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[Phys-L] What students will do. (was: Physics Solutions Manual)



Having done some (very minor) survey work* on student habits, especially
time spent using cell-phones, email, instant messaging, computer games,
DVDs, etc., but also listening closely to students talking amongst
themselves in labs, the unfortunate situation is this:

Outside of class, most students will ONLY do what you tell them to do and
will only continue to do that much IF you reward/punish them--through
grades--for doing so. Don't expect students to do problems if you don't
assign them and if you don't grade them. Don't expect them to read the book
to fill in the blanks from your lecture. Don't expect them to read over and
think about their notes unless you quiz them regularly--and even then they
probably won't.

One of my complaints about much of the 'new pedagogy' that is out there is
that it largely pulls into the classroom, during the limited class time,
those activities that we once expected students to do outside the classroom.
While some might argue that this is just part of the reality of today's
student, others might argue that we (like the rest of society) are simply
removing personal responsibility from the list of attributes of today's
young adults.

*A yearly project I do that has students keep a diary of the 'modern'
technology they use and encounter during one 24 hour period and then comment
on their dependency upon this technology has evolved into a pretty good
barometer for what's going on. For example: I've seen, in the space of
only about 3 years, cell-phones go from nifty but rare new tech to ABSOLUTE
necessities of life. The cells also are taking up a not insignificant
amount of time each day as my students call home daily (these are all
women)--sometimes more than once--call numerous friends and other family
members constantly. They then get online to chat with others, again for a
significant amount of time. They rent DVDs regularly, still catch the
occasional TV show, and then complain about how stressed they are because of
all the class work they have to do.*


----- Original Message -----
From: "Rauber, Joel" <Joel.Rauber@SDSTATE.EDU>
To: <PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 1:02 PM
Subject: Re: Physics Solutions Manual


Dan C wrote in part:

| If you don't assign homework from the textbook, do students
| benefit enough from having the textbook to make it worth the expense?
|
| Is learning how to read a physics textbook an important
| skill, or can the reading skill be achieved in other, less
| expensive, ways?
|
| Is having the information bound in a textbook a sufficient
| reason for spending >$100, or do class notes combined with
| resources on the web provide the same benefit at much lower cost?
|
| I don't know the answers, but they seem like important
| questions to ask.


Good questions, I think its worth the expense, to the extent that any of
these books are worth the expense.

But to turn the question around, if the only value of the text is that
that is where the HW problems are written down; is the text worth it?

Why not just have students purchase a book of problems that you make
assignments from?

To be honest, I did have a struggling student last semester who came
into my office about mid-way through the semester and asked me if I
thought it would be a good idea if she started reading the text! I must
admit that I was a bit shocked by the question, though perhaps I
shouldn't have been. I constantly refer in class to sections in the
text where material is coming from and that they should be concurrently
reading. Specific sections are listed for each class in my
syllabus-schedules, etc.

I strongly encouraged her to be reading the text as part of her studying
process.

________________________
Joel Rauber
Department of Physics - SDSU

Joel.Rauber@sdstate.edu
605-688-4293
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