08:35 AM 09/21/2000 -0400, Gary Peterson wrote:
Not much to add to responses to Mike's post or Linda's, but we do
have a "writing center" here that is of help in Intro and other classes when
they do written work (Our Gen Psych has about 60 students in each
section).<snip>
I also hate curving exams for the same reasons that others have stated, but
I believe that many students fail the first exam because they are being
simply cognitively efficient (as opposed to lazy:-). Think of it this way.
They have limited resources (time) and will use those resources where they
are most needed. In many classes today in both high school and college, it
is enough to attend most of the classes, move your eyes over the reading
material, and offer you opinion, in order to pass the class. So from a
students persepective, why should I put in huge amounts of time carefully
studying and learning material when odds are that this won't be necessary.
In many classes, even if you do fail you can complain to the teacher and
the exam is curved.
So for many of them, failing a first exam tells them that they now must
allocate some of those resources away from other activities such as surfing
the web and socializing with friends to study--at least in this particular
class. Some do have very poor comprehension skills-but more just don't use
them. I've dealt with this the same way as many others have. I give review
sessions, make handouts about how to study, do lots of hand-on activities,
have readings quizzes they complete before they come to class, talk about
memory and comprehension in class all the time, and send them to special
programs. The ones who need it most often don't take advantage of any of
this, but some do, and that makes the extra time worthwhile. In my intro
level classes, I always make the first exam worth less (10% or less) than
others and make sure it is fair but relatively challenging. I prepare
myself for that feeling you get when you grade the exams and feel like a
complete failure because many don't do well! Then I go into class and tell
them they now need to learn the other 40% or 50% of the material!
Grades do go up and some say that they appreciate having to work and being
held accountable.
Hang in there-Dawn
