Slashdot Mirror
Following Cheating Scandals, Harvard Dean of Undergrad Ed Visits CS50 Class and Tells Students Not To Cheat (thecrimson.com)
theodp writes: After a flood of cheating cases roiled Harvard's Computer Science 50: "Introduction to Computer Science I" last year, Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay Harris implored students in the course not to cheat on assignments at an orientation session Wednesday night. Course head David Malan, the Harvard Crimson reports, spent the last five minutes of the orientation session fielding questions from students confused about the course's collaboration policy and whether or not CS50 enrollees are allowed to use code found online. He told them never to Google solutions, and never to borrow a friend's work. Last week, CS50 students were informed via a CS50 FAQ that they are also now "encouraged" to physically attend the course's taped weekly lectures. In an essay last year, Prof. Malan had questioned the value of saying everyone should attend every lecture. Attendance is now also expected at every discussion section until the first mid-semester exam. In case you're curious, the estimated sticker price for attending Harvard College during the 2017-2018 school year is $69,600-$73,600 (health insurance sold separately).
Right now, I'm teaching a Web Programming & Database integration course. I do a flipped classroom model where I record the lecture, and we work on the homework in class. They can do the homework before class, but they have to show me their code & explain it before they hand it in. That way, I can catch any errors they have before they hand it in, and answer questions that they run into if they haven't finished it yet. I also know that they're doing their own work.
Also, if I see a common issue, I can do a 5 minute "mini lecture" to give an example technique in front of the class. If I come across a common issue after things have been submitted, I can do a 5 minute recorded lecture to reinforce what they should do in the future in that situation. Seems to work out well for my students.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
First things first, if the lectures are available online, I wouldn't make attendance mandatory. Instead, I'd explain to students why it benefits them to be in attendance:
1) It simply isn't possible to respond to respond to email or discussion forum questions immediately like what can be done in an in-class lecture.
2) It's far easier for an instructor to help students if the instructor knows who they are. It's not that the instructor is biased against anyone else, but it's hard to directly help students who you don't have any direct contact with.
As for cheating, reduce the incentive and value of doing so. That means eliminating any memorization questions. When I taught, I started creating multiple choice questions that asked the students to apply a particular concept to a very simple and straightforward case. It's easy to grade and yet students can't possibly look the answer up online because the question was unique to my class. There isn't a whole lot of extra work needed to create assignments that are mostly resistant to cheating. The ancillary benefit is that students learn the material better if they're asked to use it rather than simply recall it. For an introductory CS class, one simple approach is providing the students with a bit of code that's unique to the class and ask them to modify it in a relatively minor way. The grading is still simple, but it some basic competence is required even to find the appropriate solution online.
Collaboration is a tougher one, but individual exams are a way to thwart impermissible collaboration. I think the best solution is to tell students that they can discuss assignments with other students, but they need to generate their answer individually and are responsible for understanding the solution. It's completely fair to reference assignments on the exam or even to reuse questions. I've done both, and it places greater value on understanding the answers to the assignments if they will come up again on the exam. I liked this because the assignments directly helped in preparing students for the exams. It also takes away many of the potential complaints about exams being unfair if they are given a very good idea of what's going to be on the exam. My view is that there shouldn't be any deception about exams -- be upfront with students about what's going to be on the exams. However, make the questions require an understanding of the material and the exams will still be challenging. If the assignments directly relate to the exams, there's far less incentive to copy answers on them.
I believe that a lot of cheating can be stopped just by designing the course a bit differently. You'll still have students who try to be lazy and get by, but they'll eventually get exposed by the exams anyway.
I recall one of my CS classes, the prof gave an assignment. You were guaranteed to run into a problem. Way back when, the batch file had a limit on memory usage and the assignment needed more than you had. So you went to the prof and he would put a check by your name and tell you how to up the resource. At the beginning of the assignment he was very clear. Do not cheat and that included asking classmates about anything about this assignment. If you did not go see him, you flunked the class. A clever prof figures out ways to detect cheating.
I have a very hard time believing that. I can't speak to the quality of Harvard's education because I've never stepped foot in the place, but I've met a few people who went to those so-called 'elite schools.' They didn't seem any better or worse than those of us who could not afford the feeder schools, extracurricular activities, and other elements of institutionalized classism. The only difference I could tell was that they had nicer clothes and more expensive hobbies. Pardon me if I am highly skeptical of the claim that there's anything special going on there beyond networking and brand recognition, but I for one would much rather work with an Iowa State grad than someone from Harvard. At least I know which one has the ability to justly earn their position.
No, they are not just as good. A degree from Harvard will open a lot of doors. Not only because of the reputation, but also because of the alumni network.
So it's an expensive popularity contest. He was talking about the quality of education.
Dunno about most people but when I hear Harvard I think rich, not smart.
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u