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Re: [Phys-l] Response to Mike Edmiston



There is plenty (i.e., way too much) of cheating in college. If your (any
teacher's) old tests are available, then I assume your (their) new tests
are "much different." This keeps student from memorizing
questions/answers. My college physics tests were essentially all math
problems. Physics is so much more than this.

My tests have 10 multiple choice (4 pts each) and 4 math (15 pts each) --
100 points total -- for a 50-min period. I do many peer instruction
(multiple choice) questions for each unit. Plenty of prep for the
students. We also solve numerous math problems. More prep for them. This
is all they need for tests. If they do the work, it usually pays off. The
responsibility is on them. They must take ownership of their learning.

Keeping tests has several benefits. First, I don't have to spend hours
making up new questions/problems. Good conceptual questions take a long
time to create. Second, I note which conceptual questions kids get wrong
each year. This allows me to teach a topic differently/better the next
year to help the students understand. Third, I move "hard" test questions
to the peer instruction sheets, so I am constantly improving my tests.

Still, physics is very difficult for most students.

Forum for Physics Educators <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu> writes:
Hi all-
While I'm generally in agreement, I differ on the subjecty of
pulication of tests. When I was a Freshman at MIT I, in the tradition of
the school, had a junior advisor. The Freshman corses had regular
(weekly, as I recall) tests. My advisor, as was generally the case, had
all of is old tests, with answers. I used these for study materials in
preparing for my own weekly tests. The ald tests were, of course, almost
never repeated, but seeing the flavor, so to speak, of what we would be
faced with was helpful and instructive.
Most faculty, as I recall, maintained a file of their old exams in
the libraryl
Regards,
Jack


On Sat, 7 Feb 2009, Anthony Lapinski wrote:

I agree with all of this. Keep it simple without compromising your
teaching philosophy and goals of the course.

There's much cheating the private schools where I've taught. So much
homework is assigned/collected/graded. Many students do it (or copy it)
the following morning in the common areas. Lots of pressure to do well
and
go to a prestigious university. And faculty inflate grades to avoid
conflicts with parents/students. This is education???

I don't let my students keep their tests as I use/revise them each year.
Kids can see them later to review for the term exam, but they can never
leave my sight. I am the only teacher in my school who does this, and I
don't receive much support. But I will never change. I always stand
behind
my students when they take a quiz/test. There is little/no cheating in
my
classes. I've had to modify what I do over the years. I trust nobody.
Kids
are clever, and we must be smarter. Fairness is very important to me.

Regarding homework, I assign odd math problems (with answers), so they
can
always check their work. We review them the following class day. I
assign/collect conceptual questions, and just give feedback. I record
who
does it in my gradebook (very few), but it has no direct effect on their
grade. Their grade is solely labs, quizzes, tests, a project. This has
made my grading much less time-consuming. Students are ultimately
responsible for their own learning. The quiz/test scores usually reveal
who is doing the work.

With all of this, I still love what I do. Teaching is one of the most
noble/important professions.

Anthony Lapinski
Princeton Day School


Forum for Physics Educators <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu> writes:

I see cheating as a serious problem in my district as well. As a
science
department we have completely stopped giving back tests. It had come
to
our attention that PARENTS were selling their children’s tests to other
parents. I hear of students selling their binders to students who will
be taking the same class the next year for money. The district that I
teach in is an affluent district and a very high-performing district.
There is a lot of pressure put on students to perform without regard in
how they must get there. So how can we as educators combat the
cheating
that we see everyday? I have my own methods, but they are not a
failsafe. I have multiple versions of the homework that I hand out
with
students’ names at the top so that there is no swapping versions (very
much like online homework, but without the cost). I have multiple
versions of quizzes and tests. Yes, this is a lot more work, but it
cuts
down the cheating. Does this completely eliminate it? No, but it makes
it much harder to cheat. Some of my students will tell me “It’s too
much
work to find someone with the same version, it’s easier to do the
homework”. I am sure there is still cheating, because I catch it when
someone copies from a different version. Thankfully, our
administration
is also aware of the cheating problem and backs the teacher almost
every
time.

Lindsay, I agree with you that there needs to be a cultural change.
When
a student cheats in my class, my relationship with that student is
immediately changed and the student sees it along with the rest of the
class. I let them know from day one that I will block them from
National
Honor Society, I will not write them a letter of recommendation for
anything, and they will never earn my trust back. I know that it may
seem harsh and it is hard for me as well, but change isn’t easy. I
don’t
know if what I do truly makes a difference in the long run, but at
least
my students see that there are consequences for their actions and think
twice about doing it in my class.

Dianna Eastep
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_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l



_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l


--
"Trust me. I have a lot of experience at this."
General Custer's unremembered message to his men,
just before leading them into the Little Big Horn Valley


_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l