Rob- I agree with you (expressly, I wonder at the choice of books made in the first place but I think Carol was assigned this, in a sense, as she took over a course). But the notion of alternative texts also troubles me. Doesn't this mean that in order to offer a course "fairly" you have to offer the alternate to everyone- in which case how is it "alternative"? Given the issues of assessment, how do you assess "alternative" work unless you planned for that in the first place is to me a bigger concern. Perhaps I live in somewhat of an ideal world, as it were. I've taught for 23 years post PhD and I've never had a student request an "alternative" to a text. I have had them ask for alternative testing procedures (I've suggested it about as often) but I've never had a student question whether an assigned reading was really necessary. (I am willing to bet that some have not wanted to do it or have, in fact, not done it but their grades have reflected that.) Maybe it is topics (though I've taught a lot of social and general psychology using muliple texts/readings rather than the standard textbook approach- a lot of those books were controversial). Tim
________________________________ From: Rob Weisskirch [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2006 10:28 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Subject: Another question to ponder I've read the responses by several people and I can't help but think that we're looking at this through our (dare I say it?) liberal eyes. To me, the issue with asking for an alternative assignment is what is the learning outcome of assigning Dry? Is the intent to give students a contrasting view of the struggles of alcoholism? If so, then there are many, many alternative texts. My guess is that the intent is to provide a perspective from a contemporary author in an engaging format. If a student objects, why not accommodate the student's needs? Dry isn't exactly a classic book. If the focus is on student learning, then can the student learn the same information through a different route? Rob Rob Weisskirch, MSW, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Human Development Department of Liberal Studies, Building 82C 100 Campus Center California State University, Monterey Bay Seaside, CA 93955-8001 (831) 582-5079 [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang= english --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
