Do students still have to write essays by hand, during class, in college?

[regentrude]

I actually wonder how common it is to use them for taking notes. I don't think it's common at my son's school (we thought he'd do that but after the first day or two, he has never taken his laptop to school and just uses it at home). I thought I read on here once that some instructors don't want laptops used in classes because it gets noisy with everyone typing--I'm not sure if that was just one person's experience or a common thought though!

 

There are instructors who encourage laptop use, and instructors who don't allow the use of electronics in the classroom because students tend to use them for other things and don't participate in class if they have their nose in the computer.

In my physics classes, only 1-2 students out of 300 use laptops or tablets to take notes; you can only realistically take notes in math and physics with a tablet and stylus, because almost nobody can type equations fast enough, and there are lots of sketches.

 

[Bootsie]

 

I guess at some point we have to trust the students somewhat.  Not many students can afford to "hire" someone to write essays for them.  Plain old plagiarized papers are pretty easy to detect with technology.

 

Technology today makes cheating go far beyond wandering eyes in a classroom.  If the exam is on a computer, the student can send the exam to India in less than a second, have someone take the exam, and then have the exam sent back.  Not only phones, but pens and glasses can be sued to transmit information from the exam outside the classroom.  

 

The graduate program where I currently teach has an honor code that goes beyond that of the university.  I received documentation last week documenting that a professor had noticed inconsistencies between questions and answers on a student's exam that had been taken in class but with access to a computer (often this is done in our graduate classes because they are open book exams with a focus on applications).  The professor found evidence of plagiarism, this was upheld by a committee (which includes the student's peers) and the student received an "F" and the information goes into the students' permanent record.  Part of the honor code is that all faculty and students receive a summary of the facts and resolution without any information identifying particular class and student.  

[regentrude]

Technology today makes cheating go far beyond wandering eyes in a classroom.  If the exam is on a computer, the student can send the exam to India in less than a second, have someone take the exam, and then have the exam sent back.  Not only phones, but pens and glasses can be sued to transmit information from the exam outside the classroom. 

 

It really feels like a losing battle. It is hard to stay even one step ahead of technology.

I hate smart watches because there is NO way to eliminate students using them to cheat. We already do not allow calculators because they are used to store unauthorized information. But really, short of oral examinations, there is nothing we can do to ensure fairness and honesty.

 

We had a cheating case where three D-students (all from the same country) miraculously produced almost perfect final exams (one wrong answer, same for all). There are never perfect or close to perfect scores on our comprehensive multiple choice finals, never in 20 years.  Cell phone communication to the outside, where somebody took the test for them .

Edited March 31, 2017 by regentrude

[Bootsie]

The instructor will have different expectations for an in-class essay than for an essay written at home. He or she will not expect a polished product like the one that emerges after careful drafts and editing; the goal of the assignment would be a different one.

 

I encourage collaboration on problem solving, but emphasize the danger of being a passive participant without understanding. The incentive structure in our large intro courses is such that copied homework will not help, since students are called at random to the board to reproduce homework problems without their notes in recitation. In my smaller class, however, I don't have extra recitations and can only grade homework, where I cannot conclusively prove who copied and who actually collaborated. 

I am curious about the process of calling student randomly to reproduce the problems.  Do you have some random process you use to call on students?  Is the students' grade based upon their performance on this?  

 

I find I waste too many brain cells and get distracted by keeping track of how has been called so many times or making sure I don't call on the student who has a university excused absence that day.  I have also found that if students know they will be called on three times in the semester, as soon as their three times is up they don't do as much work.  I have used a number of different methods, including drawing cards from a deck, but I am always looking for new ideas.

[regentrude]

I am curious about the process of calling student randomly to reproduce the problems.  Do you have some random process you use to call on students?  Is the students' grade based upon their performance on this?  

 

I find I waste too many brain cells and get distracted by keeping track of how has been called so many times or making sure I don't call on the student who has a university excused absence that day.  I have also found that if students know they will be called on three times in the semester, as soon as their three times is up they don't do as much work.  I have used a number of different methods, including drawing cards from a deck, but I am always looking for new ideas.

The students are responsible for completing the homework, and the boardwork problems are the homework problems assigned for this day. So every student knows exactly what to prepare for, but since they cannot use their notes, copying does not help. We call 4-5 students each recitation, which happens twice a week. Longer problems can be broken up into sections to get more people.

Instructors use their own procedures to create randomness in calling the students. Some do it completely random, others have some system; often the students who got called the previous time but were absent land on top of the list again.

The lowest boardwork score is dropped, which allows each student to miss a boardwork for illness, family emergency, oversleeping, unpreparedness.

After dropping the lowest score, the scores are averaged and contribute 10% to the overall class grade.

Grades are entered into the class spreadsheet, and the instructor sees at one glance who has fewer scores and should be called again. instructors usually make their "victim list" before they go into the classroom. Since only the average matters, it is no problem if one student is called only three times and another one five times. Typically, towards the end of the semester, the instructor will call on students who would have a chance of improving their grade because they have more than one zero or low score; it does not make sense to call a student with three perfects a fourth time, because the lowest score is dropped anyway.

