tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post8330309476142441618..comments2024-03-12T14:31:50.264-07:00Comments on Bits and Pieces: Harvard Stops Offering (Information About) Easy CoursesHarry Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-57414059277767600502014-05-23T09:28:01.337-07:002014-05-23T09:28:01.337-07:00With regard to students and ``easy'' cours...With regard to students and ``easy'' courses I have seen the following cycle:<br /><br />A specialized elective is taught so only students who want to learn it are there. They all work hard and get A's.<br /><br />Word gets out that everyone got A's so more people sign up for it the following semester.<br /><br />Since they aren't as interested and they are just there for the `easy A'<br />the students do not do as well. Some are mad since they thought it would be an easy A. <br /><br />Students see that it is not an easy course so they stay away.<br /><br />NOW once again only those who are interested take it.<br /><br />Lather, Rinse, and RepeatGASARCHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06134382469361359081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-62634189933575150892014-05-22T16:25:02.399-07:002014-05-22T16:25:02.399-07:00A few years ago, I was told that the pre-tenure pr...A few years ago, I was told that the pre-tenure protocol worked something like this. This is from memory so it may not be perfectly accurate and it may have changed.<br />1. A committee of 3 faculty is appointed to review the professor's teaching. It is given a specific list of things to look for.<br />2. The committee meets with the professor to share and discuss the criteria, and to learn anything special about the course and the experience of teaching it.<br />3. The committee visits the course and observes the teaching (which of course is generally interactive at HBS).<br />4. The committee writes up its findings.<br />5. The committee meets with the professor to go over the findings.<br />6. A year later, steps 1-5 are repeated, not necessarily with the same committee members. Iterate until tenure review.<br />7. The reports are all part of the tenure review, providing not just a series of snapshots but a record of the professor's success at learning how to teach well in response to constructive criticism. Also, when the faculty discuss the candidate, many are present who have seen the candidate teach (that typically is not the case in FAS).<br />This is what it means to take teaching seriously, and the results show it.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-21373328410969239462014-05-22T15:56:16.712-07:002014-05-22T15:56:16.712-07:00You mentioned that HBS has a "more respectabl...You mentioned that HBS has a "more respectable way of evaluating faculty." Could you elaborate on this? I'm interested in hearing how it's different from what FAS does. Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-29989436481018682582014-05-21T08:35:27.099-07:002014-05-21T08:35:27.099-07:00Thanks, James! Spoken like a true Harvard computer...Thanks, James! Spoken like a true Harvard computer scientist, even if you are a law professor now!Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3116442395849122822.post-72344338227631425742014-05-21T08:24:54.572-07:002014-05-21T08:24:54.572-07:00I'll be sad to see the difficulty rating go aw...I'll be sad to see the difficulty rating go away. I found it quite helpful in my dayl. Any course beneath a 4.0 in difficulty wasn't worth my time. I can't have been the only one who found the rating helpful for avoiding guts. <br /><br />So I have to disagree with you that students shouldn't be choosing courses based on difficulty. Of course they should take it into account; the problem comes if they make their decisions primarily based on it, and primarily in favor of easy courses. Today's vote won't change anything of substance: students will always be able to find out which courses are guts from their peers -- or from the professors who let it be known, and none too subtly, in the first class session just how little work to expect. <br /><br />This move signals, rather, that Harvard thinks of its students as people who have to be tricked into working hard. But if there's a college in the country where that's less likely to be the case, I'm not aware of it.James Grimmelmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06204204250773397177noreply@blogger.com