In lieu of making a video, which I still might do later, I will talk through these links in class today.
Firm Reputations and Product Quality
Klein and Leffler - The Role of Market Forces in Assuring Contractual Performance
Name Brands - Peanut Butter, Vintage Skippy Commercial
Bleach, Is store brand bleach different from name brand?
Price premiums and repeat purchases - name brands have established reputations.
Deferred Compensation - Seniority Component to Wages
Why Is There Mandatory Retirement? Edward Lazear
A Redrawn Figure 1
A Model of Efficiency Wages as a Signal of Firm Value Arvan and Esfahani
Showing posts with label 04. Learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 04. Learning. Show all posts
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Monday, November 18, 2019
Some Links for Class Session on November 19
The video posted for the class last Thursday got very few views. So rather than make another one, with quality content, I'm going to content myself with annotating the links below. On Thursday we're going to look at a model of deferred compensation as a way to provide incentive, an alternative to pay for performance. For that model, I will make a video.
Assessing Classroom Quality - This piece is very recent. I'm on the listserv for the Tomorrow's Professor and the email came this morning. You might read through this piece to assess yourself as a learner. It's good to see others talking about the broad strokes learning goals, so you don't think I'm coming out of left field.
The Executive Mind and Double-Loop Learning by Chris Argyris - If you are on the campus network you should have access to this piece. We will discuss this piece some in class, as an extension of Bolman and Deal Chapter 8. What's made more evident in this piece is that executives maintain implicit assumptions about how the world works and they themselves may not be aware of those assumptions. But those assumptions come out in analyzing a situation. Double-Loop Learning can then be though of as identifying those implicit assumptions and asking whether they are accurate or not. If not, they really need to be changed. That's not easy to do, but being aware of this is surely a first step in the process.
The Reflective Practitioner by Donald Schon - This is a good read and worthwhile for you during the winter break. I like the description of the book, where the emphasis is on intuition, not technique per se. The question is, how does intuition develop and as a learner are you in tune with developing your own intuition.
MBTI Basics - While I've learned recently that Myers-Briggs personality typing is not completely up to snuff regarding current social science standards, I do think it useful in understanding that people truly are different (not better or worse, just different) in how they go about solving a practical problem. For example, some people like to make lists. I'm somebody who does not like this. Sometimes it is easier to get along with people who are the same type as you, but the group can benefit from having diverse types, to get different perspectives on a problem. For the record I was tested back in 2003 and learned then that my type is INTP. One of the issues with this typology is whether it is stable over time. If I were tested now, would I turn out the same way? The problem is compounded by the fact that knowing your type you can guess as to how your type would answer the questions, which might not be the same as how you'd answer the questions without applying this criterion.
Assessing Classroom Quality - This piece is very recent. I'm on the listserv for the Tomorrow's Professor and the email came this morning. You might read through this piece to assess yourself as a learner. It's good to see others talking about the broad strokes learning goals, so you don't think I'm coming out of left field.
The Executive Mind and Double-Loop Learning by Chris Argyris - If you are on the campus network you should have access to this piece. We will discuss this piece some in class, as an extension of Bolman and Deal Chapter 8. What's made more evident in this piece is that executives maintain implicit assumptions about how the world works and they themselves may not be aware of those assumptions. But those assumptions come out in analyzing a situation. Double-Loop Learning can then be though of as identifying those implicit assumptions and asking whether they are accurate or not. If not, they really need to be changed. That's not easy to do, but being aware of this is surely a first step in the process.
The Reflective Practitioner by Donald Schon - This is a good read and worthwhile for you during the winter break. I like the description of the book, where the emphasis is on intuition, not technique per se. The question is, how does intuition develop and as a learner are you in tune with developing your own intuition.
MBTI Basics - While I've learned recently that Myers-Briggs personality typing is not completely up to snuff regarding current social science standards, I do think it useful in understanding that people truly are different (not better or worse, just different) in how they go about solving a practical problem. For example, some people like to make lists. I'm somebody who does not like this. Sometimes it is easier to get along with people who are the same type as you, but the group can benefit from having diverse types, to get different perspectives on a problem. For the record I was tested back in 2003 and learned then that my type is INTP. One of the issues with this typology is whether it is stable over time. If I were tested now, would I turn out the same way? The problem is compounded by the fact that knowing your type you can guess as to how your type would answer the questions, which might not be the same as how you'd answer the questions without applying this criterion.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Links and Ideas for Class Session on November 12.
