Re: [Phys-l] not our majors now!

["Josh Gates-fac" <Josh_Gates-fac@nobles.edu>]

>  Don't students who copy solutions rather than engage the
> material on their own do poorly on exams and in class participation (i.e.
> doesn't the problem self-correct)?
> -- 
> regards
> -Krishna
Only if we hold them accountable - BUT, failing students or having a
generally lower grade distribution than is normal brings considerable heat
down on us, and we (myself included) are likely to shy away from such
confrontations.  The problem is especially bad in high-priced private high
schools (which is where my expreience lies), where there can be a very
real expectation of "I'm not paying $40,000 for Judy to get a C."
 
The teaching problem that I've had recently is a symptom of the
compartmentalization/ throw-away attitude about learning - "oh, we did
that last year.  I don't remember it; That test is over, I don't need to
know it anymore."  My senior HS physics classes are being mostly spent
going over the algebra (not the physics) from homework problems - it
didn't (and doesn't) seem outrageous to me to expect seniors in pre- and
calculus to be able to solve a system of equations, but that's what my
entire 40 minute class was today.

Wish that I had an answer to contribute,
Josh Gates
Physics
Stoneleigh-Burnham School
Greenfield MA