Thanks Gerry, Your comment speaks to me!
Of all people Sociologists should understand "system" concepts. All the other great ideas about choice, freedom, grading on performance, etc. only work if we do not cater to students who do not come to class and if we are willing to give the grades they earned, both high and low. I find myself agreeing with a "looser" approach to requirements but then find myself doing a lot of extra work or lowering expectations so that students do not need to face the consequences of their choices. John Eby >>> Gerry Grzyb <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 02/03/06 7:54 AM >>> 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]