Definition of punishment from Dictionary.com
Paper topic from Philosophy of Law class (fall 1975) - Is punishment necessary for the Law?
In general students argued for mild punishment or no punishment and a discussion instead of a harsher discipline as an alternatives. Let's reconsider this post as a test of this view. Does a mild message really work? What sort of batting average does it have?
Main reasons given for why somebody was disciplined given in the blog posts
1. The job was boring or otherwise tiresome. The person started to shirk as a consequence.
2. The person was incompetent at the job, perhaps because of a lack of experience. So the person made mistakes.
3. The person had some character flaw and didn't seem to care about the work.
Many students were against singling out an employee in a group work setting. Very few students talked about disciplining one employee as sending a message to everyone else.
Also, many students didn't distinguish an angry manager who was disciplining as an expression of that anger from a manager who had calmed down, thought it through, and was disciplining as part of the employee's education. This begs the question, how does one manage one's own anger at work?
Progressive Discipline
Konrad Lorenz On Aggression
Nurse Ratched One of the main characters in One Flew Over A Cuckoo's Nest
Google's Ideological Echo Chamber James Damore - Are big tech companies hostile places for women to work? Is the brogrammer culture actually productive or is it simply fraternity life on steroids? (Damore was fired from Google for publishing this document. He is suing them for wrongful termination.)
The Fear of Emasculation - One of my blogs posts that analyzes some of Damore's argument, and gives it a larger context. Tying this back to the topic of student blog posts - the issue is whether these fears have productivity consequences by making the work environment uncomfortable for co-workers.
Paper topic from Philosophy of Law class (fall 1975) - Is punishment necessary for the Law?
In general students argued for mild punishment or no punishment and a discussion instead of a harsher discipline as an alternatives. Let's reconsider this post as a test of this view. Does a mild message really work? What sort of batting average does it have?
Main reasons given for why somebody was disciplined given in the blog posts
1. The job was boring or otherwise tiresome. The person started to shirk as a consequence.
2. The person was incompetent at the job, perhaps because of a lack of experience. So the person made mistakes.
3. The person had some character flaw and didn't seem to care about the work.
Many students were against singling out an employee in a group work setting. Very few students talked about disciplining one employee as sending a message to everyone else.
Also, many students didn't distinguish an angry manager who was disciplining as an expression of that anger from a manager who had calmed down, thought it through, and was disciplining as part of the employee's education. This begs the question, how does one manage one's own anger at work?
Progressive Discipline
Konrad Lorenz On Aggression
Nurse Ratched One of the main characters in One Flew Over A Cuckoo's Nest
Google's Ideological Echo Chamber James Damore - Are big tech companies hostile places for women to work? Is the brogrammer culture actually productive or is it simply fraternity life on steroids? (Damore was fired from Google for publishing this document. He is suing them for wrongful termination.)
The Fear of Emasculation - One of my blogs posts that analyzes some of Damore's argument, and gives it a larger context. Tying this back to the topic of student blog posts - the issue is whether these fears have productivity consequences by making the work environment uncomfortable for co-workers.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Some Links for Class Session on Nov. 5
Review of Second Worksheet on the Adverse Selection Excel Homework
Does Studying Economics Make You Selfish? (NPR Morning Edition)
Does Studying Economics Inhibit Cooperation (article by Robert Frank, et. al.)
Evidence of a Toxic Environment for Women in Economics (NY Times piece)
Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead? (NY Times Magazine piece by Adam Grant, a psychologist)
What Straight-A Students Get Wrong (Another piece by Adam Grant)
A schlub in a business school (A blog post I wrote back in 2008, when I was an Associate Dean in the College of Business and in the then new Business 101 class they were trying to teach professional responsibility.)
The Fear of Emasculation . (A more recent blog post written in the wake of the James Damore memo at Google and the protests in Charlottesville.)
Does Studying Economics Make You Selfish? (NPR Morning Edition)
Does Studying Economics Inhibit Cooperation (article by Robert Frank, et. al.)
