Comment by Nifty3929
18 days ago
You're kinda ignoring my point though - as a teacher (if I was), there is no way for me to unilaterally control what students have learned in those prerequisite classes. And clearly that's not working. Students entering my hypothetical classroom are coming in with insufficient knowledge to be successful. What can I alone, right now, do about it in my class?
Sure, I agree it's a systemic problem that needs to be addressed holistically, but I also need a plan for what to do in my classroom right now with these particular students. And I don't feel good about either passing those who haven't learned the material or failing 80% of the class.
If I was ignoring your point, it was unintentional because I was thinking about it through a systems level perspective and not at an individual lecturer's perspective. I didn't realize that was a concern of yours.
One thing I would try is to give students a scary speech on day 1. "This isn't going to be an easy class, I expect you to read the material, I will not be sharing my lecture notes, I'm a tough grader" etc etc.
I think an entrance exam is acceptable.
Having re-read my prior comment, I agree that I was unclear. Thanks for your comment. It sounds like we're probably 90-100% in agreement.