy chapters! But those texts from the late 60's were completely focused on the current state of affairs of their time. It's very sad for me to think that most chapters on developmental, in intro have massive amounts of memorizable factoids on Piaget, Erikson, Freud, but little if nothing on important later theorists such as Bronfenbrenner and other modern developmental researchers who are doing good, quality work. The old stuff can now be nicely compartmentalized for easy memorization of facts but I'm not sure it teaches students how to think about the field. Same for Personality. That has to be the worst offender in modern intro textbooks with very little about the newest work that is being done--and admittedly this is an area with less newer work than some other areas. Even cognitive, my area, is better than most but still has little to nothing on neural network explanations of cognitive phenomena. The focus still seems to be on c. 1970's information processing. I wonder if anyone on this list has been thinking about this. Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph. D. Professor, Psychological Sciences University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110-2492 tay...@sandiego.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: dbri...@valdosta.edu. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13162.50de294b9d4987a3c89b4a5cc4bdea62n=Tl=tipso=38219 or send a blank email to leave-38219-13162.50de294b9d4987a3c89b4a5cc4bde...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=38231 or send a blank email to leave-38231-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
RE: [tips] scheduling makeup exams
Hi Beth, Itried to have make-up exams after the final, but then I had different missing different exams...it was a mess. I have dropped trying to decide who has a good excuse or not...I have 6 assignment per semester but only the highest 5 count. The final cumulative exam is optional. There are 3 Unit exams plus the optional final. The highest 3 of the of the four exams. Your grandmother dies, sorry, you can take the optional final exam. You thought the exam was on Thursday, sorry, you can take the optional cumulative final exam. No headaches...much simpler. Have a nice weekend! jim Jim Matiya Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around...Leo Buscaglia From: beth.ben...@gmail.com Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2014 16:58:33 -0400 Subject: [tips] scheduling makeup exams To: tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu There has been some interesting discussion about deceased grandparents, missing tests and how makeups should/should not be handled. We've discussed makeup tests in the past on TIPS, but it's been a while and we do seem to have some new people. When it was previously discussed I offered something I picked up at an APA poster session some years ago. The poster discussed a paper that was done about how best to handle makeup tests, and the conclusion of the author was that it worked well for both students and instructors to give all makeup tests - regardless of reason - on the day of the final exam. So that's what I've been doing and I don't have to waste any time weeding through whether or not a students reasons for missing are valid. (Sadly, and with much embarrassment, I have lost the name of the presenter so can't give credit.) Here's how I go about it: I have the student take the final exam (my university typically allows 2 1/2 hours, which is much, much more than is ever needed for my final exams), and after the student has completed the exam, I give him/her a sheet with questions (different from the original test which was missed) for each test that was given. I usually have about ten essay questions for each test. The student then answers questions for the test(s) missed. My experience has been that the makeup tests tend to follow about the same grade pattern the student has had, so there doesn't seem to be any particular advantage or disadvantage to doing it this way. It also saves me the time it takes to schedule and supervise a separate time for a makeup test after every test. Incidentally, I continue to see some kind of this might be phishing or something like that or my posts, as well as others who use gmail. I haven't figured out how to get around it, and hope that I haven't lost too much by people who are leery of opening an email from me. I'm toying with the idea of removing my TIPS gmail address and using my school email address. Perhaps that will solve the problem. Any other advice? (I love my gmail and it's faster than my school address.) Beth BenoitPlymouth State UniversityPlymouth NH --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: jmat...@hotmail.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13283.28aec02f231f4c4baa9a4a58ae139710n=Tl=tipso=38226 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-38226-13283.28aec02f231f4c4baa9a4a58ae139...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=38233 or send a blank email to leave-38233-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
On 9/5/2014 6:51 PM, Beth Benoit wrote: I tried that for a couple of semesters but found that if students were satisfied with their first three tests, they SKIPPED the final fourth of the class, skipped the fourth test and then the final. How did you get around that? Beth Benoit Plymouth State University Plymouth NH Typically I do 4 regular exams and the 5th final exam is a make-up/comprehensive exam. The score on that exam substitutes for a missed exam or may be used as a substitute for an earlier exam. Ken --- Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. steel...@appstate.edu Professor Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu Appalachian State University Boone, NC 28608 USA --- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=38234 or send a blank email to leave-38234-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
RE: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
