Adam - Reading Notes #6

TT

“Open the floor to a discussion on [academic integrity].” (346) When? The obvious answer would seem to be the first day of class, but is a long discussion of academic integrity really the way to set a tone for the semester? I find it too pessimistic.

(350) I had a discussion last week with some grad students who believe that “self-plagiarism” is an oxymoron. I’ve never had to deal with it as a professor, but I’m not sure it would bother me. I would be interested to hear others’ views in class.

“An incomplete record of what transpired is worse than no record at all.” (358) I would not have guessed that. Sounds like a lesson learned from hard experience.

“Do not automatically assign an F in the course.” I agree this is too severe a punishment to make informally. I faced that decision my first semester as a TA.

“Create questions that test skills other than recall.” (364) I will definitely refer to this list in the future.

Practice tests (377) sound like a lot of extra work for the professor, especially since only a fraction of the class can realistically be expected to utilize them.

“Hand out the final exam on the first day of class.” (378) I witnessed this once, and the professor then had an impossible task encouraging students to attend class, since they already had the test questions to memorize.

“Give students opportunities to explain their responses.” (381) From my experience, the “good” students do this regardless. I would rather not make it official, as then I would feel obligated to grade bad explanations negatively.

 “Let students ‘buy’ information during the exam.” (381) Now that might be the most novel concept I’ve read from this book so far. That is quite an idea. What happens if the students want a refund? All sales are final?

“Research shows that crib sheets… do not significantly facilitate learning or enhance exam performance.” (382) Thank you! I’ve been protesting this practice in the CS department for two years.

“Double the weight of tests…” (385) This advice is located in a chapter titled, “Allaying Students’ Anxieties About Tests.” Seriously?

Dropping the lowest test score seems very popular.

“Guard against overlapping items.” (396) I’ve experimented with doing this intentionally, and rarely had students catch on.

“Don’t give students a choice of questions to answer.” Do you suppose the cited research would affect the CS department in time to avert this semester’s comprehensive exam on Nov. 17^th? They’ve evaluated graduate students for PhD candidacy using this format for years.

We should definitely discuss grade inflation in class. (413) Is it something an individual teacher can affect, or is it harmful to grade differently from the rest of the department?

“Decide how to handle effort. Experts recommend that instructors clarify this issue at the beginning of the term.” (428) That’s very weak advice. I was hoping for some research to defend or refute the inclusion of effort in grades.

OC

“The question I am not considering in much detail here is why students cheat… because mostly it doesn’t matter.” (201) I probably don’t disagree, but it’s an interesting stance to take. Might be worth discussing in class.

“In cases where you don’t have incontrovertible evidence, question rather than accuse.” (209) This is good advice, but might still ruin your relationship with a student if your suspicions are wrong.