If you were a professor, how would you run the classroom?

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What percent of the grade would depend on homework, quizzes, tests, attendance, etc.?

Would you accept late homework / allow make-ups of quizzes or tests?

Would you give extra credit?

What would the grading scale be? Would you grade on a curve?


I would have the grading scale be: 93% = A, 90% = A-, 87% = B+, 83% = B, 80% = B-, etc. down to 60% = D-. To me, that's the "standard" in America and what most students have been conditioned to think of. I'd have A+ maybe be 98% because I'll give extra credit. If given the choice of giving A+'s or not, I'd give A+'s. I would NEVER grade on a curve - rather, I'd just add points to everyone's scores if I think the average is too low.

I've had a lot of classes where tests were 60% or more of the grade, which I think is probably high. I would probably have tests and quizzes be 40-50%, homework 30-40%, attendance 5-10% and perhaps a special project or paper worth 10-15%.

I would probably accept late homework with a penalty, so that a student (especially straight-A or nearly so) doesn't get royally screwed by forgetting about one assignment, but it's still better to do it on time. I'd allow makeups of tests for sure since nothing's more unfair than losing two letter grades in the whole class because you were sick on the day of a test!

I'd definitely give extra credit. Going above and beyond the required material should be rewarded, and this will allow top students to make up for a bad test, missed assignment, etc. The highest score possible would be about 105%.


I've been told I'd make a good professor, but I haven't really thought about seriously trying to become one.

I am a Prof,

I hold the view that no points should be given for attendance.

With a good excuse I will show mercy to those who are late with their home work or need to take time off from class or lab. However with the exam if you miss it then you have to wait for a resit.

Normally I never give out extra credit.

I think that the marks for late homework should be taken off, one suggestion is to mark the work as if it was on time and then apply a math based correction. I think that the best correction could be a zero order decay

A = Ao (1 - kt)

Where

A is the mark given to the student
Ao is the mark which the work would have been given if it was handed in on time
t is how late the work is
k is a constant

While some profs might favour first order decay one. A = Ao exp -kt

In this case k = ln(2)/half life for the marks

While some profs do not have a math based rule

If I were to run a classroom in college I'd do it in a common-sense way.

Attendance:

I'd never bother taking attendance. If the students miss the lecture its their problem. They're adults and its not my job to babysit them.

Homework:

None. Zilch. I do not believe in homework. Learning takes place in the classroom not at home and frankly, i'd consider myself a failing instructor if I had to have them take -my- job home.

Instead of homework I would make the class hands-on and as interactive as possible. Not interactive in the sense of assigning people into groups to do projects in class nor calling on every person every day since not everyone learns the same way. I mean interactive in the sense that it covers all the ways people learn: visual, audio, tactile and rote.

I would split classes into theory days and practical days. Theory days is lecture, practical is the interactive parts (students teaching each other, hands-on individual projects done in class, etc).

I would try to do have the students teach themselves many of the concepts. One learns a lot more if you have to explain concepts to someone else. Theory days would be me lecturing the first half of class and assigning a concept to each student to read up on the rest of the class. Today we have internet in the classroom..they can get the info from the book or from the net. Practice days could include the students teaching each other the concept not by class presentation but by rotating people to explain their concepts to each other.


Grading:

Here I would borrow the system my high school experimented on my age group in the last two years (and with great results). I would outline each concept students are to learn during the class and grade each individually with a pass/fail. During the semester I would bring back the concepts during quizzes or practical days and see if they grasped the concept.

The point of this is that if I did not learn the concept in the first two weeks of class that it appeared but did grasp it by semester's end then its a success..the student leaves the semester knowing the stuff.

For this I would use the quizzes (id have one every day..short, simple, to the point). Exams would be short answer only.. I don't believe in multiple choice (its just dumb really), matching or essay type questions. In the real world you know the damn thing or you dont. No guessing, no essays. I would prefer not to give exams but I know all universities require them hence the exams would simply cover the same concepts covered in the quizzes.

My Archaeology Method and Theory prof. had the best final exam I've ever had. He typed out a 2 page long story of how a primitive village lived and how it was found later by archaeologists... and the 50 short answer questions of the exam were all based on our interpretation and use of concepts we had learned.

In response to the bolded part, what if there isn't enough time to learn all of the material in class? For example when I studied psychology, the lectures would be overviews of the topic, then we would have to read the text books and other material in our own time, to get a more in-depth understanding. I wouldn't expect to learn everything I needed to know about psychology from just a few hours of class time per week, no matter what the structure was. Or would you have the students attend class for longer hours? That would allow for more material to be shared, but when do the students get a chance to learn quietly by themselves? Some students have trouble learning in a group setting. I'm not saying that homework tasks as such are necessary, but individual study time would be necessary for particular types of students (e.g. introverts).

I'm basing this on a standard 1-hour class time.

My point about readings is that it makes no sense for an instructor to have students read 20+ pages of the textbook so the next day he can sit in a classroom and listen to the same exact information he read the night before. Its a waste of time for the student at home and in class. Instead, if the class is broken into 30 minutes reading time (silent reading) and 30 minutes of the instructor going into further detail on the key concepts covered in the reading then the educational quality increases and nobody wastes time. It would not be like that every day however... it all depends on the subject/concepts being covered.



I understand where you're coming from. I'm an introvert and I hate to be assigned to group tasks. However this is not high school, its university level and the real world, the job market, requires that you be able to communicate information to at least one person. That is why I would not have group settings or presentation-type settings but rather have people rotate and have 1-1 time to explain the concepts they were assigned to others.

If the student wants to learn quitely by themselves they can do so. Their own time is their own time. They have the textbook don't they? I would not be assigning reading but the syllabus would indicate what chapters/concepts are being covered each class day. Again, this is university level not high school.