Dear Tipsters, What has happened to the traditional cumulative final where students have an opportunity to demonstrate (1) learning of things that they had not understood and, most importantly, (2) to show that they can integrate material and see connections that may not have been apparent earlier? By the way, this kind of exam would be in essay and short-answer format. Sincerely, Stuart __ “Recti Cultus Pectora Roborant” Stuart J. McKelvie, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Bishop’s University, 2600 rue College, Sherbrooke (Borough of Lennoxville), QC J1M 1Z7, Canada. (819)822-9600X2402 “Floreat Labore” __ From: Beth Benoit [mailto:beth.ben...@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, September 05, 2014 7:38 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent So do you require that students take all four tests before they can drop one? THat's a good solution to my previous dilemma. Beth Benoit Plymouth State University Plymouth NH On Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 7:08 PM, Dr. Bob Wildblood drb...@rcn.commailto:drb...@rcn.com wrote: I use the same technique as Raechel. My final is a cumulative final based on the information of the entire course. If a student is satisfied with their grade based on the 4 tests given during the semester, they can skip the final. If they want to try to improve their grade, the final will replace the lowest grade they earned during the semester. It has relieved a lot of headaches and pleas for mercy from the students in the classes I teach. - Original Message - From: Raechel Soicher raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edumailto:raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edumailto:tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu Sent: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 18:48:17 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent I just allow my students to drop a test grade. That way I don't have to decide if an excuse is legitimate or not. I give four exams, counting the final, and the end result is usually that the good students don't have to take the final exam (and can leave for home earlier, which they appreciate). It's worked very well for me. Raechel On Sep 5, 2014, at 4:11 PM, Helweg-Larsen, Marie helw...@dickinson.edumailto:helw...@dickinson.edu wrote: I teach at a small liberal arts college and although I’m sure students have lied to me in the past I do not experience these situations very often. If students have a legitimate reason to not take an exam (usually illness) I simple arrange for them to take it within a week. So my students would not gain anything by making a more elaborate (untrue) excuse. I find it easier to assume that the student is telling the truth. Of course it is against our community disciplinary code to lie to a professor and on a small campus it is easy to be found out (I might see them in town or on campus at night when they were supposed to be at a funeral in another state). Marie Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Professor l Department of Psychology Chair, Health Studies Certificate Program Office hours Fall 2014: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:30-11:30 Kaufman 168 l Dickinson College Phone 717.245.1562tel:717.245.1562 l Fax 717.245.1971tel:717.245.1971 http://users.dickinson.edu/~helwegm/index.html From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 7:35 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent And let us not forget Mike Adams' classic: The dead grandmother/exam syndrome and the potential downfall of American society. http://www.math.toronto.edu/mpugh/DeadGrandmother.pdf - Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 Canada chri...@yorku.camailto:chri...@yorku.ca On Sep 3, 2014, at 4:39 PM, Jeffry Ricker jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edumailto:jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu wrote: Hi all, I have required proof of the death of a family member for a long time now. I do this because, years ago, a student told me that he had missed a test in my class because his grandmother had died; and then several weeks later, in another instructor's class, he missed a test because (he told the instructor) that grandmother died! Apparently, she rose from the dead after the first funeral, only to die a short time later. The poor lady! Caron, Whitbourne, Halgin (1992) looked at fraudulent versus legitimate excuse-making, and found no difference in the frequency of these among college students. One difference they did find, however, is the greater number of fraudulent excuses claiming that there was a family emergency (p. 91). On the other hand, legitimate excuses were more likely than fraudulent ones to involve the death of a grandparent. Go figure. I seem to remember another paper, mentioned on TIPS a long
Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
I do it the same way Ken does. Carol On Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 7:35 PM, Ken Steele steel...@appstate.edu wrote: On 9/5/2014 6:51 PM, Beth Benoit wrote: I tried that for a couple of semesters but found that if students were satisfied with their first three tests, they SKIPPED the final fourth of the class, skipped the fourth test and then the final. How did you get around that? Beth Benoit Plymouth State University Plymouth NH Typically I do 4 regular exams and the 5th final exam is a make-up/comprehensive exam. The score on that exam substitutes for a missed exam or may be used as a substitute for an earlier exam. Ken --- Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. steel...@appstate.edu Professor Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu Appalachian State University Boone, NC 28608 USA --- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: devoldercar...@gmail.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=177920. a45340211ac7929163a021623341n=Tl=tipso=38234 or send a blank email to leave-38234-177920.a45340211ac7929163a0216233 4...@fsulist.frostburg.edu -- Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology St. Ambrose University 518 West Locust Street Davenport, Iowa 52803 563-333-6482 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=38236 or send a blank email to leave-38236-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
