As a group, I think the professoriate should focus on clarifying that point
more often. I respond in the way that Chris describes even when I'm noy
particularly puckish, because I think it's good for students to think about
the actual relationship even more. I also add that I really don't know what
they WILL need to know when they are out in the professional world. The exam
should NOT be seen as the "end point" of knowing the information. In my
statistics class, I barely cover the concept of "stem and leaf" distributions
because in my opinion it's better to use either a frequency histogram or
frequency distribution table. I also tell them explicitly that there will be
nothing on the exam about stem and leaf distributions. Of course, they are
"relieved" by that at some level. BUT I further go on to say that the first
professor in graduate school for whom I was a TA used stem and leaf
distributions extensively... so I "had to know" it-- not "for the test", but
for my professional life.
I have found more and more that students "think" they are taking the course
"for me" (i.e., the professor) and I think many professors, in a way,
reinforce that notion. I believe that is one of the contributing factors for
why students typically don't retain information from semester to semester.
I agree with Chris in that we can all take more of an active and informative
role in educating students about the underlying model of what academic
efforts "should" be all about... their preparation as future professionals in
their respective fields.
Cheers,
-S
"Christopher D. Green" wrote:
> michael sylvester wrote:
>
> > is there a rule somewhere that states that a prof
> >must cover all the parts of a chapter before giving
> >a test on that chapter?
> >My philosophy is that once a chapter is assigned
> >students are responsible for knowing it,even though
> >I would not be able to cover it all in class.
> >
> Indeed, when asked this question by students ("Do we have to know the
> parts you didn't cover in lecture?") my standard response has become
> "You are responsible for the material of the course. If I assigned it,
> you might be examined on it (unless I specifically excluded certain
> sections)." I have to say it so often that I should probably simply put
> a statement to this effect on my outline.
>
> When I'm feeling particularly puckish, though, I sometimes say, "You
> don't have to know anything. You paid me thousands of dollars to teach
> it to you. If you don't want to learn it, that's your business."
> Occasionally that clarifies the relationship that actually exists
> between us. :-)
>
> Regards,
> --
> Christopher D. Green
> Department of Psychology
> York University
> Toronto, Ontario, Canada
> M3J 1P3
>
> e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> phone: 416-736-5115 ext. 66164
> fax: 416-736-5814
> http://www.yorku.ca/christo/
> ============================
> .
>
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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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