tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post319224897736102875..comments2024-03-28T17:13:01.117+10:00Comments on Condensed concepts: A mechanism to encourage lecture attendanceRoss H. McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-46162171271094749762011-06-23T06:40:38.846+10:002011-06-23T06:40:38.846+10:00I love it.
I stood in for an absent lecturer thi...I love it. <br /><br />I stood in for an absent lecturer this week. The students didnt know this would be the case. I learnt that 4 out of 17 tend to attend. I was gob-smacked. I run the tutorials for this class and the percentage is comparable. I dont think this would have been true 5 years ago.<br /><br />Germany has only recently changed to a bachelors system. Previously it was a five year diploma and the failure rate for an avg subject was 30% (so ive been told). I was embarrassed how little i knew compared to a good masters student on arriving here as a postdoc, and have worked my ass off to bridge the gap. <br /><br />Worryingly, the failure rate for bachelors here is almost zero, and in 10 years i fear the decree will be as easy as mine was, to the detriment of the students.<br /><br />Fail more! Do it, Ross!Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08582644751812812675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-75294548025108811472011-06-22T23:49:37.112+10:002011-06-22T23:49:37.112+10:00I'm a stickler for attendance, and this idea i...I'm a stickler for attendance, and this idea is titillating to me. <br /><br />I'm not sure if it has been effective but in the research design course I teach, when we begin covering basic stats, I show the class how their attendance correlates with their test score achievement. In my experience it's always been .6 or higher... the scatterplots are very convincing (with the occasional outlier).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-25744537214652425562011-06-22T14:32:28.238+10:002011-06-22T14:32:28.238+10:00I think this mechanism would result in more studen...I think this mechanism would result in more student in the classroom and the exact same number following the lecture as before.<br /><br />I believe you're correct that the students would serve themselves well by engaging you in discussion in the lecture. However undergraduate physics courses can be very intimidating. You might serve them better by being the one to start those discussions.<br /><br />You reminded me of an interesting lecture by Eric Mazur at Harvard I saw recently on physics education discussing this very topic.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwslBPj8GgITimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03693901538405232295noreply@blogger.com