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I had an instructor that was quite unforgiving on his tests - he was well known for the difficulty of his exams. However, he made up for the brutal exams with

I had an instructor that was quite unforgiving on his tests - he was well known for the difficulty of his exams. However, he made up for the brutal exams with ample extra credit opportunities. As a result, while very few people got As and Bs in his exams, a normal-ish percentage of people passed, but were forced to work harder than expected to pass. This was Calculus I and II, so it was tricky but an interesting teaching style. At least those who passed knew the material. Plenty still failed - but this is why everyone I knew called him a difficult, but not unfair, instructor.

faeriechangling 4y ago
What are teachers reasons to not giving out extra credit? From the outside looking in, it seems like being against extra credit ensures students will learn less and pass less.
P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago
The best teacher I ever had was known for being difficult. It was American History (college) and I've never liked history. When people found out I was taking his class, they tell me they were sorry for me. To this day, that man was the best orator I have ever seen in my life (and I'm over 40). He would get up, start talking, and I would be enthralled. It quickly became my favorite class. But he was ironclad in his expectations. He had no attendance requirements, but every class he gave a 3 question quiz over the lecture the day before. These quizzes added up to be worth more than the tests in terms of final grade, and he would only allow you to make up 3 of those quizzes (for missing). And he was absolutely, 100%, willing to fail you if you didn't have the points for it. What I learned from that class is that students didn't like him because he wasn't lenient. You got the grade you deserved and there was never any leeway. He made this quite clear. --- Contrast this with the semester I ended up having to drop Diff Eq. The professor had a policy of 3 missed days is an automatic failure. My alarm clock stopped working and I went over that limit (kept trying to get people to wake me up, but none did). I had to drop a class I had an A in.

faeriechangling 4y ago

What are teachers reasons to not giving out extra credit? From the outside looking in, it seems like being against extra credit ensures students will learn less and pass less.

P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y ago

The best teacher I ever had was known for being difficult. It was American History (college) and I've never liked history. When people found out I was taking his class, they tell me they were sorry for me. To this day, that man was the best orator I have ever seen in my life (and I'm over 40). He would get up, start talking, and I would be enthralled. It quickly became my favorite class. But he was ironclad in his expectations. He had no attendance requirements, but every class he gave a 3 question quiz over the lecture the day before. These quizzes added up to be worth more than the tests in terms of final grade, and he would only allow you to make up 3 of those quizzes (for missing). And he was absolutely, 100%, willing to fail you if you didn't have the points for it. What I learned from that class is that students didn't like him because he wasn't lenient. You got the grade you deserved and there was never any leeway. He made this quite clear. --- Contrast this with the semester I ended up having to drop Diff Eq. The professor had a policy of 3 missed days is an automatic failure. My alarm clock stopped working and I went over that limit (kept trying to get people to wake me up, but none did). I had to drop a class I had an A in.