Student Guide Corner

  A good friend emailed me a few days ago and asked for some suggestions on writing a test.   S tudents were mostly getting good grades on her tests but she wasn�t sure that they were learning as much and as deeply as she wanted. I think testing is a teaching topic that we do not talk about frequently enough.    Too often, we are probably afraid of exposing our weaknesses.    Few people are trained to write good test questions.    She was creating an accounting test but I believe the basic discussions around testing are pretty much universal across the various disciplines.    Here were the thoughts that I sent to her. Rule 1 � Testing is just about the most important thing a teacher does each semester because it sets the tone for the students.   It tells them what you really want and expect from them.   If you test memorization, they will learn to memorize.   If you test mechanics, they will learn nothi...

In my previous blog posting, I talked about motivation � are you a football coach or a scout leader?    I received several emails asking how I motivate students under either of those approaches.    Well, no motivational style works perfectly on every occasion but I think you need to (a) really communicate clearly to your students at all times and (b) sell the course to them.     Every course and every friend and every club is demanding every minute of a student�s time.    Why should they pick your course to focus their attentions?    I think that is where communication becomes vital and I think that communication has to have some element of marketing in it.    If you believe in the importance of your course, then you need to help them understand what needs to be done. Consequently, here is an email that I sent to my students today.   To:    Accounting Students From:    JH At the beginning of th...

The Aspen Institute Business & Society Program recently asked me to write a blog entry on educational innovation.    You can check out my thoughts on that topic at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140918142350-105641542-wanted-education-innovations-big-and-small?trk=prof-post ** A new school year has begun.    I hope your classes are all off to a great start.    One of the discussions that I have with myself at the beginning of every new school year is about my role as a motivator for my students.    Over the years, I have had a number of conversations with college professors who adamantly assert that student motivation is not their responsibility.   Their feelings certainly have some validity:    �These students are adults.   By this time, it is their responsibility to provide their own motivation.    If they don�t want to learn the material, then they should not be in my class.    In fact, I a...