Evidence of a Toxic Environment for Women in Economics (NY Times piece)
Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead? (NY Times Magazine piece by Adam Grant, a psychologist)
What Straight-A Students Get Wrong (Another piece by Adam Grant)
A schlub in a business school (A blog post I wrote back in 2008, when I was an Associate Dean in the College of Business and in the then new Business 101 class they were trying to teach professional responsibility.)
The Fear of Emasculation . (A more recent blog post written in the wake of the James Damore memo at Google and the protests in Charlottesville.)
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Some Links For Class Session On Tuesday October 29
Musical PowerPoint (Developed back in 2012 for the course. I opted not to use it this semester but then I thought it might be a good gateway into students talking about their current listening to music, both the technology and what they listen to.)
Q: Does the technology impact the content?
NY Times Writers on Writing
E.L. Doctorow on how the movies influenced the novel. (He laments these changes.)
Dire Straits song Money for Nothing. (A similar lament about how MTV impacted music.)
Has something similar happened with the movies?
Professor Arvan on Really Good Movies and Blockbusters
Q: Are there more bad movies made now than in the 1970s? Are there too many movies being made based on comic books?
Q: Do those providing finance for a movie have a good sense whether the movie will be a success or a flop? When is it economically rational to invest in a likely flop?
Q: Does the technology impact the content?
NY Times Writers on Writing
E.L. Doctorow on how the movies influenced the novel. (He laments these changes.)
Dire Straits song Money for Nothing. (A similar lament about how MTV impacted music.)
Has something similar happened with the movies?
Professor Arvan on Really Good Movies and Blockbusters
Q: Are there more bad movies made now than in the 1970s? Are there too many movies being made based on comic books?
Q: Do those providing finance for a movie have a good sense whether the movie will be a success or a flop? When is it economically rational to invest in a likely flop?
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Some Links And A Simple Model Of Labor Productivity - For Class Session October 24
A Mature View of Uncertainty (Ten years ago I got about halfway in writing a book on teaching and learning. The book title was Guessing Games. The underlying idea was that we should mainly teach students to hone their own intuition - making good guesses. But then we need to also teach the accompanying skill of verification and follow up on the intuition. This is the last chapter that I wrote. I think it's not badly written, but on reading some earlier chapters, they were too pedantic. I was lecturing to the reader, not a good approach to sustain interest. So I stopped writing this.)
This is long read, maybe 45 minutes or so - but there is no blog post due this weekend. It talks about uncertainty in many dimensions, beyond how economists thinking about it. Ultimately the focus is on the choice (or not) to quit the current job and take on something else. What are the factors too consider? Here I'll mention do - the emotional side, how nervous are you about making the change? how miserable are you with the current situation? and that we don't really decided things by data, but rather by a good narrative - what story can you tell to convince yourself about the choice?
Moneyball (the book, not the movie)
The interesting part for us is that scouts for major league baseball teams make errors in evaluating talent. The errors are systematic. (Or at least they used to be before the book came out.) We should attribute such errors to cognitive bias. This suggests, more generally, that in the labor market recruiters may make errors in evaluation talent because of cognitive bias.
The Financial Perks of Being Tall
A well studied consequence of cognitive bias.
Randy Newman song - Short People
An ironical lyric that plays into the cognitive bias and implicitly criticizes our many other prejudices.
Favorites versus Underdogs
For the mathematically inclined. If the objective is to maximize the chance of winning, then the favorite should risk averse while the underdog should be risk seeking.
Simple Model of Labor Productivity
Q = F(a,h,e)
where Q is the individual's output, a is the individual's ability, h is the individual's human capital, and e is the individual's effort. Note that each of these variables may themselves be multi-dimensional. For example, we've already spoken of general human capital (which is valuable with any employer) and specific human capital (which is valuable only to the current employer).
How does moral hazard manifest in each of these job types?
Is procrastination moral hazard?
This is long read, maybe 45 minutes or so - but there is no blog post due this weekend. It talks about uncertainty in many dimensions, beyond how economists thinking about it. Ultimately the focus is on the choice (or not) to quit the current job and take on something else. What are the factors too consider? Here I'll mention do - the emotional side, how nervous are you about making the change? how miserable are you with the current situation? and that we don't really decided things by data, but rather by a good narrative - what story can you tell to convince yourself about the choice?
