I admit, I’m prone to the pitfall that undergraduate students want the least onerous possible path to graduation… I teach the capstone for undergraduates in the College of Business at my University. If they have taught me nothing, they have taught me there are two kinds of students — I classify them as “C’s get degrees” and “A’s at any price” — and yes, I share these categories with them, usually to a chorus of chuckles. The A’s will do whatever it takes to get a good grade from me, including but not limited to, arguing and negotiating over the specifics of a rubric and whether or not the textbook uses an active or passive voice in its description of Porter’s Five Forces for above average returns; while the C’s will ignore all attempts at contact unless I include the words “required to pass” in the message.<\/p>\n
I’ve adapted by making everything on my course site (the LMS, aka Canvas) as explicit as possible. I’ve created two different levels of detail. I use the LMS to spell out the bare minimum requirements for any assignment including a title, list of check-off items, and a rubric while also listing a “More assignment information<\/a>” (sample) link to a Google Doc that spells out a summary of all pertinent items, common processes, rubric specifics, and frequently asked questions.<\/p>\n Does this make me a pessimist? Does this make me a realist?<\/p>\n My pessimism is driven by the comments on my $ET$ ($tudent Evaluations of Teaching $cores). My realism is driven by a small but steady trickle of comments from a rarified group of students who thank me for introducing them to realistic expectations AFTER they graduate. Of course, only the first group are counted toward my likelihood of acquiring a contract in the following AY.<\/p>\n So, in a way, this post is a condemnation of $ET$. They are completed by students who have no context for assessing education and do not reflect the learning that comes later when they do know better…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I admit, I’m prone to the pitfall that undergraduate students want the least onerous possible path to graduation… I teach the capstone for undergraduates in the College of Business at my University. If they have taught me nothing, they have … Continue reading