Louis_Schmier wrote:
>Why don't you make your classes interesting and purposeful enough that the
>students want to come rather than merely luring them...
>
If you can get students into class--no matter whether it is through
attendance sheets, frequent quizzes, or great entertainment--the result
is the same. Their presence sets up the opportunity for them to learn
some of the course content. If they are elsewhere doing other
activities, they have no chance of learning anything about your course
topic. So I would argue from an educator's perspective that getting
them into class is highly important and you should do whatever works to
achieve high attendance. And I feel certain that some of my own
students have days when my 8 in the morning class would be skipped were
it not for the enrollment sheet that I have everyone sign, plus the
knowledge that I consider class discussion part of the course
requirement (which obviously requires their physical presence).
As for Louis' notion that the class should be sufficiently interesting
to motivate students to attend without other inducements, this sets up a
requirement (to be interesting and motivating) that only some of us can
achieve--even with special effort and training. Also, Louis seems to be
confusing student interest and satisfaction with student performance and
learning. The former is highly desirable; the latter is imperative in
an educational setting. These two sets of criteria are different
determinants and are usually only loosely correlated. (Some will note
the parallel with I/O psyc's two main dependent variables here.)
--Dave
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___________________________________________________________________
David E. Campbell, Ph.D. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Psychology Phone: 707-826-3721
Humboldt State University FAX: 707-826-4993
Arcata, CA 95521-8299 www.humboldt.edu/~campbell/psyc.htm
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