Moneyball (the book, not the movie)
The interesting part for us is that scouts for major league baseball teams make errors in evaluating talent. The errors are systematic. (Or at least they used to be before the book came out.) We should attribute such errors to cognitive bias. This suggests, more generally, that in the labor market recruiters may make errors in evaluation talent because of cognitive bias.
The Financial Perks of Being Tall
A well studied consequence of cognitive bias.
Randy Newman song - Short People
An ironical lyric that plays into the cognitive bias and implicitly criticizes our many other prejudices.
Favorites versus Underdogs
For the mathematically inclined. If the objective is to maximize the chance of winning, then the favorite should risk averse while the underdog should be risk seeking.
Simple Model of Labor Productivity
Q = F(a,h,e)
where Q is the individual's output, a is the individual's ability, h is the individual's human capital, and e is the individual's effort. Note that each of these variables may themselves be multi-dimensional. For example, we've already spoken of general human capital (which is valuable with any employer) and specific human capital (which is valuable only to the current employer).
How does moral hazard manifest in each of these job types?
- Real Estate Agent
- Bank Manager (In a few weeks we'll look at the example from M&R on this during the S&L crisis of the 1980s
- Tenured Professor Teaching Undergraduates
- Scientist Doing Cancer Research
- Educational Technologists
Is procrastination moral hazard?
Monday, October 14, 2019
Links and ideas for class session on Oct. 15
First Class Session - Slide 16
Online Writing Lab at Purdue (General Writing)
The section on procrastination is quite good, especially if you've been struggling to get the blog posts done. The other sections are also useful.
The Inquiry Page
The U of I is a research university. Researchers take an inquiry approach in going about learning. Inquiry is depicted as an ongoing cycle rather than as getting to an end point. Students in many undergraduate courses don't see such an inquiry approach. It might help students to know that we're trying for such an approach in our class.
Writing to Learn (Donald Murray)
Murray was a journalist who had a good deal of insight about how writing as a process is part and parcel of thinking and learning. The core idea is that thinking is sequential rather than one big Gestalt. You don't have the whole picture at first. You work through something. Then after a while something related occurs to you. I like to imagine a piece of paper folded many times over. Each juncture is an unfolding. You see more of it after that. The goal is to see as much as you can. Those who found the reflection of value did so because they saw things about the post that they didn't see while they were composing it.
Suggestions for the Blogging in the Second Half of the Course
1. Break your post into two parts. Part a would be a reflection about the post in the previous week, like the reflection you just did. Part b would be writing to the current prompt. Part a can be any length. Part b should still satisfy the 600 word minimum requirement. So this is not for making it easier to satisfy the requirement. It is for making reflection a more regular part of your thinking.
2. Write a paragraph about the prompt. Why was it selected? What's the purpose of the prompt? Do this before you try to address the prompt. Then write your post. Go back to the paragraph and see if you still agree with what you said there or not?
3. Consider writing to your own prompt. This is a way to direct your own inquiry. Do note that you need to write a paragraph in this case which ties what you are writing about to course themes.
Online Writing Lab at Purdue (General Writing)
The section on procrastination is quite good, especially if you've been struggling to get the blog posts done. The other sections are also useful.
The Inquiry Page
The U of I is a research university. Researchers take an inquiry approach in going about learning. Inquiry is depicted as an ongoing cycle rather than as getting to an end point. Students in many undergraduate courses don't see such an inquiry approach. It might help students to know that we're trying for such an approach in our class.
Writing to Learn (Donald Murray)
Murray was a journalist who had a good deal of insight about how writing as a process is part and parcel of thinking and learning. The core idea is that thinking is sequential rather than one big Gestalt. You don't have the whole picture at first. You work through something. Then after a while something related occurs to you. I like to imagine a piece of paper folded many times over. Each juncture is an unfolding. You see more of it after that. The goal is to see as much as you can. Those who found the reflection of value did so because they saw things about the post that they didn't see while they were composing it.