This is where the grading system really comes into play. The student knows what key concepts he has scored a non-passing grade on so he can focus on reviewing that in his own time because he knows it will pop up in future quizzes as I try to test if he has grasped the concept.

I guess that's why I've so often been able to get away with not doing the readings before class! Lectures and homework/labs seem to be enough for me. For me, the text is mostly for "looking up" stuff I didn't catch in lecture or forgot, plus most professors here post notes online. There have been a few textbooks I never even opened - and yet whose classes I got A's in!

It's tempting to say I'd just run an Online Computer course.

If I were a Professor my rules would be that everyone starts with an A and you can decide what grade you will get by the end of the course depending on how much effort you put in.

I would talk with individuals who come to my office hour to talk about their disability and will work with the Disability Services Department and student with the disability to make sure they are getting the proper accommodation.

On the first day of class I will go over the syllabus and make sure everyone understands my policies, assignment due dates and projects .

My Course will be a Project Learning Based course whereby you progressively work towards the final project as opposed to final exam. At the Midterm exam time there will be a checkpoint whereby you can explain your project to the class and get feedback.

I would incorporate the use of technology, textbooks that are of interest to you. I would assign one core book but allow the student to be self-directed and decide whether or not the book suits their needs. If they are interested in a certain book I would allow the student to use the book and other electronic resources.

If a student feels uncomfortable to answer questions in front of the class I would allow the student to post on the online forum and get replies. I would make it clear to the class that we all learn differently and that we must celebrate our differences.

As for group assignments I would ask the class to team up with classmembers that they feel comfortable to work with. The group work would only start the 3rd week of class and each group assignment would last the entire class period so if the student did not feel comfortable with the group he or she can switch.

I have an open office policy and will allow my students to contact me via Skype, Email, Online and Face2Face communications as I realize that each student feels more comfortable interacting in different ways. I expect an email from the student stating how they want to primarily contact me.

If a student will miss the lecture I will be sure to post the class notes online and make sure they can call a student to assist them further. I would be open to assist the student should they want to discuss the work missed.

Your notes you take in class are whats important to you. I do not expect you to take notes to study for exams as my class is Project Based Learning. Each lecture builds up to your final presentation. You can use my resources as a stepping stone for your project.

Your time outside my class is yours. You can work as much or as little as necessary on the project. A few times during the semester I will post prompts online and have you write 2 paragraphs on each of the 5 prompts and this will count as your participation grade. In addition I expect you to respond to at least 2 classmates in addition to replying to your own post.

I will assign project checkpoints whereby a class period is set for you to meet with me for 5-10 minutes to discuss your project in small peer groups, At each checkpoint you are to review your peers and offer them feedback. I consider this part of your participation grade.

Furthermore I will expose you to the different evaluation methods.

Your final presentation will be done on Elluminate using PowerPoint and can be done from home. I understand that people can be nervous to give a presentation which is why I will allow you to pick a time slot 3 weeks into the course and allow you to practice on Elluminate. If you are uncomfortable to talk and move through the slides at the same time I will allow you to pre-record your audio and send it to me as an MP3 and will allow students to listen to the audio as you move through the slides . You would say Slide 1 and discuss your slide pause and say Slide 2 etc.

If you are getting stressed out during a lecture I will allow you to take a 5 minute breather as part of your accommodation. I p;an to begin every class session with a joke or a informal conversation and then warm up into the lecture.

Your grade is posted online and if you want to improve your grade I welcome extra credit assignments. If I see you are not passing my class before the mid point I will talk with you and give you options ranging form an incomplete to asking you to drop yourself from my class.

How would you rate me as a Prof?

A+ = 100%-95% B+ = 89%-85% etc
A = 93%-94.99% B = 83%-84.99%
A- = 90%-92.99% B- = 80%-82.99%

Grades will not be on a curve. I don't want to punish struggling students. Instead, I will add points to harder quizzes, tests, projects, or labs for the entire class. If I feel the class isn't working hard, I will simply not add points.

The only instance where I will allow extra credit is when a student is at the D+,C+, or B+ range and wants to be bumped up to a C-, B-, A- grade. I will give them a project between choices for them to do. If I am satisfied, I will bump it up.



Ideally:
Quizzes: 20%
Homework: 10%
Project 1: 25%
Project 2: 25%
Lab 10%
Final: 10%

I am strongly against "make-or-break" tests like midterms and finals. If I am required to give a final then it will be the lowest percentage I can possibly give it. I would not have midterms.

Consistent bite-size quizzes on material that builds on itself throughout the quarter are a better evaluation tool than one large test.



No, I would not unless there are accommodations I must give to the student. Instead, I would have two grievance passes. Each student can extend the deadline of their assignment and/or reschedule their quiz/test.

This way, students who are hit with many assignments in other classes have the opportunity to space out their work. Some students who had a bad day and performed badly that one day will also benefit.

Students with exceptional circumstances may privately come to me, and I will give them more than two grievance passes.



No. Students need to work hard from the first day. The grievance passes will help students make up for a poor performance on a bad quiz, test, or assignment.

If i was teaching a college, i would introduce everyone to let people get familiar with classmates.

then go over the course studies that will be issued. give out a little humor and give a warm

gratitude. and i even give the first lecture of what the studies will be about.

at the end of class, i will give a Pamplet and some advice for next day. extra credit for anyone to

prove me wrong that you wouldn't be taught by a awesome person for the school year. ^^

college should be fun and wanting to go to and not to be forced.

I would be throwing things at the students, most likely.

"I have explained this TEN TIMES ALREADY!! !! !"