[plt-scheme] Re: HTDP - evidently not for everyone.

In the seventies and eighties I have seen enough students and graduates 
doing research with statistical methods, extraction of predictors included. 
I have no belief in such predictors, because they apply to groups (in this 
discussion groups of students). In my opinion it is a mistake to apply such 
predictors to individuals. If in his time there were predictors for succes 
in a study of physics, Einstein probably would have failed the test. Why? 
Because Einstein was far off the mean of the population on which the 
predictors would have been built. For the same reason I do not believe in 
psychological tests based on statistics when applied to individuals. 
Predictors predict means when applied to groups comparable to the population 
on which the predictors are based. Predictors are worthless when applied to 
individuals.

This does not mean that investigation of teaching methods would be 
worthless. The bright ones will pass anyway, the far below average ones will 
fail anyway, but a well tested teaching method may help to increase the 
number of successes in the group around the average. As groups of students 
of subsequent generations probably have different properties, investigation 
of the succes of teaching methods would have to be a continuous process (and 
always would be slightly outdated)

MHO, Jos

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Cleis" <rcleis at mac.com>
To: "Thomas Holubar" <scheme at phirho.com>
Cc: <plt-scheme at list.cs.brown.edu>
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 5:36 PM
Subject: Re: [plt-scheme] Re: HTDP - evidently not for everyone.


>
>> Let's go step by step:
>> We have a study that claims to be able to predict students' learning 
>> success in a given environment.
>
> When I was an undergrad, many of us thought that introductory courses were 
> partly used to predict whether we wanted to pursue a subject, and whether 
> we were likely to succeed in that subject (which arguably requires 1).
>
> Was that not true (decades ago)?  Is it true now?  Is this discussion 
> indicating that we don't want to waste resources on 1) or 2), so we need 
> another way to predict?
>
> rac
>
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>> Thomas
>>
>> _________________________________________________
>> For list-related administrative tasks:
>> http://list.cs.brown.edu/mailman/listinfo/plt-scheme
>
> _________________________________________________
>  For list-related administrative tasks:
>  http://list.cs.brown.edu/mailman/listinfo/plt-scheme


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Se certifico que el correo entrante no contiene virus.
Comprobada por AVG - www.avg.es
Version: 9.0.733 / Base de datos de virus: 271.1.1/2681 - Fecha de la 
version: 02/11/10 08:35:00