Making a class more challenging

[scamp]

I have been reviewing my evaluations and my worst score (3.9/5) was on the question about whether the class was challenging and intellectually stimulating. From the associated comments, it seem the students find the class interesting but not challenging, which I can totally see.

For background, I used to teach this class to senior STEM majors and I was asked to develop it into a general elective for all years (think, for example, a class on climate change). So I removed a lot of material that was beyond what a freshman undeclared major could do without a lot of hand holding (e.g. manipulating a lot of data). The class grade is all coursework, no exams.

I have good students and I think they do like to be challenged, so I am trying to figure out how to increase the rigor of a general elective in a meaningful way. Teaching an exam based class, I would just make the exams harder. But this is new and a challenge to me, as I never took this type of class as an undergrad myself.

Any advice?

[marshwiggle]

For background, I used to teach this class to senior STEM majors and I was asked to develop it into a general elective for all years (think, for example, a class on climate change). So I removed a lot of material that was beyond what a freshman undeclared major could do without a lot of hand holding (e.g. manipulating a lot of data).

To use the climate change example, you could set up a spredsheet with caculations already entered, and then have them play with some parameter values to see how those affect the outcome, so that they can then discuss how sensitive the result is to parameter values, some of which are more precise than others.

They don't have to do the data manipulation themselves, but can still actually do something quantitative, and which makes the whole thing more tangible. (The more mathematically inclined can play around more, since they can examine the model itself.)

[dismalist]

Dear Scamp,

What else do the evaluations of this course say? The answers to the challenging question seem disingenuous, given the source of your material.

I would re-insert material from your STEM course, not all at once, though. [And, yes of course, do give exams.] And, apologies marshwiggle, I'd stay miles away from spreadsheets for a novice bunch.

Best of luck,

Dismalist, who has seen, and been, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[pepsi_alum]

On a similar note to Dismalist, is there any consequence to getting a 3.9/5 on that particular eval question? Has your administration flagged it as a problem? Do you have any other issues or concerns with the class? If the answer to these questions is "no," I wouldn't stress about it. 

[scamp]

On a similar note to Dismalist, is there any consequence to getting a 3.9/5 on that particular eval question? Has your administration flagged it as a problem? Do you have any other issues or concerns with the class? If the answer to these questions is "no," I wouldn't stress about it.

No, there isn't any consequence for that score - I just don't want to be thought of as an "easy A" and have students start to get bored. I made some changes this year and my course average ended up at A- based on the grading scheme I set out at the start, which is too high. I am not stressing about it - for a variety of legitimate reasons, no one is particularly concerned about what the average in my class is, but an A- average would be higher than they would typically like to see.

Thanks to marshwiggle and dismalist for suggestions as well. I had them do spreadsheet work the first year I taught it like this and it was very eye-opening to see how little some of them knew about basic Excel. Manipulating a spreadsheet might work, but it might also be very painful for me.

[Parasaurolophus]

If the class becomes more challenging, aren't your other scores likely to go down a titch?

[marshwiggle]

On a similar note to Dismalist, is there any consequence to getting a 3.9/5 on that particular eval question? Has your administration flagged it as a problem? Do you have any other issues or concerns with the class? If the answer to these questions is "no," I wouldn't stress about it.

No, there isn't any consequence for that score - I just don't want to be thought of as an "easy A" and have students start to get bored. I made some changes this year and my course average ended up at A- based on the grading scheme I set out at the start, which is too high. I am not stressing about it - for a variety of legitimate reasons, no one is particularly concerned about what the average in my class is, but an A- average would be higher than they would typically like to see.

Thanks to marshwiggle and dismalist for suggestions as well. I had them do spreadsheet work the first year I taught it like this and it was very eye-opening to see how little some of them knew about basic Excel. Manipulating a spreadsheet might work, but it might also be very painful for me.

My idea was that you could lock down as much of the spreadsheet as you like, to the point of having only a few cells with numbers in them (for instance) which they could change. You could even have graphs built in so as they change those few cells they can see immeditately how the graphs change. In the labs where I introduce spreadsheets over time I've adjusted how much is already given and how much they have to do so that I can make what they have to do possible. It can be as little or as much of a black box as you want it to be.

[polly_mer]

And, apologies marshwiggle, I'd stay miles away from spreadsheets for a novice bunch.

One of the most useful job skills one can have is good spreadsheet experience. 

It's tough on whomever has to teach it, but that's now a minimum expectation for many entry-level middle-class jobs.  Staying away from it because college students struggle is another form of ripping off the people who already were ripped off by their K-12 experiences.  My elementary schooler in a good school district learns spreadsheets in class.  Being able to deal with tabulated data and do minor manipulations to look at sensitivities is extremely relevant to a non-STEM-degree-required job and even personal life for budgeting and evaluating large purchases with different payment options.

[scamp]

If the class becomes more challenging, aren't your other scores likely to go down a titch?

Ideally I would be able to keep all of them up! My teaching is very low stakes professionally, so I am mostly think of the student evaluation issue as a game that I am trying to win by coming up with new ways of teaching some of my material. It's a challenge (in a good way).

This is related to:

And, apologies marshwiggle, I'd stay miles away from spreadsheets for a novice bunch.

One of the most useful job skills one can have is good spreadsheet experience. 

It's tough on whomever has to teach it, but that's now a minimum expectation for many entry-level middle-class jobs.  Staying away from it because college students struggle is another form of ripping off the people who already were ripped off by their K-12 experiences.  My elementary schooler in a good school district learns spreadsheets in class.  Being able to deal with tabulated data and do minor manipulations to look at sensitivities is extremely relevant to a non-STEM-degree-required job and even personal life for budgeting and evaluating large purchases with different payment options.

One thing I have struggled with is that I probably come pretty close to what Polly refers to as a "professional fellow" elsewhere. I just teach this one class per year, but I work with the students as interns and on research projects at my "real" job. But since this isn't a class specifically for the majors I typically work with, I have a hard time justifying my extra time to teach basic skills, like Excel or how to write a research paper, since no one has asked me to incorporate that and I rarely reap the benefits of that later down the road (if I only taught majors, then I would probably feel differently).

But maybe that is why some students don't feel challenged so I might have to change that mentality!