Re: Scientific method was physical pendulums/ an opportunity

[Leigh Palmer <palmer@SFU.CA>]

At 6:10 AM -0700 9/30/99, Joel Rauber wrote:
> Leigh wrote in part:
>
> > I have a real tactical problem here. My exam on Friday will be
> > held in a room with 335 seats. I have 304 students still left
> > in the course! I couldn't possibly allow them to use their
> > calculators; I would be unable to enforce a ban on programmable
> > calculators with text and formula storage capability. As it is
> > my TAs and I will have to get very glowery to reduce wandering
> > eyes.
> >
> > Leigh
>
> Leigh would you share a few thoughts about not allowing calculators on
> tests.  Have you been doing it long? Does it work well? What sort of student
> resistance do you have? What's your reasons for doing it? etc etc.

I just got my exam to the secretaries for duplication by photocopier.
I'll post the exam together with solutions on my server* after I
administer it tomorrow. I had to cut one problem from the exam when
I timed it this morning. I expect a 50% average on my exams. That
gives me maximum dispersion for confidence in assigning final grades,
but it bothers the students because they believe that 50% is a
sacred pass level.

> I have been toying with this idea for a while now, but haven't had the guts
> to implement it such a policy.  I worry more and more about "programmable
> calculators with text and formula storage capability" as well; and like you
> wouldn't like to enforce forbidding particular types of calculator.  One
> might add that some calculators now-days can transmit to other calculators
> information; and I assume this capability will get more so.

I'm aware of all those problems. When I returned to Simon Fraser
from my eight months at the Cavendish Laboratory I suggested to my
colleagues that we adopt the Cambridge solution to this problem.
The sciences there all prescribe a single type of calculator which
is acceptable in examinations, and they sell them at various
university facilities. A suitable calculator could certainly be
had for less than US$10, and given that it would do for physics
and chemistry courses (and perhaps engineering, too) that is a
negligible burden to place on students who pay an order of
magnitude greater price for a textbook. The calculators could be
painted some distinctive color before sale if desired, and any
student caught with a forged calculator could be disciplined.

Unfortunately my colleagues, most of whom don't ever have to teach
the factory courses, couldn't be convinced that what I proposed
was worth doing, and so the idea (which got clear to the Faculty
of Sciences Curriculum Committee) never saw implementation.

> To date I haven't worried too much as most of my students can't operate the
> sophisticated features of their calculators; but this may change.  One
> thought I had, but not supported by my colleagues, would be for the
> department to provide cheap calculators for test time.  Much like I provide
> rulers for ray tracing on optics section tests in my introductory course.

I think the students need to have the same calculator full time.
I use an hp-15C, a very powerful programmable, but I never program
it any more; it's always easier to use my Mac instead. I believe
the powerful hand held calculator has passed its period of utility
now that there are such things as iBooks around. (No, I don't have
one.)

Leigh

* http://beaufort.sfu.ca/faculty1/palmer/pub_html/firstexam.pdf