Reading over these posts on entitlement and agreeing with them all has encouraged me to give these issues direct 'attention with emphasis' when discussing my courses with my students at the beginning of each semester. I give 7 essay tests as well as a take-home final and do allow for one make up test--sorry you all. But I don't drop the lowest grade, an option which most students appear to be accustomed. Whatever, despite the large number of exams I give, I ALWAYS am asked about opportunities for extra-credit. My ongoing suspicions has been that our students have become accustomed throughout high school to teachers using extra-credit as well as 'trying real hard' as significant contributions to the final grade--a notion supported by you folks.
Therefore, if we wish to impress upon our students that grades are only determined by their performance on course assignments, period, then this method of evaluation will necessitate proper attention a number of times throughout the semester. That is, what we feel should be apparent to our students relative to how we evaluate after we review our syllabus clearly is not. Instead, many students appear to base their assumptions not on our syllabi, per se, but instead (and logically enough) on their own past experiences. So we need to accept this and directly address this possibility and how university/college level courses are (or should be) different from high school courses. Joan [EMAIL PROTECTED] > I ask them why I would give extra work to those not able to show minimum > knowledge on the exams. I urge them to put more effort into studying > effectively. I do provide bonus pts now and then to those whose work is > outstanding, but no extra credit otherwise. Gary > > Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. > Professor, Psychology > Saginaw Valley State University > University Center, MI 48710 > 989-964-4491 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