Suggestions for the Blogging in the Second Half of the Course
1. Break your post into two parts. Part a would be a reflection about the post in the previous week, like the reflection you just did. Part b would be writing to the current prompt. Part a can be any length. Part b should still satisfy the 600 word minimum requirement. So this is not for making it easier to satisfy the requirement. It is for making reflection a more regular part of your thinking.
2. Write a paragraph about the prompt. Why was it selected? What's the purpose of the prompt? Do this before you try to address the prompt. Then write your post. Go back to the paragraph and see if you still agree with what you said there or not?
3. Consider writing to your own prompt. This is a way to direct your own inquiry. Do note that you need to write a paragraph in this case which ties what you are writing about to course themes.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Some links for class session on 10/3
The Princess and the Pea
A blog post from me on my regular blogging site that gives some diagnosis of what's going on with our class (and with your entire program of study).
The Dead Grandmother Problem
I'm pleased to say not one student in our class has used this line. But several have told me they are going to miss my class because they have a midterm in another class. This does not compute for me me, though it must make sense to the students who are telling me this. What is evident is that many of you feel you are under a lot of stress. If that is a new thing, perhaps it will help your planning in the future. If you've experienced it in previous semesters, however, maybe you should consider lightening your load.
Doing a Post Mortem
The core idea is to better understand yourself, both your process and your thinking, by looking back at how you performed and asking why your performance was as it was.
Analysis of Experiment on Tuesday
I encourage you to identify yourself among the results and then ask why you behaved as you did behave. Take this as your baseline. Not only should the efficient volume of trade been reached (3 units exchanged), but it is also reasonable to expect that the gains from trade be split equally between the buyer and the seller. If that happened, then you did what the model predicts. If it didn't happen, however, why didn't it? When you've reached some conclusions from that, you can either leave them as a comment to this post, which makes sense if you are willing to make those conclusions public, or you can email me about that. I will report back to the class with the aggregate results, but not try to single out any one student.
If you haven't ever seen The Bat and Ball Problem, you might try it first before doing your post mortem. It might reveal some things to you.
Excel Tutorial
In light of so many students seemingly struggling with cell references on the most recent homework, I think it would be useful to go back to the Tutorial and do it again (but don't submit the key). This is to ask yourself, whether you might have gotten more out of that exercise which would have prepared you better for the most recent homework. As with the Experiment, you might comment on whether you got anything from the Tutorial or not and if not, why that was.
The most recent Excel homework
We'll cover that some today. Some students are evidently struggling with the algebra that one must do to answer the questions. That is a different issue, we'll talk about ti some today.
The Blog Posts
After the post on Illinibucks due tomorrow, the next post wants you to reflect and try to connect the various posts as best as you can. You can also use it to do a post mortem on your blogging.
A blog post from me on my regular blogging site that gives some diagnosis of what's going on with our class (and with your entire program of study).
The Dead Grandmother Problem
I'm pleased to say not one student in our class has used this line. But several have told me they are going to miss my class because they have a midterm in another class. This does not compute for me me, though it must make sense to the students who are telling me this. What is evident is that many of you feel you are under a lot of stress. If that is a new thing, perhaps it will help your planning in the future. If you've experienced it in previous semesters, however, maybe you should consider lightening your load.
Doing a Post Mortem
The core idea is to better understand yourself, both your process and your thinking, by looking back at how you performed and asking why your performance was as it was.
Analysis of Experiment on Tuesday
I encourage you to identify yourself among the results and then ask why you behaved as you did behave. Take this as your baseline. Not only should the efficient volume of trade been reached (3 units exchanged), but it is also reasonable to expect that the gains from trade be split equally between the buyer and the seller. If that happened, then you did what the model predicts. If it didn't happen, however, why didn't it? When you've reached some conclusions from that, you can either leave them as a comment to this post, which makes sense if you are willing to make those conclusions public, or you can email me about that. I will report back to the class with the aggregate results, but not try to single out any one student.
If you haven't ever seen The Bat and Ball Problem, you might try it first before doing your post mortem. It might reveal some things to you.
Excel Tutorial
In light of so many students seemingly struggling with cell references on the most recent homework, I think it would be useful to go back to the Tutorial and do it again (but don't submit the key). This is to ask yourself, whether you might have gotten more out of that exercise which would have prepared you better for the most recent homework. As with the Experiment, you might comment on whether you got anything from the Tutorial or not and if not, why that was.
