Newmark's Door

Another example of how not to word a test

Some years ago a professor at Cal Tech gave a test in which he stated, "You have 3 hours. You may use your class notes and Feynman."

Guess what happened.

Excellent idea for K-12 math instruction

In this brief talk math professor Arthur Benjamin argues that directing all our students toward calculus is a mistake. Most people won't ever need calculus. Benjamin argues it would be much better to direct them toward statistics.

"The New Criterion for MBA Admissions"

From Business Week, 7/9:

With company recruiters becoming ever more selective, B-school admissions departments are taking a closer look at how easily candidates will be able to parlay their education into a job come graduation. That means, among others, that they're seeking out candidates who have developed a workable career plan along with polished interview skills and a killer résumé. While admissions officers have always favored these qualities, increasingly—as the job market tightens—they're demanding them. 

"How Kids Really Choose a School [College]"

Rational and not surprising: parents have a big influence.

Also rational: teachers, guidance counselors, coaches, and siblings don't have much influence.

Maybe rational: friends are influential.

Very questionable, maybe irrational, in my opinion: on college tours, "The walking-backward student tour guide was the single largest influencer."

"Get Smarter"

An article in The Atlantic argues that to deal with looming problems--"Pandemics. Global warming. Food shortages. No more fossil fuels"--we should get smarter.

While I'm not sure the problems listed will be our biggest problems or that they'll even be problems at all--food "shortages"?--I agree with "get smarter". I noted almost six years ago Aaron Wildavsky's fine answer to how we should cope with all the potential risks we face. He argued we should 1) get educated, and 2) get rich, and then take our chances. (Chicago Boyz referenced Wildavsky's argument, too.)

Reliance on markets, not governments, are our best ways to get smarter and richer, but that's an argument for another day.

Why economics study selects for smart, persistent people . . .

. . . at least at the University of Virginia: "The requirements to declare and complete the Economics major are complex."

Two sentences I've just added to my undergraduate syllabus

"No opportunities for extra credit are available. Effort doesn't count; results do."

I added them upon reading this. Among the discouraging news: when 466 undergraduates at an "unnamed large public university" were surveyed, 66.2% agreed with the statement, "If I have explained to my professor that I am trying hard, I think he/she should give me some consideration with respect to my course grade."

Link via Hot Air.

"How To Get Into An Ivy League School . . .

. . . A Step-by-Step Guide Featuring Testimony From a Real Live Silver-Spoon Legacy and a Racial Minority".

Not for the humor-impaired or the incurably politically correct.

"Business Deans Say Co-Authorships Are Often Undeserved"

Chronicle of Higher Education, 6/11:

Eighty percent of the business deans who responded to a recent survey said that co-authors are sometimes “carried” by a colleague on a published journal article, and most felt that faculty rewards are sometimes based on an undeserved publication record.

Link via Mike Moffatt.

"How One Teacher Uses Twitter in the Classroom"

Sounds gimmicky to me, but if it works, it works.