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心理学与生活-第6章

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them there until they are ready to hand in their papers and leave。 Another solution is to make 
the notes legitimate—allow students to bring to an exam one page of notebook paper with 
xviii 


anything they want written on it。 This legitimate pony has value in that preparing it is a type of 
active study and because clutching their pony tends to reduce anxiety for students who panic 
on test day。 

How will I provide feedback to students after tests? 

On the day of the test; let students know when feedback will be provided。 The longer students have to wait 
for correct answers; the less interested they bee in checking their work。 Provide immediate feedback if 
you can。 Here are two suggestions for acplishing this: 

。 Students record their answers on both the test and the answer sheet。 They hand in the answer 
sheet and keep the test; scoring it themselves from a key or keys you post immediately after the 
test。 The puterized test bank makes it possible for you to provide feedback that includes 
both correct answers and page references from the text。 
。 Create an exam that can be pleted in 30 minutes (25–30 multiple…choice questions) and 
devote the rest of a 50…minute class to feedback。 Ask students to jot down their answers on their 
own paper after they plete the test。 Then collect the students’ answer sheets; while students 
retain their notes of their answers and the test。 Review the test items; allowing students to ask 
questions about perceived ambiguous items。 At the end of the class; collect the tests and the 
students’ notes。 With this procedure; you only have to return the graded answer sheets in order 
for students to receive maximum feedback。 
How can I avoid hassles about test items? 

First; select and write items carefully; being sure that you agree that the keyed answer is the best answer。 
Then make your key carefully。 Examine the printout of scores before posting it; and check any item for 
ambiguity or incorrect keying if half or more of the students miss it。 If you make a mistake in your choice of 
items or on the key; correct it graciously。 

Do not spend class time arguing about test items。 Have students submit their case in writing if they feel that 
their choice for an item is better than the keyed answer。 

DECISIONS ABOUT EVALUATION 

Should I use numbers or letters to grade students’ work? 

Any activity that is to contribute to students’ grades should be assigned a numerical score so an 
unambiguous point system can be used for determining final grades。 Some students have difficulty 
understanding that an A on a minor assignment is not weighted as heavily as a D on the final exam。 

If you use large numbers; particularly for a large class; the range of final totals for students is larger and the 
cutoff between letter grades appears reasonable。 

How will I assign final grades? 

There are two traditional methods for assigning grades; the criterion…based system and the normative…based 
or on…the…curve system。 

In criterion…based grading; criteria are published in the syllabus。 For example; if a student gets 92 percent to 
100 percent of the maximum number of points; the student can be assured of an A。 This method is preferred 
by the majority of instructors because it is easy for students to understand and acmodates variability in 
the performance of different classes。 

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In normative…based grading it is predetermined that you will; for example; give an A to the top 10 percent of 
students; a B to students in the next 20 percent; and so forth。 This method has the advantage of not 
requiring you to mit yourself to absolute criteria; but it has the disadvantage of causing some students 
to be uncertain about where they stand during the term。 Also; normative…based grading assumes that your 
class is a random sample of students who take introductory courses at your school and does not take into 
account that some classes as a whole are better than others。 Identical student performance could earn an A 
in one class and a B in another when the normative…based system is used。 

Should I use standard scores? 

Most students have difficulty understanding standard scores。 (How can a score of zero be a C? Does a 
negative score mean that I know less than nothing does?) Standard scores also have the disadvantage of 
having a small range。 One situation in which standard scores should be considered is when the test means 
for the term are unequal and you are dropping students’ lowest test scores。 

DECISIONS ABOUT EXTRA CREDIT WORK 

Should I provide an opportunity for students to get course credit for work that is not a class requirement? If 
you fail to state a firm policy on extra credit work in the syllabus; you will be visited by failing students 
during the closing weeks of the term。 They would like to write papers; or do something to raise their grades。 
A no…extra credit policy is advised; with the rationale that students who are failing the required work would 
be better off spending their time on the text rather than writing a paper that is likely to be poorly written or 
plagiarized。 

If there are to be opportunities for extra credit; they should be available to all students; not just those who 
e to your office with sad stories。 For your best students; extra credit work is likely to be perceived as 
required; and you may find that they are more likely to take advantage of opportunities to earn points than 
students who need them more。 

Extra credit work will increase your workload。 The bookkeeping for volunteer work or research 
participation can be a headache; and rewritten or replaced papers means more papers to read and grade。 
However; this should not deter you if you can provide extra credit work that is truly a beneficial experience 
for students。 

What kind of extra credit opportunities could I provide? 

