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On Tue, 21 Oct 1997, crawley wrote:

> On Mon, 20 Oct 1997, Robert Bacal wrote:
>
> > Perhaps I have a more optimistic view of students, then.
>
> This isn't a matter of optimism or pessimism its a matter of pragmatics
> and realism. Students, as a rule, do what they need to do to get the
> results they think they deserve. Its a very simple equation which casts
> no aspersions either good or bad upon the students themselves.

So, this would be the word problem minimum effort gains maximum reward?

I am no economist but I would sure like to see a model of this state. ;]

If preparation for the work place is the desired end-state, this approach
seems flawed. First, it assumes that students know what the teacher is
thinking while making up the test or will be thinking while they are
grading it. Second, I believe that the difficulty of the tests should
increase as the semester progresses as an application of the principles of
the learning curve. I cannot remember the last time I had a class with a
comprehensive final exam, but it might be time to re-institute that old
warhorse.

I always used the analogy of the bow-shooting at a target to illustrate
why students fail to gain their desired results. If you aim your arrow at
the center of the bulls-eye and release there is no chance of hitting the
center ring because gravity will draw the arrow down.


______________________
Great Optimism,

Dutch Driver
Abilene, TX
Hm. Telephone: 915.698.7217
mailto:ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu

I have no quarrel with your comments, but is your name really "Dutch
Driver"? If not, what is it? If your surname is Driver, what is your
given name?
(I am concerned as I think that the list server should not allow
pseudonyms . . .")
If I misunderstand your name, let it pass.
Thanks. Leon

Dutch Driver <ddriver@CS1.MCM.EDU> wrote:

>I cannot remember the last time I had a class with a comprehensive final exam,
>but it might be time to re-institute that old
>warhorse.

What a sad statement. My reaction is that schools have lost the will to
challenge the student, that feel-good grades and getting students out the door
with a diploma are more important than honestly assessing a student's knowledge
and ability to apply that knowledge. Back in my salad days, I had to pass three
take home exams, two and one half days of written exams, the first half day of
which was the Graduate Record Advanced Mathematics test, and an oral exam to get
my AB. That was comprehensive!

>I always used the analogy of the bow-shooting at a target to illustrate
>why students fail to gain their desired results. If you aim your arrow at
>the center of the bulls-eye and release there is no chance of hitting the
>center ring because gravity will draw the arrow down.

If you understand how the bow and its aiming system works, and set up the sight
properly, you in fact do aim at the center of the bull's-eye. Always be careful
not to over constrain a problem.

Here is a classic puzzle:

If you place 9 dots on a piece of paper in the pattern below, what is the
minimum number of straight lines needed to pass through each dot, without
removing the pencil, or pen, from the paper?


* * *


* * *


* * *


Some will answer 5 if they assume that you cannot go outside the boundary of the
square. Some will answer 4 if they do not constrain themselves to staying
within the bounary. Others will correctly answer with a number smaller than 4.

I guess its all a matter of one's perspective.


Don Kleist