savageinfidel

Last week, in each of my three classes, we were covering some extremely difficult material.    The students came to class well prepared for the most part.    They did a good job of analyzing and discussing the issues.    They came up with reasonable solutions.     They were certainly not perfect but they demonstrated a solid understanding of some truly complicated concepts.    I was proud of them.    They had come a long way. We are now down to the last few days of the semester.    I was extremely happy to see such a good effort here near the end.    Even a grump like me had to be pleased.    Virtually every student in class had demonstrated a real improvement since we began back in August.    They not only knew more financial accounting but, just as importantly to me, they knew more about how to be good students.    At times like these, I am always reminded of a quote ...

Several weeks ago, I wrote a blog entry describing my discussion each semester with my juniors about the best book that they have ever read. In the blog, I explained that I thought education needed to be more than just conveying material. It also needs to be about helping students to broaden their horizons and become better rounded members of our society. If we are just going to teach stuff, computers can probably do that better than we can. I got quite a number of emails about that post – most were positive although some were a bit mystified as to why I would do that in an accounting class. Heck, I would do that in any class. So, okay, let’s take this thought a step further. What is your favorite class memory of the spring semester? I assume virtually everyone who reads this post is a teacher. What is your favorite teaching memory from the spring? (If you don’t have one, you probably need to make some serious changes.) One of my favorite memories is of a photograph (now taped to m...

Occasionally, someone will ask me to give them my number one piece of advice for becoming a better teacher. Teaching is such a complex art that I really think that is close to impossible. However, I do think there is one thing that every teacher (and I do mean every teacher) should do that will help them immediately to become a better teacher. Can you believe it? I’m almost guaranteeing you success with just one piece of advice. Every teacher should get a reality check by enrolling as a student each year in a class in something about which they have no real knowledge. In other words, they should walk around to the other side of the desk and put themselves into the student role just as a reminder of how it feels to be the struggling one. I don’t mean for a history teacher to take another history class. There’s no benefit. I don’t mean for an English teacher to take a class in poetry. I mean for a history teacher or an English teacher to take a class in quantum mechanics. Two weeks ago, ...

My department chair (Darrell Walden) sent out the following link to an article from The Washington Post . You may have to register to read it but it is well worth your time. (If the link doesn’t work, just go to www.washingtonpost.com and search for “Is college too easy” as of May 21, 2012.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/is-college-too-easy-as-study-time-falls-debate-rises/2012/05/21/gIQAp7uUgU_story.html Darrell summarizes the story quite well in just a few words. “Over the past half-century, the amount of time college students actually study — read, write and otherwise prepare for class — has dwindled from 24 hours a week to about 15, survey data show. And that invites a question: Has college become too easy?” As I travel around the country talking about teaching, I very frequently hear faculty members complain that “college students are not like they used to be.” My feeling (after 41 years in this job) has always been that college students really do not change much o...

Just a quick reminder (because I know adoption decisions for the fall semester are being made as I write), if you would like to receive a copy of the second edition of my Financial Accounting textbook (written with C. J. Skender of UNC and published by Flat World Knowledge) which just came off the press a few weeks ago, all you need do is send a note to faculty@flatworldknowledge.com.  Okay, I’m biased but I honestly believe you will get the best textbook on the market AND your students will each save $100 to $200. In these days and times, those are two very good reasons to give it a look.   (If you are interested, drop me a note at Jhoyle@richmond.edu and I'll send you a survey we did of all the students using the first edition just to see how they liked the book.) ** I have written this type of blog entry before over the years BUT last night at 9:47 was my very favorite time of the entire semester by far. Right before I entered my final grades for the semester into the...

There are many times in teaching that a teacher needs to explain things to students. In many college classes, they are young people with limited experience. Occasionally, they simply don’t understand, especially when things are not as they have experienced them in the past. Part of my job as a teacher is to explain things beyond my subject matter. There are stories that can sometimes help them come to a better understanding. I often have students come to my office after I return a test. They are upset that they didn’t make the grade they had wanted or expected. It is common for me to hear something like “I cannot tell you how hard I studied. In fact, I studied with Mr. A and Ms. B and I knew just as much as they did. We worked every question from class 8 times apiece. Yet, they made a 95 and I made an 83. What am I supposed to do?” I guess this is on my mind because one of my students told me this afternoon that the 83 he got on a recent test was the first grade he had received in coll...