The most recent Excel homework
We'll cover that some today. Some students are evidently struggling with the algebra that one must do to answer the questions. That is a different issue, we'll talk about ti some today.
The Blog Posts
After the post on Illinibucks due tomorrow, the next post wants you to reflect and try to connect the various posts as best as you can. You can also use it to do a post mortem on your blogging.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Some links for class session on 10/1
Truman Scholarships
This is not course related. I was asked to share this announcement with you. It is for juniors, not seniors.
---------
Traffic Helicopter Theory of Management
Sometimes being proactive and tactical to "re-route traffic" is better than being strategic and really forward thinking.
Leon
How do partnerships form when one of the partners is much more senior than the other?
1969-70 NY Knicks
Hit the open man, Move without the ball, DEFENSE
What do these phrases mean when you unpack them?
Mideast Regional Final March 1984 Illinois versus Kentucky at Rupp Arena
My favorite Illini team. In some sense, they were like the 1970 Knicks
This is not course related. I was asked to share this announcement with you. It is for juniors, not seniors.
---------
Traffic Helicopter Theory of Management
Sometimes being proactive and tactical to "re-route traffic" is better than being strategic and really forward thinking.
Leon
How do partnerships form when one of the partners is much more senior than the other?
1969-70 NY Knicks
Hit the open man, Move without the ball, DEFENSE
What do these phrases mean when you unpack them?
Mideast Regional Final March 1984 Illinois versus Kentucky at Rupp Arena
My favorite Illini team. In some sense, they were like the 1970 Knicks
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Snippets from the Course Syllabus - Lack of Professionalism by Some Students
The last week or two have both overwhelmed me and irritated me by students in various ways performing other than how the syllabus states. I'm going to put some snips from the syllabus below to make sure we are all on the same page regarding your performance.
On Attendance:
In the last class session on Tuesday, at least 15 students and probably closer to 20 missed the class. None wrote me a note to explain why they had to miss. More to the point, I don't know whether any of the students made arrangements with somebody who did attend to catch them up about what happened to in class. If that is not happening, there is disconnection with what is going on. I really don't want to deliver the message I give in class a second time (done online) because students miss class when they very well could have come.
On the Blog Posts:
Many of the posts didn't make the word minimum requirement. Even among those that did, however, many students didn't get the concept of transactions cost right. It is as if they read the prompt but ignored what else we had been doing (such as in the PowerPoint files on which the Concept Quizzes are based.) The blog posts are meant for you to make connections among the ideas. If you don't try to do that, you are defeating the purpose.
On Comments:
The vast majority of students hadn't written a comment in response to my comment before the class session on Tuesday. I want to add here for those who missed the session on Tuesday that I mean the comments I give to be a kind of coaching and they should tie in with the discussion we have in class. My mechanism is based on students seeing how this all flows together.
---------
Tomorrow I expect to discuss this some, as well as the process students go through in doing the Concept Quizzes. I sense a lot of surface learning here and if that is right then why bother? Some students are struggling with math modeling now and I actually applaud their struggle (though I didn't mean this first real Excel homework to be difficult). I'd like to see students struggle with the blog posts too. What might encourage that?
On Attendance:
On the Blog Posts:
On Comments:
---------
Tomorrow I expect to discuss this some, as well as the process students go through in doing the Concept Quizzes. I sense a lot of surface learning here and if that is right then why bother? Some students are struggling with math modeling now and I actually applaud their struggle (though I didn't mean this first real Excel homework to be difficult). I'd like to see students struggle with the blog posts too. What might encourage that?
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Quotes and Links for Class Session on Tuesday Sept. 10
On the mismatch between instructor and student expectations:
Corollary to #4: Every instructor assumes that you have nothing else to do except study for that instructor's course.
From Murphy's Laws on Applied Terror
Gertrude Stein quote on Genius: It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing.
(Portrait of Gertrude Stein by Pablo Picasso)
Question: Are "good students" today over programmed?
On the ideal for undergraduate education at research universities:
Boyer Commission report (1998)
The report offered a blueprint on how to redesign undergraduate education to make the students insiders and appreciative of an inquiry approach to learning.
