welte@sybil.cs.Buffalo.EDU (Martha Welte) (11/01/90)
Eibo and Juha Hyv|nen have been discussing the ethics of automatic
grading of homework. Here are my 2 cents worth.
In psychology there are researchers who have categorized the steps in
learning. As I remember them, they range from recognition, to memorization,
to ability to explain, to ability to apply to a new example, to ability to
extrapolate to a new situation. Not every subject can or should be
learned to the same level, time being as inelastic as it is. For
instance, I only need to recognize the names and purposes of the parts
of my car, I do not need to be able to fix all carburetors(i.e., apply
my understanding of carburetors to the new situation of broken carburetor).
And I do not need to become an enthusiastic learner on the subject of
carburetors.
Eibo wishes everyone to become enthusiastic about every academic
subject they study. This is inconceivable. Even within a discipline
about which one is a self-motivated, enthusiastic learner, there are
areas which are uninspiring. (Surely some come to mind :-) ) Juha
is trying to set a standard approximating the fourth of the steps
that I have listed. That is a fairly high standard for people not
specializing in the area. Those few who generate great enthusiasm
and curiosity can be encouraged somewhere outside of the homework.
Students pay money to go to school to achieve goals that they
have set for themselves. They want guidance in how to achieve those
goals as easily as possible. Should they be coerced into following the
guidance given? Eibo says no, never. I believe that this coercion
is part of what they are paying me for. Otherwise they could just
get the books out of the library and learn the material themselves,
and then present themselves for tests that prove their knowledge.
(Most colleges and universities seem to have some such arrangement.
They may call it "Challenge Exam", or "Credit for Life Learning",
or some other method of achieving credit by appealing to a flexible
professor. In India, the test is the only thing required for credit,
and it is given over 4 years worth of material.)
Teaching is more than lecturing, more than selecting
materials and projects that will help students learn, more than
evaluating the amount that students learn. It involves heavy doses
of applied psychology: idealistic-sounding methods are called motivation,
inspiration, holding up ideals for the students to attain.
Less idealistic psychological methods are called setting attainable
subgoals, mild coercion using grades as the lever, making the
students feel good about themselves in the context of the class
and the homework, and encouraging the students to wish to please
the teacher. All of these result in the students learning more.
All of them are well within my set of professional ethics as a
teacher. The students are paying me to make their learning more
pleasant and efficient. I would rather be a teacher than a lecturer.
What does this have to do with automatic grading of homework
problems? The homework problems fit into the categories of
attainable subgoals, mild coercion, followed by feeling good about
yourself because you have obtained the subgoal. The inspiration, on the
other hand, has to come from people: that is part of what class is for.