I do like this comparison between a Richard Scarry book in the 60s and the 90s.
"All of a sudden it's the girl chasing the boy in tag."
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
No such thing as a right answer
I'm amused by tales of 3 impossible questions in recent AS-level exams, but also by the quotes attributed to (the fairly generic) "students":
Students have complained that even if the questions are discounted, it is difficult to know how much the overall grade could have been affected by the time wasted trying to interpret a wrong question.
I remember being taught a fairly non-linear approach to exams - if questions are worth the same amount, do the easiest stuff first. It's not a question of whether the question is impossible or just difficult - it's a matter of point-scoring in an allotted time.
Which begs the question (another one) - should students deliberately get rewarded for creative approaches to exams? What if we encouraged more creativity through something more "engaging" than a simple list of questions with a bunch of possible answers?
In the real world, some tasks can be done, and some can't. Some can be done, but may take an inordinate amount of time. Some may require knowing other things first.
Working out how to approach a series of questions is often far more important than answering the questions themselves.
Maybe we actually need more impossible questions, not less.
Students have complained that even if the questions are discounted, it is difficult to know how much the overall grade could have been affected by the time wasted trying to interpret a wrong question.
I remember being taught a fairly non-linear approach to exams - if questions are worth the same amount, do the easiest stuff first. It's not a question of whether the question is impossible or just difficult - it's a matter of point-scoring in an allotted time.
Which begs the question (another one) - should students deliberately get rewarded for creative approaches to exams? What if we encouraged more creativity through something more "engaging" than a simple list of questions with a bunch of possible answers?
In the real world, some tasks can be done, and some can't. Some can be done, but may take an inordinate amount of time. Some may require knowing other things first.
Working out how to approach a series of questions is often far more important than answering the questions themselves.
Maybe we actually need more impossible questions, not less.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Co-ordination, not Cuts
The reasons why one of the ID databases cost £5.2m - and was ultimately scrapped - shed a lot of light on why current methods to cut public purses are fairly doomed:
Get it yet? It's nothing to do with how much staff you have. It's only faintly related to what your Chief Execs are being paid.
It's everything to do with how well we co-ordinate.
Taking credit, avoiding blame - these are no longer useful skills in a network world. (Were they ever?) Until this is addressed, and co-ordination becomes a passion, the idea of "efficiency" is a sham.
But poor planning, inter-departmental disagreements and data security risks prevented it from being developed.
Get it yet? It's nothing to do with how much staff you have. It's only faintly related to what your Chief Execs are being paid.
It's everything to do with how well we co-ordinate.
Taking credit, avoiding blame - these are no longer useful skills in a network world. (Were they ever?) Until this is addressed, and co-ordination becomes a passion, the idea of "efficiency" is a sham.
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