SSScout 1622 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 The parent thread led me to remember my time at college. I was an out-of-state student at a mid west Big Ten school in Indiana, in engineering (to start with, at least). Freshman requirement was a class named "Speech 101". This was meant to help nascent engineers to improve their presentations, oratory, how to prove or back up arguments, communication skills. Among other things, we developed debate skills and research in fields other than the technical stuff. Our teacher was a communications major, and also "out-of-state". He regularly tried to get us to talk about "current events", and early in the semester gave a survey of the three classes he taught. He observed that the Out-of-state students were predictably much more knowledgeable about "current events". The "in-staters" were less so, but knew about the local basketball tournament. He ended up playing an informal game he called "Stump the Hoosier". At the start of the friday class, he would put three names or items from the news on the blackboard and everyone had to define or describe who or what they were in a short sentence or phrase. If the majority of the class ( which was much more than 50% Hoosier (Indianan), correctly ID'ed the items, we ALL got an A for the day, if not, we earned what we earned... Didn't happen very often. The extra A, I mean. Frinstance: Kissinger, Lugar, Viet Minh... How would that go over today, in your local school? Link to post Share on other sites
Lisabob 13 Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Well since I teach political science I'd like to think a majority in my classes would get it! But it could be a fun experiment, as long as it is done in a way that isn't offensive to any particular group of students. (Hey I went to a big 10 school in Indiana too - probably a different one though, and if I'm guessing right, you guys manage to steal that old oaken bucket from us just about every year! Indiana, oh Indiana...) Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 My students would fail miserably for those three names, well maybe not Kissinger but definitely the other two, whoever they were (just kidding, I lived through it). But the idea is a good one. I do something like that (not for credit, mostly to shake their confidence) with scientists, theories, laws, etc. And there are also those infernal 'clickers' that I have resisted so far but maybe I'll try them. I admit that the 'anonymous' aspect of the response might bring more of the students to the 'conversation'. You know, maybe I sold them short. I'll try it on Friday with those names and let you know how it went. No, I'll offer them as three points of extra credit on the exam tomorrow. That should do it and they'll definitely need the extra credit. Edited part: Wait a minute! Lisa, how can these things offend someone? Am I missing something?(This message has been edited by packsaddle) Link to post Share on other sites
Lisabob 13 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Ha, if I were to suggest that a certain demographic were more likely to get them wrong than the rest, I'd probably be in hot water! Although I think the notion that students who travel from out of state to attend school (any school, not just that low-level mechanic's school in IN that SSScout mentions...) are probably more likely to be up on the news. After all, they actively sought out a new location so they must be paying attention to events beyond their home town, or else they'd have stayed home. So I tried a version of this in my Euro politics class yesterday, ripping names & events from the headlines. Let's just say they wouldn't have gotten the "A" for the day on the basis of the results! We're going to try again though, not that they've got fair warning. It was sort of fun though, and they were game to give it another try. Here were the three terms I used yesterday: Jacques Chirac Marine Le Pen Lampedusa Link to post Share on other sites
SeattlePioneer 144 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 > Fun idea there, Lisabob! But the first example offered questions from public affairs to engineering students. You offered questions from public affairs to political science students. Perhaps it would be more comparable to offer you political science students a problem in integrating an equation or figuring the molar valence of a chmical compound! I recall a friend taking engineering clawsses saying that he had no objection to enginners being required to take classes in Social Science or the arts to "broaden" them, but he thought that arts and Social Science students would receive similar advantage if required to complete a year of regular college calculus as a graduation requirement.... Link to post Share on other sites
Lisabob 13 Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Seattle: I know when not to push my luck! (and we do require our students to take 2 science classes, including a lab, and a reasonably high level college math course to graduate, no matter which major a student selects.)(This message has been edited by lisabob) Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Holy Toledo, I didn't know who Marine le Pen was. Those would have been brutal for my engineers. My most popular course IS the one that qualifies for natural science for all majors and I have ALL majors in it, from architecture to zoology. So let me give it a try tomorrow and I'll report back. Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4360 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Perhaps it would be more comparable to offer you political science students a problem in integrating an equation or figuring the molar valence of a chmical compound! [sic] Perhaps just ask them to spell "chemical!" [sorry, I know keyboards are harsh on spelling. But, I couldn't resist.] I had a general studies friend take a "Science in Science Fiction" class and it got pretty deep, but he really liked it and got a lot of the math because it was put in a literary framework. I would say science questions from the New York Times would be fair game for most liberal arts majors. I do like the idea of throwing local as well as national figures in the mix. Every now and then one of our ASM's will throw out a quiz question to the boys. They have a week to bring back an answer. Usually only one boy makes the effort. Recent ones: Define Alluvial Define Depreciation Lands What Does the Moon Smell Like? Each of these were in the context of some current event. Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 OK, the results are in. Out of 72 exams, only 7 persons got all three questions correct. Guessing on my multiple choices might account for most of those. 15 students got all of them wrong. Maybe guessing doesn't work that well after all. The one that more of them were correct about was Kissinger. I think that here in the South, Lugar is too similar to a firearm to be distinguishable from the senator. They failed miserably on Viet Minh. Looks like I don't hand out that much extra credit after all.... Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
acco40 95 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 My favorite "engineering" question was asked of a friend of mine for his physics "orals" for his masters degree. If you dare, answer with only one word (so as not to give away the answer). I post the correct answer tomorrow. Who are the brave souls who will attempt? A man in a boat on a lake throws a brick overboard. Does the lake level rise, stay the same or lower? Assume no evaporation or precipitation. So again, please answer only: rise, stay the same, or lower. P.S. No, this is not a psychology experiment but a legitimate physics question. Link to post Share on other sites
OldGreyEagle 5 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I am willing to rush in where angels fear to tread, so my one word answer will follow my explanation This is the obvious (to me) answer so Raise Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1622 Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Archimedes be praised: stay the same... Now, Packsaddle, bear in mind, the three choices I gave were from my dim memory from the late 1960's. Secretary of State, Mayor of Indianopolis, and the communist insurgents (or whatchamaycallums. They changed their name thru the decade). Link to post Share on other sites
Eagledad 2792 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Stay the same. Barry Link to post Share on other sites
JoeBob 606 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Stays the same. JoeBob Link to post Share on other sites
JoeBob 606 Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 To the nearest million tons; in any given year, how much coal was exported from West Virginia? The unprepared student's answer: "200BC, Zero." Link to post Share on other sites
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