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Re: [Phys-l] Cramster et al.




Excellent! I totally agree with all of this. Why collect/grade homework?
Learn for the sake of learning. A little idealistic, I suppose.

At our institution, we've been struggling with something similar -
especially at the Freshman level. I'm convinced you can't just do this
with students conditioned by a typical high school experience without
causing them some SERIOUS whiplash.

I think high schools face very different populations and therefore need
very different motivational systems than colleges do. Current high school
motivation/grading systems do significant disservice to college-bound
students, but they're probably necessary, given the broad population.

The question I try to keep always in front of me is: "How do I get
students to make the transition from high school, where homework was
corrected/graded/motivated and makeups and redemptions were
allowed/encouraged to the point where a B is the worst grade given - to a
state where upper division professors that require students to do homework
under their own initiative or earn an F?"

We've made a concious effort with our majors - where we have some
continuity - to provide a "ramp" rather than a "step function." This
isn't perfect, but it seems to help some with the attrition issue.
Talking with students about the shift helps too.

Mike Meyer
Lecturer/Lab Coordinator
MTU Physics Dept.
mrmeyer@mtu.edu