Re: Ask Marilyn "geometry test"

[Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>]

"This is so reminiscent of the apocryphal story about the student who
thought outside the box when asked ' Using a barometer, determine the
height of this building.' "

I thought of him also, and realized JD had supplied the word for which I
was searching that described the student's behavior -- smart-alec, and
some of his answers were perverse.

bc who's not certain smart-alec behavior should be praised, even if the
instructor fails to be explicit.  (A minimum degree of socialization is
expected.)

SSHS KPHOX wrote:

> Opps I forgot to sign this.
>
> PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu writes:
> > (b) I would look to see if the alternate method really has some
> > generality to it, or is just a fluke, a memory trick, or right for
> > the wrong reasons.
>
> I believe this is the essential move!
> > (c) It would probably also depend on how the question was worded. If
> > I said, "Use Kepler's laws to ..." I might still accept an alternate
> > solution, but only if it were tied to Kepler's three laws.
>
> This is so reminiscent of the apocryphal story about the student who
> thought outside the box when asked " Using a barometer, determine the
> height of this building." If we ask fuzzy questions then we have to be
> ready for correct answers that were not what we had anticipated.
>
> I hold this for ALL levels of education. It is thinking and conceptual
> development that we must seek.
>
> Ken Fox
> Science Department Coordinator
> IB Physics Teacher
> Smoky Hill High School
> Aurora, CO
> kfox@mail.ccsd.k12.co.us