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- Sep 16, 2012
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Checking Google, there's about 3,000 students, so this isn't a majority of students who agree, so this isn't likely to pass. That's worth noting.
As far as asking for an alternative to exams, I think that is actually a reasonable request. I think many educators would agree that if there was the time for students to have each student withstand a 30 minute conversation (Read: questioning), that would be a far more reliable indicator of a students knowledge than any exam. That being said, people don't have time of that, especially for large classes sizes (50 students, let alone the 100/200/300 student intro STEM classes). So for the usual reasons, it won't happen. None the less, if I were a student, I would want it. I'd definitely be getting more for my money.
Bare in mind, I think most people think of this like sitting down with some hot cocoa and talking about Game of Thrones with your professor. That's a totally incorrect picture. This system, where you stand in front of a professor while they ask you questions, is the exact same system by which we award PhD's, the highest ranking academic degree. You don't take a test precisely because people take PhD's seriously. You wouldn't be allowed to get that degree because you just wrote a thesis or you just filled out a "really hard" exam that you could study for. It works, it cuts through the BS, and you're very, very responsible for the material.
Well, The Donald would co-sign that message, anyways. =)
And who told you all of this?
All this stupidity is about is that these students want to do this:
instead of this:
... and still pass their classes. But I have a simple solution to this: Ask a group of their prospective employers if they think that this is a good idea and go with their response....
Somehow or other these idiots have managed to convince themselves that participating in a drum circle, chanting and holding signs someone else made is the equivalent of an education. Every time I hear "education is a right" this kind of crap goes through my mind. Education is a responsibility, not a right.
For too many kids in college, being in college seems to be the goal, not getting an education...
And back to the topic, I'm pretty tired of crybullies and their exquisitely delicate sensibilities. Having a "conversation" with your prof cannot substitute for a test that measures "learning outcomes" and blah-blah-blah. And there is no way a prof would have time for such undergrad "conversations" anyway--not when he or she may be teaching three or more classes with 25+ students plus all the professional development and service activities.
1300 out of 3000 signed the petition?! That's amazing.
Alternative exams are not a reasonable request. A college education is supposed to set a kid up to be a functional member of the labor force.
My kids once had a high school science teacher who handed out the answers to quizzes for the students to memorize before they took the test. He was a very popular teacher. I was president of the PTA at the time and had just finished a short term on the school board--I was appointed to finish out the term for another member. So I was quite interested in this professors approach to teaching and asked him about it. His response was that he thought it silly to not let the kids know what it was they were supposed to learn.
I thought about that for a long time. What was wrong with it? I couldn't put my finger on why it bothered me. And finally it came to me. It gave the kids a sense of entitlement to get the grade without working for it. They really didn't have to learn anything. All they had to do was memorize some answers whether or not they had a clue what they memorized meant. (I was already at war with the athletic director who was pressuring teachers to give passing grades to the best players whether they earned them or not.)
Now this was decades ago when modern American liberalism was just beginning to insert itself into the media, science, and academia. But it struck me then as just plain wrong and was very bad for the kids who were going to have to compete with educated kids later on.
I can only imagine how really bad it is now.
1300 out of 3000 signed the petition?! That's amazing.
Alternative exams are not a reasonable request. A college education is supposed to set a kid up to be a functional member of the labor force.
Why, in your opinion, is "interaction" important?
I think that strenuous written objective measurements are essential and coupled with an oral examination later the ideal was to assess a candidate.
Interaction allows for an educator to assess where a person might be strong or weak in or whether someone is actually learning the material or just memorizing it, especially when it comes to concepts. There is only so much space available to write something and no feedback as to whether someone is on the right track or not or whether someone can expand. There is rarely flow to written exams. The questions may all cover the same subject but generally tend to jump around.
Not saying written exams aren't effective only that oral exams would be more effective at measuring actual learning if they were practical to do. They could also help someone prepare for an interview, get them used to having to share their knowledge in a question and answer type situation with someone else.
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