- In an effort to "break" the delusion that a piece of paper (the degree)
means success, when I hand back the first exam in my classes, I show the
class the distribution of scores (in descending order) and tell them that
the top three students in the class would get interviews... the rest would
get rejection letters. For some, this simple statement changes the pervasive
attitude that "C"s and "B"s are "good enough"
- On a more "academic" level, this semester I obtained the CAIB (i.e.,
Columbia Accident Investigation Board) pdf report and showed the class
the table of NASA annual budgets over the last 20 or so years. The table
provides raw and adjusted-for-inflation values. This adjustment is a relatively
simple mathematical procedure that "blows away" many students. But I try
to demonstrate that without this adjustment, direct annual comparisons
are meaningless. The point is, simple math skills are necessary for professional
success. Some of the students start to see the light; some don't.
I guess my point is that I think we can do a better job educating students about the importance of skills rather than just professing it (which I have found produces a response much like how they respond to their parents' proclamations... not to favorably). I try to explicitly demonstrate the necessity for basic skills every week. Of course, I have the luxury of teaching statistics and experimental design... both of which lend themselves to this type of emphasis. It becomes a bit more difficult in my "Psychology & the Visual Arts" course ;-)
I think this issue is somewhat related to the problem that provoked the Kelly Ambervillesque tirade against psychology we recently experienced. If one thinks a degree (of any kind) will ensure success rather than a set of skills, disappointment is almost inevitable.
I guess I have to get back to grading papers :-(
Peace,
-S
Miguel Roig wrote:
At 12:09 AM 10/23/2003 -0500, you wrote:It has been a couple of years since I've taught an undergraduate research
methods class. I've just finished grading the first drafts of some
proposals. Either I was blind before, or there has been a sea change in
undergraduate writing.
We've had threads before about 'students getting worse' and those discussion have sometimes led me to question the accuracy of faculty impressions of the academic readiness of students. However, annual 'report cards' of our nation's schools have not been favorable for years and verify our perceptions. In fact, a just-published report by the Manhattan Institute (http://www.manhattan-institute.org/ewp_03.pdf) paints a pretty grim picture of public high school education. For example, consider the following statistic revealed by the Manhattan report: "Only 70% of all students in public high schools graduate, and only 32% of all students leave high school qualified to attend four-year colleges." I don't know what the exact figures are, but I imagine that the 32% probably translates to hundreds of thousands of students. One also wonders how much better some private high schools really are.I am sure the internet contributes to the situation, but I strongly suspect that the real problem lies with a general anti-intellectual attitude in our society: We do not genuinely value learning, but we certainly value financial success. The fact that so many colleges and universities promote themselves primarily as providers of marketable skills reflects this value system. What I don't understand is why students don't recognize that part of the key to financial success is the acquisition of solid reading and writing skills. I wonder whether one reason for this failure is that many folks succeed in life without these basic skills. Can that be right?
Miguel
___________________________________________________________________________
Miguel Roig, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Notre Dame Division of St. John's College
St. John's University
300 Howard Avenue
Staten Island, New York 10301
Voice: (718) 390-4513
Fax: (718) 390-4347
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~roigm
--Visit my instructional resource on plagiarism and ethical writing: http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~roigm/plagiarism/
___________________________________________________________________________
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Steven M. Specht, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Utica College
Utica, NY 13502
(315) 792-3171
"unanswered questions are less dangerous than unquestioned answers"
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