Edited March 31, 2017 by regentrude

[Bootsie]

The students are responsible for completing the homework, and the boardwork problems are the homework problems assigned for this day. So every student knows exactly what to prepare for, but since they cannot use their notes, copying does not help. We call 4-5 students each recitation, which happens twice a week. Longer problems can be broken up into sections to get more people.

Instructors use their own procedures to create randomness in calling the students. Some do it completely random, others have some system; often the students who got called the previous time but were absent land on top of the list again.

The lowest boardwork score is dropped, which allows each student to miss a boardwork for illness, family emergency, oversleeping, unpreparedness.

After dropping the lowest score, the scores are averaged and contribute 10% to the overall class grade.

Grades are entered into the class spreadsheet, and the instructor sees at one glance who has fewer scores and should be called again. instructors usually make their "victim list" before they go into the classroom. Since only the average matters, it is no problem if one student is called only three times and another one five times. Typically, towards the end of the semester, the instructor will call on students who would have a chance of improving their grade because they have more than one zero or low score; it does not make sense to call a student with three perfects a fourth time, because the lowest score is dropped anyway.

Thanks for the info.  I need to think about my victim list a bit more.  I found that if I called on the weakest students, who just seemed to get weaker as the semester went on, so that they had the chance to bring up their grade, it would just bring down the morale in the class.  I am now teaching at a school with more motivated students, so I might have a different experience.

[regentrude]

Thanks for the info.  I need to think about my victim list a bit more.  I found that if I called on the weakest students, who just seemed to get weaker as the semester went on, so that they had the chance to bring up their grade, it would just bring down the morale in the class.  I am now teaching at a school with more motivated students, so I might have a different experience.

 

Just wanted to add that the rest of the class is not watching the students write out their problems! They are otherwise engaged; instructors bring worksheets with previous test problems, students work in groups, instructor circulates. The students ate the board have 20-30 minutes to complete their problem (if they are prepared, they are much quicker)

 

[lllll]

nm 

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by _ -_-

[...................]

Just wanted to add that the rest of the class is not watching the students write out their problems! They are otherwise engaged; instructors bring worksheets with previous test problems, students work in groups, instructor circulates. The students ate the board have 20-30 minutes to complete their problem (if they are prepared, they are much quicker)

 

 

Oh my gosh....and here I thought you earned a PhD and do this job so you can teach, and I pictured long hours of preparing problems, grading stuff, and occasionally even worrying about students....but I never realized this whole entire underlying Spy Game you have to play to make sure students are not cheating.

 

It's so so sad!!! :(  Makes me so mad that someone who wants to TEACH, to impart understanding and knowledge has to spend so much wasted brain space on making sure people aren't cheating. 

[kiana]

Oh my gosh....and here I thought you earned a PhD and do this job so you can teach, and I pictured long hours of preparing problems, grading stuff, and occasionally even worrying about students....but I never realized this whole entire underlying Spy Game you have to play to make sure students are not cheating.

 

It's so so sad!!! :(  Makes me so mad that someone who wants to TEACH, to impart understanding and knowledge has to spend so much wasted brain space on making sure people aren't cheating. 

 

It is super sad. Especially in my case where they are really only cheating themselves. I mean, cheating on the homework worth 1/6 of the grade does not help when you fail the tests worth the other 5/6 of the grade. 

[Bootsie]

Just wanted to add that the rest of the class is not watching the students write out their problems! They are otherwise engaged; instructors bring worksheets with previous test problems, students work in groups, instructor circulates. The students ate the board have 20-30 minutes to complete their problem (if they are prepared, they are much quicker)

 

Thanks for the clarification.  What you are describing is more like an individualized pop quiz than class discussion regarding problems.

[regentrude]

Thanks for the clarification.  What you are describing is more like an individualized pop quiz than class discussion regarding problems.

 

yes. There is class discussion as well; students can ask the instructor questions about the homework, can ask to see a problem worked out on the board, and the practice problems the instructor hands out are discussed as well.

We offer five hours of help sessions staffed with peer tutors and faculty on the days before homework is due, so students have ample opportunity to get assistance with their homework, and can get their questions answered there. The students who would most benefit from this don't usually attend.

Edited March 31, 2017 by regentrude

[SparklyUnicorn]

:confused1:

 

Wow, I had no idea it was THAT bad.

 

My classes have always been so small that it was hard to get away with anything. 

 

 

[regentrude]

 

Wow, I had no idea it was THAT bad.

My classes have always been so small that it was hard to get away with anything. 

 

In smaller classes it is easier to spot if something unallowed happens - large classes are bad for that.

Especially when instructors don't know every student; then students sometimes try to send somebody to take the test under their name.

Or trade. True story:

Student A is a good student and only needs a few points on the final. His friend B is a bad student and needs a lot of points. So what do they do? Thinking the instructor will not be able to tell two students of their particular minority apart, they swap and each takes the test under the other's name. Alas, the instructor did know the names and faces of all her 70 students and caught them.

Edited March 31, 2017 by regentrude

[Bootsie]

Back to the OP's original question regarding marking down for spelling, one of the things that I struggle with in fair and consistent grading is what would cause someone to misspell a word.  Also, sometimes a "misspelled" word is often another, incorrect word.  Do students who not have a diagnosed disability misspell a word because they are being lazy, not trying, haven't studied, or some other reasons to subtract points?  Can a student with a diagnosed disability be misspelling words for those reasons as well as because of the disability?