Ruth said (in part):
> The trouble with using methods like previous grades ...
Certainly it is desirable to spread more capable students around, but as
many pointed out, doing so is fraught with difficulties. Sometime back
someone here suggested the following proxy: ask students if other students
ask them for help with Excel. It isn't perfect, but students think you'll
be doing Excel in the class and not screening for intellectual ability.
I've used it for some semesters and my teams seem reasonably balanced and
I did it in a transparent way.
- Bill
P.S. On learning styles, apparently there is a large literature that
pretty much says that they don't exist. I rather like this video on
this finding by a noted cognitive scientist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk .
--
Bill Goffe
Department of Economics
SUNY Oswego, 416 Mahar Hall
Oswego, NY 13126
315-312-3444(v), 315-312-5444(f)
[log in to unmask]http://cook.rfe.org