One extra credit option that is a learning experience for students and a service to the munity is 
volunteer work in places such as sheltered workshops; child care centers; nursing homes; and shelters for 
the homeless。 If you can arrange this type of activity; be sure to set a limit on the amount of credit that can be 
earned。 

Introductory students are frequently an important source of human subjects for research。 If research 
participation is not a requirement at your school; you might consider using it as an extra credit option。 

If you assign several short papers during the term; you could allow students to rewrite or replace a paper 
that has received a low score。 Rewriting a poor paper based on your ments and corrections can be 
especially beneficial for students who need help with writing skills。 

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS IN THE INTRODUCTORY 
COURSE 

As student’s writing skills have deteriorated; educators have bee increasingly reluctant to include 
writing assignments as a course requirement。 If this deterioration is to be reversed; it seems apparent that 

x 


instructors in disciplines other than English must assume some of the responsibility for providing writing 
experiences for students。 

DESIGNING WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 

The assignments should be related to the objectives of the course。 They should increase insight into 
psychological concepts; develop critical thinking skills; or stimulate personal growth。 The form of the 
assignments can be: 

。 A take…home paper in which students answer a specific question。 
。 A psychological diary。 In writing the diary; students describe everyday experiences related to 
what they are learning in class。 For example; a student hears a mercial for a cold remedy on 
TV; and wonders about the basis of the claim that the product is twice as effective as remedy X; 
or a student notes that her father trots out all his dissonance…reducing strategies whenever 
something goes wrong with the lemon he bought。 
。 In…class papers。 Students write a paragraph in class expressing their opinion on an issue; 
evaluating a film; or describing an experience。 It is probably best not to grade these mini…
papers; but it may encourage attendance if students are rewarded with a few points for 
participation。 
The assignment should be clearly worded and specific。 Instruction about the form of the paper should give 
detailed instructions on how the paper is to be prepared。 The topics of papers should be described in such a 
way that the possibility of misinterpretation is minimized。 You may need to give a systematic plan for a 
paper or to enumerate the points you expect to be covered。 You can select questions from those provided in 
the test bank or create your own。 Here is a list of verbs you may find useful as you create effective essay 
questions: 

advise pare contrast apply 

illustrate evaluate criticize summarize 

relate design analyze predict 

trace justify 

take sides on the controversy between 

explore the implications of 

Specify a specific purpose or audience for the paper。 The instructor is the traditional audience for student 
papers; and since you know so much; students tend to expect that you will not need important information 
or explanation。 An example of a specific purpose would be “to encourage a friend to see a behavior 
therapist about a particular phobia。” The targeted audience could be students who have not taken 

introductory psychology; the readers of Parents’ magazine; or a person who has written to Dear Abby about 
a psychological problem。 

Inform students about how their papers will be evaluated。 This information; as well as other details; can be 
specified in a handout; “All you need to know about writing assignments。” This can be part of the syllabus 
or distributed separately。 Suggestions for the handout are outlined below。 

。 General discussion of written assignments: In this section inform students how many papers are 
required; how long they are to be; how topics are to be selected; and whether papers that receive 
a low score can be rewritten。 Students should not be allowed to write more than one paper 
xxi 


related to a chapter。 Assign specific due dates for the papers throughout the term to prevent 
students from handing in all their papers on the last day of the term。 

。 Specific guidelines for preparation of papers: In this section tell students such things as: use 8。 by 
11 paper; write on one side only; put the title; assignment number and your name at the top of 
the first page; type using double…spacing and one…inch margins; don’t use plastic covers or 
binders。 It is a good idea to discuss plagiarism in this section and to indicate how students 
should handle quoted material。 
。 Evaluation criteria: The three traditional criteria for evaluation of papers are content or ideas; 
organization; and mechanics。 You may want to assign weights to each of these criteria。 For 
example; if the maximum number of points for a paper is 25; you might assign 12 for content; 8 
for organization; and 5 for mechanics。 
。 Topics: Provide a chapter…by…chapter list of the topics from which students can choose。 Having 
this list at the beginning of the term gives students a chance to make tentative choices of topics 
that interest them。 
EVA

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