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Re: grades, assessments, etc.



[I thought Larry Wolff's post on Thursday, May 2, was especially
insightful, so today I forwarded it to the 3 dozen physics & astronomy
faculty at Arizona State University. Here is a response from one of them.
- Jane Jackson]

-------------------------
Date: Fri, 03 May 2002 11:44:50 -0700 (MST)
From: Jeff Hester <JHESTER@asu.edu>
Subject: Re: preparing grad physics students for industry
To: Jane Jackson <jane.jackson@asu.edu>

Hi Jane,
An interesting article. While I agree with much of what was said, the
discussion leaves out the importance of a strong knowledge base upon
which to draw. The list of qualifications that are described in the 3M
article is exactly the list of qualifications needed to be a successful
researcher. One of the great successes of graduate education in
physics is the extent to which graduate research develops these
characteristics (up to and including looking for multiple solutions to
a problem) in ways that they could never be developed in a classroom.
However, the student cited on the web page who picked up the chalk,
went to the board, and solved a problem, could never have done so
without a strong formal background upon which to draw.

Graduate education involves both classwork and research, each of which
serve complementary roles in a student's education. Don't get me
wrong. It think there is room for innovation in the graduate
classroom. I am all in favor of asking students to solve problems or
carry out projects that require them to pull a broad base of material
together and search for innovative solutions. But this should not come
at the expense of building a broad, deep, and formal base of knowledge
and techniques.

Cheers,
Jeff
--------------------------

Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics & Astronomy,ASU,Tempe,AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331 <http://modeling.asu.edu>
Wisdom is applying knowledge to human needs.