Students readiness for such a program is a big issue. If students are not yet ready, then the first year of college must be devoted to getting students ready. This will require intensive instruction that is likely quite expensive. Historically, the first year is where most of the large lecture classes are taught. The U of I had a Discovery Program (small seminar classes) for first year students, but the recession in the early 2000s and then the Great Recession about six years later severely cut into the Discovery Program.
On betraying the trust in higher education:
Disengagement compact
Underlying this is the notion that grades are verifiable (a third party can learn the information correctly) but human capital accumulation is not. In the absence of a standardized exam in the subject, instructor performance can't be measured by how much students learned. Research output, in contrast, can be measured. So faculty rewards (salary increase and promotion) are typically based on that. Likewise, if students learned a lot but received mediocre grades, they don't have a credible way to communicate to others about their learning. The potential future employer only gets "to see" the human capital as it is deployed doing work for the company.
Declining By Degrees
Documentary and Book In addition to the disengagement compact, universities compete for students in a way that raises the cost of education (think of expensive athletic facilities) and this type of non-price competition may be socially destructive.
Academically Adrift
The book argues that many college students experience very little value added to their thinking by attending college.
Excellent Sheep
The book was based on the author's experience at Yale, where he then was an assistant professor of English. The students were quite competent at jumping through hoops set by the instructor, but they were also very unhappy and didn't know how to go about pleasing themselves.
What Straight-A Students Get Wrong
A NY Times Op-Ed by Professor Adam Grant of Wharton. It argues that these students are putting way too much effort into something that isn't all that productive and they should redirect their energies to other things that are.
Concluding question:
For there to be be improvement made, a SWOT analysis needs to be done on both the U of I and higher education as a whole and that must be done by insiders at the university, who then make their findings public. While it is easy enough to discuss strengths and opportunities, can we have an open conversation about weaknesses and threats?
Corollary to #4: Every instructor assumes that you have nothing else to do except study for that instructor's course.
From Murphy's Laws on Applied Terror
Gertrude Stein quote on Genius: It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing.
(Portrait of Gertrude Stein by Pablo Picasso)
Question: Are "good students" today over programmed?
On the ideal for undergraduate education at research universities:
Boyer Commission report (1998)
The report offered a blueprint on how to redesign undergraduate education to make the students insiders and appreciative of an inquiry approach to learning.
Students readiness for such a program is a big issue. If students are not yet ready, then the first year of college must be devoted to getting students ready. This will require intensive instruction that is likely quite expensive. Historically, the first year is where most of the large lecture classes are taught. The U of I had a Discovery Program (small seminar classes) for first year students, but the recession in the early 2000s and then the Great Recession about six years later severely cut into the Discovery Program.
On betraying the trust in higher education:
Disengagement compact
Underlying this is the notion that grades are verifiable (a third party can learn the information correctly) but human capital accumulation is not. In the absence of a standardized exam in the subject, instructor performance can't be measured by how much students learned. Research output, in contrast, can be measured. So faculty rewards (salary increase and promotion) are typically based on that. Likewise, if students learned a lot but received mediocre grades, they don't have a credible way to communicate to others about their learning. The potential future employer only gets "to see" the human capital as it is deployed doing work for the company.
Declining By Degrees
Documentary and Book In addition to the disengagement compact, universities compete for students in a way that raises the cost of education (think of expensive athletic facilities) and this type of non-price competition may be socially destructive.
Academically Adrift
The book argues that many college students experience very little value added to their thinking by attending college.
Excellent Sheep
The book was based on the author's experience at Yale, where he then was an assistant professor of English. The students were quite competent at jumping through hoops set by the instructor, but they were also very unhappy and didn't know how to go about pleasing themselves.
What Straight-A Students Get Wrong
A NY Times Op-Ed by Professor Adam Grant of Wharton. It argues that these students are putting way too much effort into something that isn't all that productive and they should redirect their energies to other things that are.
Concluding question:
For there to be be improvement made, a SWOT analysis needs to be done on both the U of I and higher education as a whole and that must be done by insiders at the university, who then make their findings public. While it is easy enough to discuss strengths and opportunities, can we have an open conversation about weaknesses and threats?
