Or both. On the other hand, I don't recall syllabi from most of my undergraduate courses being so specific; yet I knew I was expected to do work (because of what was instilled in me by high school teachers AND MY PARENTS).
On Feb 18, 2009, at 10:40 AM, Mike Palij wrote: > On Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:36:16 -0800, Christopher D. Green wrote: >> According to a UC Irvine report covered by the NYT today, about one >> third of students expect B's just for attending lectures, and 40 >> percent >> believe they earn B's by doing required reading. >> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.html?_r=2 >> >> If I had only known... > > There are some things that are unclear here. Although the article > seems to suggest these expectations are based on student's experiences > in K-12, I have to wonder what do the syllabi for courses they take > say about how the final course grade is calculated. Consider, if the > final course grade is based on a 1-100 point scale with "thresholds" > for different letter grades, then how can such expectations be > maintained > if the student is told this is how the final course grade is > constituted: > > 10% - Attendance, participation, and homework > 20% - Exam #1 > 20% - Exam #2 > 30% - Final Exam (cumulative) > 20% - Papers: 2 Papers (about 10 pages each; 10% each) > > If one lays out the components of the final grade, I know > that a student may still hold unrealistic beliefs ("but I always > showed up for class, how could I fail?") but the instructor can > point out how and why the beliefs are unrealistic ("attendance > at best counts less than 10% of the final course grade"). > > So, are students' expectations unrealistic because they are > "delusional" or carrying over beliefs from high school or is it due > to the lack of specificity that some professors have in identifying > how a course grade is determined (i.e., the point contribution of > specific activities)? > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [email protected] > > > > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([email protected]) > > ======================================================== Steven M. Specht, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chair, Department of Psychology Utica College Utica, NY 13502 (315) 792-3171 "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King Jr. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
