MetaFilter posts tagged with college and students

Is it time to move beyond grades?

you just lost the game — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:15:25 -0800

There's a growing sense that the current system of college grading is broken beyond repair. With grade inflation and student entitlement running rampant, is it time to explore some creative alternatives? Or is grade inflation just a myth?

Avast ye!

Horace Rumpole — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:12:44 -0800

Professor Mills Kelly of George Mason University had his History 389 class spend the fall semester on a class project about the intriguing figure of Edward Owens, the "Last American Pirate". They blogged about their research, made videos for YouTube, and gave Owens a Wikipedia entry. The story even got some media attention. There was just one problem: History 389 was a class on historical hoaxes, and Edward Owens was their fictional creation. Professor Kelly actually warned readers of his blog in advance that the hoax would be coming, and argued that "we need to be playful sometimes in the study of history and that this course is a good way to do just that, even as we do some serious learning along the way." But others question the costs that the class's learning experience might have for the rest of us. There's a good article at the Chronicle of Higher Education if you have subscriber access. (Via).

Get that A grade you paid for!

mathowie — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 09:03:05 -0800

People talk about how universities have almost turned into diploma mills, churning out degrees to almost anyone that breathes. So what do students think about the current situation? According to this student, it doesn't go far enough: "I have come to the conclusion that the University system makes absolutely no sense. Students pay teachers to educate us, yet they are then allowed to tell us how much we're learning...I'll be the one to tell the receiver of my hard-earned money exactly how well they did. Shouldn't it be the same with education?" That's right, students want, nay, demand an A, since they paid for it.

Share the Wealth

archimago — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 11:23:18 -0800

MIT's OpenCourseWare project. Course materials for over 700 classes offered at the school, including syllabi, reading lists, related educational links for the self-learner. Get your knowledge on!!

Dead Grandmother Syndrome

Wet Spot — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 20:29:42 -0800

In England it is called the "Graveyard Grannies'' problem, in France the "Chere Grand'mere," while in Bulgaria it is inexplicably known as "The Toadstool Waxing Plan".

Next week, college students around the world will be taking final exams. Their grandmothers will be dropping like flies."

dack — Fri, 21 Jun 2002 09:28:20 -0800

College Students Speak Out, and just 14% can identify the president of Pakistan, 37% would likely try to evade the draft, and 71% "do not believe American values are superior to the values of other nations." Is your local college breeding ignorant anti-Americanists?

Voyageman — Mon, 12 Nov 2001 05:37:04 -0800

Harvard students “essentially a lazy bunch,” and not “that smart.” Whatever. At least they have the best friggin footbal team.

Dark Messiah — Fri, 09 Nov 2001 12:54:53 -0800

The World According to Student Bloopers is an extremely hilarious 'essay' which was created by Richard Lederer, who compiled embarassingly silly quotes from students' essays. This was brought to my attention by my Modern-Western History teacher, and I believe everyone should read this. While humorous, it is also indescribably frightening that there are people out there who actually wrote this stuff.

ceiriog — Tue, 25 Sep 2001 04:30:26 -0800

Notes for new students by Gwyn Alf Williams. Good advice for those of us just starting college courses. Or making contributions to community weblogs.

holgate — Tue, 24 Oct 2000 04:55:30 -0800

The War on... education? It's estimated that 7000 US college students will lose their entitlement to at least some financial aid because of previous drug convictions. Which is nice. Now, the follies of the "war on drugs" are well-documented, but this takes the cake. I thought that punishment was for the criminal justice system to dispense...

elgoose — Wed, 14 Jun 2000 13:07:22 -0800

Internet dependence among college students Article based on study done by counselor at RPI that identifies characteristics of "internet dependent" students. "What he found is that at least 10 percent of college students use the Internet so much that it interferes with their grades, their health, or their social lives, and that the problem may run much deeper at science-and-engineering institutions."

baylink — Thu, 25 May 2000 12:29:26 -0800

Is nudity art? Or is this USF student just a flake?