Thursday, September 5, 2019
An Alternative Way To Schedule Classes
A university in Australia is embracing Block Teaching. In the U.S., I believe Colorado College does this, but it is not widespread. We will consider the pros and cons.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Observations from the Class Session Today
Several things threw me off my game a bit, one I hadn't anticipated, another I had but didn't make a suitable accommodation. Then a couple were just that I expected one thing and something else happened.
Students to my right sat closer to the front of the room than students to my left. On the left the first two rows of seats were empty and there were students in the last row. On my right I believe each row had some students. The effect was to create a stagger in the seating from right to left. Coupling that with some difficulty hearing people in the back and we will make some adjustments on Thursday in the seating so this is less of an issue moving forward.
I am very nearsighted and on my home computer the computer resolution is set low so text looks large. The computer resolution on the classroom computer was much higher and I was put off by that some. I think I had too many windows open for navigation purposes. I either need to figure this out or bring in my own laptop. We'll see.
I was so concerned with keeping the audio down when playing the PowerPoint before the class session started, because I didn't want to disturb other classes, that I think it didn't catch your attention as it otherwise might. We might spend a few minutes next week on what an effective presentation does and how one makes one.
Checking the concept quiz results, it appears that quite a few students did the concept quiz during our class. If anyone did it but wasn't present in the classroom, that is a definite no-no. Even for those who were present, it's bad form to multiprocess in this way. It is an indicator that you aren't paying full attention in class. This is one reason I will ask you put to away electronic devices after the first few minutes in class from here on out.
I have a photo roster of the class. I believe the photos are from your I-Card, though I'm not 100% sure of that. I certainly didn't memorize that roster, but I thought I'd recognize more students than I did. I wonder if you feel you now look like your I-Card photo. Either this Thursday or next Tuesday, I will take attendance, not to track whether you are there but so I can learn who you are and match names with faces.
Students to my right sat closer to the front of the room than students to my left. On the left the first two rows of seats were empty and there were students in the last row. On my right I believe each row had some students. The effect was to create a stagger in the seating from right to left. Coupling that with some difficulty hearing people in the back and we will make some adjustments on Thursday in the seating so this is less of an issue moving forward.
I am very nearsighted and on my home computer the computer resolution is set low so text looks large. The computer resolution on the classroom computer was much higher and I was put off by that some. I think I had too many windows open for navigation purposes. I either need to figure this out or bring in my own laptop. We'll see.
I was so concerned with keeping the audio down when playing the PowerPoint before the class session started, because I didn't want to disturb other classes, that I think it didn't catch your attention as it otherwise might. We might spend a few minutes next week on what an effective presentation does and how one makes one.
Checking the concept quiz results, it appears that quite a few students did the concept quiz during our class. If anyone did it but wasn't present in the classroom, that is a definite no-no. Even for those who were present, it's bad form to multiprocess in this way. It is an indicator that you aren't paying full attention in class. This is one reason I will ask you put to away electronic devices after the first few minutes in class from here on out.
I have a photo roster of the class. I believe the photos are from your I-Card, though I'm not 100% sure of that. I certainly didn't memorize that roster, but I thought I'd recognize more students than I did. I wonder if you feel you now look like your I-Card photo. Either this Thursday or next Tuesday, I will take attendance, not to track whether you are there but so I can learn who you are and match names with faces.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Students - put away laptops, phones, and tablets
“They still feel like [technology] is still necessary when the classes are not engaging enough. Like, for example, being in a large lecture hall or when the professor is what they call ‘boring.’”The quote is from a piece in Inside Higher Ed about a survey of students attitudes of technology in the classroom.
Especially early in the semester, at the start of class there may be a technology demo at which time it is okay to have your electronic device out. After that I will ask that you put them away. We will try for mainly class discussion, not lecture, which I hope engages you enough that boredom is not the issue.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
How Do Experts Differ from Novices?
This volume, which came out 20 years ago, is quite interesting on both the question in the title and on what it means to really understand something that you've learned. The answer is transfer - you can apply the concepts in a novel setting, unlike where you first learned the concept. We really should practice transfer a lot, but I'm afraid it doesn't happen that often in current undergraduate education.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)