METHODS FOR GRADING STUDENTS I N THE MEAT LABORATORY WORK

Transcription

1 86. METHODS FOR GRADING STUDENTS I N THE MEAT LABORATORY WORK The assignment of t h i s topic came very much as a surprise t o me, and as those I have questioned plead Innocent the mystery becomes even more cloudy. Perhaps someone on the program committee had heard me expound i n f o m l l y, a s has each of us, as t o the j u s t i f i c a t i o n of our grading system and methods of grading, and the significance o f the grade once it is determined. Teaching would be 80 much nore i n t e r e s t i n g for t h e teacher if he did not have t o grade reports, quiz p p e r s, and f i n a l examinations o r determine a f i n a l grade f o r each student in h i s courae6, Parenthetically, g r e a t e r progr e s s might be realized, i f instead of grading papers fyom the l a a t class ho spent t h a t time p r e p r i n g f o r the next class. The teaching s t a f f has been joined by t h e etudent body i n questioning the adequacy o f the current grading systems. Our student daily a t Ohio S t a t e has used t h i e as a topic of Len&& and serious e d i t o r i a l s. They have quoted sttpposedly more democratic schemes i n use a t other u n i v e r s i t i e s. They have intimated strongly the desire t o reciprocate with a s e t of grades on the i n s t r u c t o r. No doubt a l l of you recognize such familiar proposals. No one can be c e r t a i n that every grade he gives i s j u s t and true, b u t it is i n t e r e s t i n g t o make general comparisons, During a recent year a t Ohio State, we were asked t o turn in a summan of t h e grades given in each cour88, the registrar aesembled t h i s data and a committee on University grades appointed by the Presidant made a detailed study o f the data. For example, they learned that the average o f the e n t i r e University f o r one year was 2.53 on the b a s i s of' a perfect 4.0 and t h a t tb average from quarter t o quarter varied only approxiapately.01 (one hundreth) of a point. It was Pound t h a t the average grade i o considerably higher f o r "900" courses than f o r "400" courses. In a typical quarter the average grade increased gradua l l y f r o m 2.34 f o r "400" course6 t o 3.80 for "900" couraes. Such v a r i a t i o n is t o be expected, and i s e a s i l y j u s t i f i e d, The averages f o r the various colleges were reasonably close to the university average. The A r t s College was lowest, probably because of the large number of required courses given f i r s t and second year students, Our College of Agriculture m6 within a few hundredths o f a point of the University average, On a department level, the averages varied more wfdely and would indicate t h a t d i f f e r e n t philosophies of grading were in existence. But the finger of c r i t i c i s m f e l l heavy when grades given by d i f f e r e n t instructors were compared, One of the most s t r i k i n g examples was the comparison of grades given by two instructors i n a aingle multiple-aection course. The point average o f the grades given by one I n s t r u c t o r was 3.18 while the comparable figure f o r his contemporary m e The first gave three-tenthe per cent of his students D ' s and no flmlss, the second gave 22 per cent D ' s and E's. I n which i n s t r u c t o r ' s c l a s s would you t r y t o get? It i s reasonable to expect more variation between individual units than between averages but that doesn't make the grading any more fair f o r t h e student,

