| Charlene and everyone,
I also sometimes feel that I need to educate my students about HOW to answer exam questions - but I had not thought of explaining complete sentences - that's a good one!
One of the things I have started doing is explaining that while mnemonics are useful for remembering things, the students still need to KNOW something about the topic they have so carefully memorized.
Just yesterday I was reviewing the autonomic nervous system at the beginning of the second semester of A&P, and I told them this regarding "fight-or-flight" - that it is a helpful way for them to remember what the sympathetic branch does [in general terms of course - don't get your neck hairs up!], but that the phrase in itself does not demonstrate any knowledge of sympathetic physiology. I did this because I had SO MANY quiz and exam question answers in the past that just said "fight-or-flight". Gary Heisermann, Ph.D.
Department of Biology Salem State College
I would not accept the definition. If I had asked, "Give me another name for anterior." then ventral would be okay - and not really because they are not the same thing. But I would accept that. If I said, "Define anterior." then I would expect a definition, not a synonym. Of course I have gone over all definitions with students during the preceeding classes so they know exactly for what type of answer I am looking. Otherwise, it is a guessing game. When I ask for a definition, I also expect a complete sentence so that I know what they are talking about. It should start, "Anterior is ....." or "Anterior means ......" or whatever is suitable. I do not accept just a phrase or word because it does not tell me if the person knows or not. It is guessing on both of our parts. They hate it at first, but after a couple of months they appreciate what I am trying to accomplish - understanding what they mean. Of course, that means I have to teach them that a lot of words strung together is not necessarily a sentence. Charlene ----- Original Message -----Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 12:08 PM Subject: RE: [HAPS-L] Never assume...
Ken et al. How about this answer to “Define the term anterior.” “Anterior is the same as ventral. Anterior is opposite of posterior, which is the same a dorsal.” I have a hard time with this because what they say is actually true, albeit odd. I am still confused as to whether or not they answered the questions. Yes anterior is the same as ventral and that would be a great answer if I could assume that they actually know the definition of ventral. I continue to laugh… Jason LaPres Associate Professor of Biology Human Anatomy and Physiology North Harris College 2700 WW Thorne Winship 210E Houston Texas 77090 281-618-7132 ...that your students understand even the most basic ideas. You probably already knew that. So did I. But I got an interesting reminder on a homework paper today. This from a student (who, by the way, also scored 39/100 on the first exam of the semester this week):
"Radioactivity is caused by free radicals that cause cancer, heart attacks, and decay of the heart tissue. The free radicals are made of radioactivity."
I take a little consolation from the fact that the class average on the exam was 74.2 -- not too bad a start for the semester, notwithstanding the outliers.
Sigh,
Ken
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