I'm done with my grading. Not surprisingly, I handed in grades at 4:45 this afternoon, and got my first email at 7. But for a change, the first one wasn't of the "why didn't I get a higher grade" variety. The student wrote: Dear Unknown Professor: I just wanted to thank you again for a really great semester. You really helped me work hard in areas I didn't think I could and pushed me harder than I thought I could handle, but it overall seemed to pay off very well with my final grade. I learned a lot in your class this semester which I am hoping will help with my future finance classes since I am a Finance major. He struggled all semester, and pulled off a B+ - proof that hard work pays off. I'll take it. Now back to research. I have two papers I'm hoping to send to the AAA (American Accounting Association) meeting (the deadline's in 2 weeks), and a third I'm hoping to send to the FMA (Financial Management Association) meeting (the deadl...

It's that time of year again - the end of the semester. This time around, I'm teaching at both ends of the spectrum - the required undergraduate core class and the student-managed portfolio class. And it looks like my students performed at both ends of the spectrum, too. Running the student-managed fund class is always a great gig - it's small (about 10-12) and invariably composed of the best students in the college. They just gave their end-of-the semester presentation to a group of about 30 attendees (including a number of portfolio managers, analysts, and assorted other finance professionals). They probably did as good a job as any group I've seen to date. They were relaxed, professional, very competent, and they looked good in their suits and ties. They did a great job of explaining how they managed the fund and more importantly, why. There were a couple of attendees that made them peel back the curtain on what assumptions they used in their discounted ...

I was cleaning out some to the 1500+ emails I've let accumulate in my gmail account (unlimited space leads to sloppy housekeeping), and I came across this old (but still excellent) piece titled "Making the Grade", by Georgia Tech physics professor Kurt Weisenfeld: IT WAS A ROOKIE ERROR. AFTER 10 YEARS I SHOULD HAVE known better, but I went to my office the day after final grades were posted. There was a tentative knock on the door. ""Professor Wiesenfeld? I took your Physics 2121 class? I flunked it? I wonder if there's anything I can do to improve my grade?'' I thought: ""Why are you asking me? Isn't it too late to worry about it? Do you dislike making declarative statements?'' ...Time was, when you received a grade, that was it. You might groan and moan, but you accepted it as the outcome of your efforts or lack thereof (and, yes, sometimes a tough grader). In the last few years, however, some students have developed ...

When I was an undergrad (yeah, I know - a long time ago), I would often roll my eyes when a professor made a cultural reference that was about 30 years before my time. Now I increasingly find myself in the clueless professor's shoes. It's not surprising, since I've lived almost 3x as long as incoming freshmen. Every year, Beloit College publishes a "mindset" list for the incoming freshman class. It lists some of the "cultural touchstones" are a part of the class's lives (who were mostly born in 1992). Here are some of the items on this year's list that stood out: 4. Al Gore has always been animated. 12. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry. 27. Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive. 53. J.R. Ewing has always been dead and gone. Hasn't he? 64. Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine. Read the whole thing here - interesting stuff, and it'll make s...

The Telegraph (UK) gives us this article on the possibility that we might have "memory pills" (medicines that enhance our ability to learn and remember things more easily: The medicine has been designed originally to help treat Alzheimer's disease, but could be adapted and licensed for sale in a weaker form within the next few years. One brand of memory-enhancing pill is being developed by the multinational company AstraZeneca in collaboration with Targacept, an American company, while Epix Pharmaceuticals, also from the US, is developing another. Both have "cognitive-enhancing effects" which are aimed at treating patients with age-related memory loss. Read the whole thing here I expect that if the pills become available in the U.K., they'll make their way her into a black market long before they become legally available. My students have told me that there's a growing use of Adderal and Ritalin among their fellow students when studying for exams. I can ...