2 87. Admitting that grades a r e a necessary e v i l, those of us i n meats work a r e very fortunate. We have many roads by which t o reach t h e ultimate goal, and by the use of these varied methods can more accurately measure t h e s t u dent's accomplishments. E i t h e r a l l or a t l e a s t some p a r t of a meats course would be of t h e skull d r i l l type, This makes It f e a s i b l e, if not necessary, t o t e s t t h e etudent's a b i l l t y t o comprehend w h a t is t o l d him, analyze subsequent questions, and hand back s u i t a b l e answers. This type of testim Is very a b s t r a c t. Is I t r e a l l y a t e s t of t h e student's a b i l i t y or l e it a t e s t of t h e l n s t r u c t o r ' e proficiency i n e f f e c t i v e teaching? Closely r e l a t e d i s a more p r a c t i c a l phase of the meats course. By t h i s I mean such things as anatomy and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f wholesale and r e t a i l cuts, A l o i n pork chop i s the same today a s it was l a s t quarter o r w i l l be next week. It i s & d e f i n i t e thing not the opinion o f the i n s t r u c t o r versus the opinion o f t h e student. It is an excellent way t o measure t h e student's level of achievement and even make comparisons w i t h previous classes. - One s t e p f u r t h e r into t h e meats course we face a t h i r d stage, the laboratory work. Here i s an opportunity t o observe the degree of s k i l l developed and displayed by the student. Does he use a b e l l scraper with flourish, can he remove a NO. 1 beef hide, and doeo h i s hand f i t the handle of a boning knife as w e l l as it does the s t e e r i n g wheel of an automobile? Surprisingly enough our students freely admit the value received from an opportunity t o perform a t e n minute c u t t i n g demonstration. O f course, there i s h e s i t a t i o n on t h e i r part before the demonstration, but they l e a r n very much about talking and working before an audience. I t a l s o provides a splendid opportunity f o r the inatructor to observe how well the student in h i s meats course i s grasping information as w e l l as s k i l l. I n conclusion may we suggest a few thoughts on the philosophy of grading. It w h t t o be t h e personal privilege of every university teacher t o appraise h i s students and measure their achievements providing he exercises t h a t prerogative w i t h utmost c a r e, He should examine h i s teaching techniques, analyze the evaluation procedure he uses i n measuring the achievement o f h i s students, and he should cxamine his grade p t t e r n from time t o time i n terms o f t h e University a6 a whole, his department, and h i s c o l l e a ~ e s It might be suggested that the grade reflect a degree o f achievement in the subject matter o f t h e course, Including such factors as personality, a t t i t u d e and attendance, destroy the meaning o f t h e grade, a8 no one knows the r e l a t i v e weight o f each f a c t o r used. Some folks prefer the use of the n o r m 1 curve i n a r r i v i n g a t grades, but a n o m 1 curve is i n r e a l i t y an ae~umptionwhich should not be app l i e d t o small sections a s are the majority o f t h e meats s e c t i o n s, Psychologic a l exam grades a r e undesirable as a basis f o r determining grades, likewise cumulative point averages should never be used and c u t t i n g a grade is not recommended a0 a t o o l f o r punishment. On the other hand, i f Q teacher makea c l e a r t o himself and h i s students the objective and purposes of the course and the minimum standards expected, the o b j e c t i v i t y of the grade may be increased measurable. A statement worthy of emphasis i s t h a t every teacher needs t o conf e r w i t h other staff members regarding problems in grading and c e r t a i n l y the younger, lesa experienced members need the consultation and advice of t h e senior staff members. These thoughts represent a c r o s ~section of the assigned s u b j e c t, I d i d not think it advisable t o ply everyone of you w i t h a questionnaire during the busy weeks following the release of t h i s program. Furthermore, I a m w e l l aware of t h e valuable discussions which follow the opening volley a t t h i s conference. Consequently I have l i m i t e d my paper t o a few f a c t s and a f e w thoughts

3 88. with :the understanding t h a t Professor Heck and ~ t i - m e i n k i l!contribute l highl i g h t s h m your otm eq.erience6 to supplement wrac h a b been s a i d and as a st,ispzlsnt to -her thinkzing CHQIRMAN ANIEBSON: Thank you, M r. Cahill. Discussion of t h i s subject will be l e d by M r, M. C. Heck of the University o f Arkansae. MR. BECK: Thank you, Professor Anderson. This is a hard subject t o l e a d a discussion on and I am r e minded of t h e students who think that grades do not mean everything. It is who you know t h a t counts and not how much you know. I should like t o take that one s t e p k urther and say that it is how much the f o l k s who know you h o w about you r a t h e r thm how much you a c t u a l l y know. I n my p m t i c u l a r case I think the people know more about me than I r e a l l y have the a b i l i t y t o put out. They have a good opinion o f me o r I think they do anyway. Students see their grades posted and invariably they say, I made an A i n the meats couree, and other studen s come i n and their names a r e down a t the bottom and they say, h o f e s s o r Heck gave me a D in the meats coume. He gave me a D. I should l i k e t o know how it i s i n your particular i n s t i t u t i o n s. Do you give grades o r do they make them? I should l i k e t o conserve time here and open t h i s up i f there is any discussion on grading i n meat work. Probably a l o t of you do not have t o grade papere. Your a s s i s t a n t s do the grading work. We had some discussion on grading t h i s morning, that i s, on the type o f examination. So maybe there is no need for f urther discussion along t h i s l i n e, MR, B W : S should l i k e to ask M r. Cahill, i s there any corr e l a t i o n between the laboratory grade and t h e academic grade, I suppose you c a l l it, o r the grade that you give on your examination. MR. CAHaL: If I get your question correctly, Bob Bray, it is do the grades that we get from the essay type o f example c o r r e l a t e with the grades we give t h e student i n the laboratory. I8 that i t? MR. BRAY: No. Laboratory grading I think primarily is a grade you give him on the basis of s k i l l s developed during t h e course, his way of handling a knife, MR. C A H I U : We do not emphasize the s k i l l i n the laboratory Mork as much as we do work done i n the c l a s s room, W e realize t h a t sone folks are j u s t n a t u r a l l y unaccustomed t o handling tools. They cannot learn no matter how hard they t r y. For that reason we deemphasize that part of it and attempt t o emphasize the work that they get *om the l e c t u r e s. I know t h a t many of you w i l l come t o blow8 w i t h some of the things that were said, b u t grading has always been one of the p i t f a l l 8

