Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Stupid Bonus Questions on Tests for Students



Teachers that won't grade appropriately to what they are trying to teach are doing a huge disservice to their students.

I'm not a big believer in grades and when it comes to the methods by which some teachers grade and assign points is ludicrous.

The main reasons I suppose teachers use grades are to find out what the students have learned and how well teachers have communicated knowledge. In addition, it should be the main reason for self-improvement so that on-going continual improvement can be done.

Bonus points and award points given on a test that has nothing to do with the subject matter is WRONG! It's a cover-up for someone who may know their subject matter but can not teach it to others.

I've seen students pass because they know what was on TV the night before or can name the characters in some movie. This is shameful and must stop.
Heck why should a student learn just wait and answer some bogus question that hides the inadequacies of the teacher. Students won't complain but parents should.

If you want to give additional points for not going to bathroom or being on time then give them for conduct/participation, not for GRADES!


Don't even get me started about grading on the Bell Shaped Curve!!







Saturday, January 01, 2011

2010 Most Searched on Topics

As 2010 comes to a close I would like to thank the 35,000 plus visitors to my Blog this past year (up 12,000+ from last year). I hope the information I have provided has been useful and thought provoking.

As I look over the stats the following are the most searched on topics within my site for 2010:

1) Employee Goals & Objectives - 4th year in a row

2) Education

3) Quality Tools & Techniques (Especially SIPOC Analysis)

4) Leadership

5) Student Mentoring

What I find most interesting is that "Employee Goals and Objectives" is not one of my main labels and the hits are world wide and not just in one area like the United States or India.

Employee Goals & Objective continue to be the most misunderstood of all Management and Employee Tools. They remain a once, twice or four times a year exercise in futility that brings no meaning to employee or boss all the way up the corporate ladder.

One should click on my Label for Dr. Deming to learn from the Master about Employee Goals and Objectives.
http://qualityg.blogspot.com/search/label/Dr%20W.Edwards%20Deming

How sad that open communication and trust can not be tolerated in the workplace. People with numbers who have no sense of "Predictability" (Number One Skill of a Manager)and continue to Tamper with both human and corporate systems.

Below are some Links to some of my more popular posts on this subject:

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/2008/10/evaluating-team-effectiveness.html

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/2008/07/team-goals-and-objectives.html

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/2006/02/quality-tooltechnique-systems-thinking.html

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/search/label/SIPOC%20Analysis

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/search/label/Dream%20Mentor

Thank You and Best Wishes for a New Year!

qualityg

QUALITY RESOLUTION – 2011 --> "INNOVATION"


It amazes me the conventional wisdom still found among many managers and companies to the saying


“If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It”


This is so absurd and I can’t begin to tell you how many people believe in this nonsense.

You might as well say
“Innovation Not Welcomed Here”

It’s not like leaders don’t understand this concept; they just won’t do it because it takes time to innovate. It takes time to define an aim for a company; time takes long-term planning and dedication. Those skills are no longer an asset to today’s leaders. They get paid to increase the value of the stock in short-term dollars.


Stockholders really don't care if a company goes out of business. They just want to make quick money and then sell out their shares before the company goes out of business.

This way of thinking is disastrous. Who remembers the buggy whip? There was nothing wrong with the buggy whip, it was a good tool, in fact a perfect tool that did not evolve or get innovated when the automobile was created.

Ask a young car mechanic about carburetors? Huh? However, They do know about fuel injection systems.

With each innovation comes a paradigm shift. The Swiss almost took themselves out of the watch making business when the quartz watch was created.

How about IBM? They almost lost it all when they refused to follow the innovation that led to the personal computer.

I could go on, but how about changing your paradigm this year.

Define an aim for your company, continue to innovate, be bold do something right in 2010.

Remember information is not knowledge.

qg says … "Data + Information + Application = Knowledge"
and
"Knowledge + Listening = Wisdom"

So again if you hear, The question should not be
"Is it wrong, or if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but rather,
is it best, and can it get better"