Karla had a follow up question that I don't think made it to
the list:
Do
you curve both up and down... or just up when necessary? I like the
idea because often I think I've made an easy question, but it doesn't
turn out to be so.
I usually only curve up. If, as could be the case, I have in fact
made an easy test, the students shouldn't be penalized.
Also,
I like the suggestion to ask them why I asked the question. I also
thought that I'd like to ask them what they would need to know to answer
the question and where they would find it in the reading. What do
you think of that?
I think that these are good suggestions. Certainly at the beginning
of the semester, such discussion will be extremely useful in helping the
students learn how to read well. We often think that the students
coming into our courses are either lazy or not well prepared.
Although I can't excuse all students, I do think that much of the initial
problem--as several folks have already mentioned on this list--is that
students just don't know how to deal with this sort of course.
I've begun to think of the first part of my course as a pedagogical tool
to help prepare the students to learn how to do what I want them to do,
and the students get better as the semester goes on.
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Stephen P. Weldon, Ph.D.
History of Science Society Bibliographer
Assistant Professor
Department of History of Science
601 Elm St., Room 622
The University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73019
Personal email: [log in to unmask]
Isis Bibliography: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 405-255-5187
Fax: 405-325-2363
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