Hi I'm not sure whether this addresses the interesting question or not, but here is my experience with an Honours data analysis class (presumably motivated students?). To help them learn the material, I give simulations (using each students' id number as part of seed so every student has unique data for the same study) as assignments. This is INVALUABLE in helping them to understand the material ... based on reports from students as well as my own impressions (e.g., decrease in students leaving the tests early or in tears). I give modest marks for the individual assignments (5-6% of final mark), although total does accumulate. One year I decided to make the assignments voluntary (I can't remember why although I am now being taken to task for using too many TA hours for the course, and this might have been the case earlier as well ... much of TA time is spent marking assignments). Guess what? Completion of assignments dropped off precipitously! My conclusion, even strong, well-motivated students have difficulty working hard when there is NO direct consequence with respect to grades. I can only imagine what the situation would be for weaker, less motivated students.
Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [email protected] >>> "Christopher D. Green" <[email protected]> 08-Feb-09 12:31:08 AM >>> It is too bad that this (now former) professor's politics obscures the critical educational question he poses: Would students work harder on their courses if there were no grades (i.e., if knowledge was the ONLY thing they could hope to take away from a course)? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090206.wprof06/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview It sounds to me like an empirical question. My prediction is that, initially, some would work more, some less, and some the same but that, after a (not very long) while, most would realize that there is not much point in investing the time to attend dozens of hours of lectures unless you actually learn something from them (especially if there is no grade forthcoming to serve as a proxy for what you learned). On the other hand, attending a series of lectures, even if you do not intend to become an expert in the topic, can be an interesting experience, so perhaps many students would continue to attend but not work hard. Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [email protected] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
