Xref: utzoo comp.edu:1837 sci.math:5332 sci.physics:5499
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!mailrus!sharkey!atanasoff!deimos!eecea!gordon
From: gordon@eecea.eece.ksu.edu (Dwight Gordon)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.math,sci.physics
Subject: Re: Student preparedness
Message-ID: <533@eecea.eece.ksu.edu>
Date: 12 Jan 89 04:04:45 GMT
References: <4893@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <6435@killer.DALLAS.TX.US> <8125@aw.sei.cmu.edu> <2334@hou2d.UUCP>
Reply-To: gordon@eecea.UUCP (Dwight Gordon)
Organization: Kansas State University, Manhattan
Lines: 30

In article <8125@aw.sei.cmu.edu>, firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth) writes:
> Having prepared lecture notes, why not hand them out?  If 50%
> notes will help the student, surely 100% will help more, and why ever
> would a teacher NOT want to help the pupils?

Question 1 - Is it really helping them prepare for their jobs of the
future?  Who will summarize for them on the job in this fashion?
(No sarcasm is intended here.  I'm very seriously considering posting my
notes for one of my courses.  My reservation is that I may be defeating
part of the purpose of the course.  Former students suggested posting my
notes - I really don't care either way.  I just would like to do the best
I can for my students.)  Comments please.

More fundamentally -
Question 2 - Are we (as educators) attempting to teach the students the 
information itself, or how to learn (or, perhaps, how to teach themselves)?
Comments please.

  One of my courses has no text.  There is no one book that covers the
material sufficiently well to warrant my requiring the students to purchase
it.  Their notes are their lifeline.  One of the best things I heard from
the students with regard to their preparation for my hourly examinations
is that several went to the library in search of some books in order to
find some additional references.  (This is especially gratifying considering
that we have an awful library. :-)

Dwight W. Gordon         |   913-532-5600    |   gordon@eecea.eece.ksu.edu
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department |     dwgordon@ksuvm.bitnet
Kansas State University - Durland Hall       | rutgers!ksuvax1!eecea!gordon
Manhattan, KS 66506      | {pyramid,ucsd}!ncr-sd!ncrwic!ksuvax1!eecea!gordon