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-----Original Message-----
From: John S. Denker [mailto:jsd@MONMOUTH.COM]
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2001 11:54 AM
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Subject: Re: Fluff for the day
Neat question, I think I have one of my final examquestions, now! Thanks!
IMHO the final exam is _not_ a suitable setting for a
question like this,
where we expect most people to get it wrong --- because there is no
opportunity to follow up. Without follow-up, such a question serves
neither purpose 1 (learning by doing) nor purpose 2 (evaluation) nor
purpose 3 (foundation-laying).
In real life (unlike an exam), if a question doesn't make
sense, you can
usually ask for clarification.
What is the purpose of posing a problem to students? IMHO:
1) The primary purpose is that the students should learn
something by
working he problem.
2) The secondary purpose is that the teacher should learn something
about the students' progress.
3) On rare occasions the purpose is to lay the foundation
for a later
discussion.