I thought there was empirical data relative to how students perform in classes that only have a pass-fail approach. I should be able to cite this but recall how it became clear fairly clearly that most students performed at the minimum level to get a pass. Ergo, the brief trial with pass-fail ended but for a few courses.
Joan [email protected] > 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])