4 89. of my work amund the college. When the administrators come along and help ue with oome of these problem6 I am very g r a t e a l, and i f we can a s s i g n a grading on the basis of achievement i n subject matter, it takes a great load o f responsibility o f f t h e i n s t r u c t o r. Employers must learn t h a t the grades mean one thing; t h a t they can come t o the college o f f i c e and get a personnel sheet which has been f i l l e d out on which we may rate a man very high on a t t i t u d e, personality, and so on, and compare grades along w i t h some of the other things. When we t r y t o give one grade tkt covers everything it i s j u s t a l i t t l e confusing t o the student, the teacher, and anyone e l s e concerned. MR. BRAY: A s I underatand it, you do not give a man a grade for the way he performs in the laboratory, how w i l l i n g he is and 8ome of thoee thinge. I t h i n k t h a t i s a problem, is it n o t? Some of the boys r e a c t much b e t t e r t o laboratory work than othero. They seem t o pick up much more in the laboratory. MR, CAHILL: I n grade school X carried home a grade card t h a t gave me grades in English, spelling, arithmetic, and conduct, and I wonder i f maybe we should not have a conduct grade i n college a s well as one i n subjects, MR, HECK: Is there further discussion2 CHAIRMAN ANIBRSON: I should l i k e t o ask J u s t one question about the way that is put on the examination, whether m i d quarter o r final, as compared with t h e &y you put it on the laboratory work. Do you make any dietinction? Do you balance those i n any way? MR, CAHILL: T h a t i s l e f t e n t i r e l y up t o the i n s t r u c t o r. For example, in one quarter w e had 25 grades on t h e otudents p r i o r t o the final examination. So that they knew beforehand that the f i n a l examinat i o n would not carry too much weight on t h e basis of t h e i r e n t i r e quarter grades. I suppoee the f i n a l w i l l vary anywhere f r o m 10 t o 30 per cent of the f i n a l cotme grade. MR. BRATZIER: I a e t year Ralph Soule and I each put our own estimate of the improvomnt i n a man's a t t i t u d e that was shown during a quarter's work and we do t h i s grading individually so as t o get away from any personal b i a s, One man may get i n my hair and be buddies with someone e l s e. Normally we put about a quarter, I t h i n k, on t h a t, a quarter on the quizzes and a quarter on the final, and we have some work sheets. But I have found out t h a t t o get a grade f o r an individual it works b e t t e r if you have two men grade him individually. It is very easy f o r a man t o be predudiced if the student it3 always asking questions o r a c t i n g unreasonably. MR. HECK: At the university where located we a l s o r a t e every student in t h e class a t the end of t h e clase period. I n other words, we t u r n it i n t o the head of t h e department and he keeps it u n t i l the student graduates, and then i f he io called upon t o recommend a grade a s s i s t a n t, f o r inotance, he can go over a l l the courses t h a t the student has had i n the Department of Animal Industry and g e t a r a t i n g f o r him. Maybe he has had classes two times under 8ome o f us and we should rate him the same each tine. We do not always do t h a t b u t maybe

5 90. he has improved o r dmpped doim, But it gives a p r e t t y good g v e r - a l l picture of the a b i l i t y of the particular man which really counts when he goes out t o get a job. I s there any f u r t h e r discussion? ing back t o Professor Andereon, CHAIRMAN ANDERSON: I f not, I w i l l turn the meet- Thank you, Mr. Heck. The next subject on our program is "Procedure Followed f o r Maintaining a Complete Inventory of Materials and Equipment i n a Meat Laboratory," and Mr. V. K. Johneon, of the University of I l l i n o i s, w i l l present t h e paper. ###