The Guide to Computer Simulations and Games, 1st(+1) edition almost done.

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteWe are almost there. The publisher webpage is up, and we are offering a free preview that includes the first two chapters. We have regained the rights to our 2011 book, The Guide to Computer Simulations and Games, originally published … Continue reading

Worth Sharing: The genetic fallacy: When is it okay to criticize a source? | The Logic of Science

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteNot new, but an excellent take on the issue. Last week, I wrote a post on the hierarchy of scientific evidence which included the figure to the right. In that post, I explained why some types of scientific papers produced … Continue reading

The Guide to Computer Simulations and Games to be re-released.

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteWe have regained the rights to our 2011 book, The Guide to Computer Simulations and Games, originally published by Wiley. We are in the process of updating it for a new edition, but in the meantime we have decided to … Continue reading

Maybe people aren’t so much bad as weak.

Approximate Reading Time: 2 minutesHmmm, so people aren’t naturally cruel, or selfish. (So much for Dawkins’ “selfish gene“) I would say that people are, however, easy to manipulate. This supports my theory that MOST people aren’t evil, merely weak. For the most part, they … Continue reading

What?! No Deadlines on Assignments?!

Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutesA common kind of complaint among many HE faculty: My student comes with a long story about why they need an extension on an assignment. I have already gone to some lengths to make sure my students have plenty of … Continue reading

Is Contemporaneous Grading More Consistent than Grading over a Long Period?

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteI have an education question for anyone with expertise in assessment: Are there any studies examining the notion that marking all of one assignment/paper contemporaneously leads to more consistency?   It strikes me as intuitively true, but I’d love to … Continue reading

Worth Sharing: The Misguided Drive to Measure ‘Learning Outcomes’ NYT

Approximate Reading Time: 7 minutesColleges should stop trivializing the transmission of knowledge. Source: Opinion | The Misguided Drive to Measure ‘Learning Outcomes’ I love having objective, clear-cut descriptions of what my students are supposed to learn, and nice, objective, clear-cut assessments that I can … Continue reading

Worth Sharing: Would College Students Retain More If Professors Dialed Back The Pace?

Approximate Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhy do we forget so much of what we read? Anthropologist Barbara J. King suggests that the answer might point toward benefits of a slower pace of teaching in the college classroom. Source: Would College Students Retain More If Professors … Continue reading