No, if they are happy with their first three they don't have to take my final. I require class attendance via in-class activity points so that motivates them to still come to class. Never had students stop coming. Raechel N. Soicher, M.A. Assistant Professor, Psychology Santa Fe College 3000 NW 83rd Street Gainesville, FL 32606 Office: A-238 Tele #: (352) 381-7089 Email: raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edumailto:raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edu ~ You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room. ~ Dr. Seuss On Sep 5, 2014, at 7:40 PM, Beth Benoit beth.ben...@gmail.commailto:beth.ben...@gmail.com wrote: So do you require that students take all four tests before they can drop one? THat's a good solution to my previous dilemma. Beth Benoit Plymouth State University Plymouth NH On Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 7:08 PM, Dr. Bob Wildblood drb...@rcn.commailto:drb...@rcn.com wrote: I use the same technique as Raechel. My final is a cumulative final based on the information of the entire course. If a student is satisfied with their grade based on the 4 tests given during the semester, they can skip the final. If they want to try to improve their grade, the final will replace the lowest grade they earned during the semester. It has relieved a lot of headaches and pleas for mercy from the students in the classes I teach. - Original Message - From: Raechel Soicher raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edumailto:raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edu To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) tips@fsulist.frostburg.edumailto:tips@fsulist.frostburg.edu Sent: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 18:48:17 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent I just allow my students to drop a test grade. That way I don't have to decide if an excuse is legitimate or not. I give four exams, counting the final, and the end result is usually that the good students don't have to take the final exam (and can leave for home earlier, which they appreciate). It's worked very well for me. Raechel On Sep 5, 2014, at 4:11 PM, Helweg-Larsen, Marie helw...@dickinson.edumailto:helw...@dickinson.edu wrote: I teach at a small liberal arts college and although I’m sure students have lied to me in the past I do not experience these situations very often. If students have a legitimate reason to not take an exam (usually illness) I simple arrange for them to take it within a week. So my students would not gain anything by making a more elaborate (untrue) excuse. I find it easier to assume that the student is telling the truth. Of course it is against our community disciplinary code to lie to a professor and on a small campus it is easy to be found out (I might see them in town or on campus at night when they were supposed to be at a funeral in another state). Marie Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Professor l Department of Psychology Chair, Health Studies Certificate Program Office hours Fall 2014: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:30-11:30 Kaufman 168 l Dickinson College Phone 717.245.1562tel:717.245.1562 l Fax 717.245.1971tel:717.245.1971 http://users.dickinson.edu/~helwegm/index.html From: Christopher Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2014 7:35 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent And let us not forget Mike Adams' classic: The dead grandmother/exam syndrome and the potential downfall of American society. http://www.math.toronto.edu/mpugh/DeadGrandmother.pdf - Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M6C 1G4 Canada chri...@yorku.camailto:chri...@yorku.ca On Sep 3, 2014, at 4:39 PM, Jeffry Ricker jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edumailto:jeff.ric...@scottsdalecc.edu wrote: Hi all, I have required proof of the death of a family member for a long time now. I do this because, years ago, a student told me that he had missed a test in my class because his grandmother had died; and then several weeks later, in another instructor's class, he missed a test because (he told the instructor) that grandmother died! Apparently, she rose from the dead after the first funeral, only to die a short time later. The poor lady! Caron, Whitbourne, Halgin (1992) looked at fraudulent versus legitimate excuse-making, and found no difference in the frequency of these among college students. One difference they did find, however, is the greater number of fraudulent excuses claiming that there was a family emergency (p. 91). On the other hand, legitimate excuses were more likely than fraudulent ones to involve the death of a grandparent. Go figure. I seem to remember another paper, mentioned on TIPS a long time ago, showing that grandparents are more likely to die just before test days. Is this a false memory? Best, Jeff Reference Caron, M. D., Whitbourne, S. K., Halgin, R. P. (1992). Fraudulent excuse
Re: [tips] The season of the deceased grandparent
***What has happened to the traditional cumulative final where students have an opportunity to demonstrate (1) learning of things that they had not understood and, most importantly, (2) to show that they can integrate material and see connections that may not have been apparent earlier? By the way, this kind of exam would be in essay and short-answer format. Sincerely, Stuart I use assessments other than exams that I feel better demonstrate the aspects you pointed out. I find one of my weaknesses as an instructor is writing exams, so I feel less comfortable using them as a majority of my students' assessment. Raechel N. Soicher, M.A. Assistant Professor, Psychology Santa Fe College 3000 NW 83rd Street Gainesville, FL 32606 Office: A-238 Tele #: (352) 381-7089 Email: raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edumailto:raechel.soic...@sfcollege.edu ~ You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room. ~ Dr. Seuss On Sep 5, 2014, at 9:01 PM, Stuart McKelvie smcke...@ubishops.camailto:smcke...@ubishops.ca wrote: Dear Tipsters, What has happened to the traditional cumulative final where students have an opportunity to demonstrate (1) learning of things that they had not understood and, most importantly, (2) to show that they can integrate material and see connections that may not have been apparent earlier? By the way, this kind of exam would be in essay and short-answer format. Sincerely, Stuart Please note that Florida has a broad public records law, and that all correspondence to or from College employees via email may be subject to disclosure. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5n=Tl=tipso=38239 or send a blank email to leave-38239-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
