HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: hisjcm@vaxa.hofstra.edu
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.history
Subject: Re: multiple choice exams
Date: 25 Jan 93 21:50:12 EST

> 
> Clearly multiple choice questions in history classes are appropriate for 
> observing lower order learning.  I have often administered multiple choice 
> quizzes that quickly give me a chance to observe if the students have 
> understood major points, and give them quick feedback on their understanding of
> those points.  Last term I used quizzes for those objectives, and out-of-class 
> papers for the higher order objectives.  One advantage for me was reading 
> printed essays instead of hastily written scrawl!

To me, two inescapable liabilities of multiple choice tests are (1) they
reinforce the notion students usually have that history is a question of
memorizing names and dates, and (2) they are entirely remote from the ways we use
our minds otherwise.  An essay exam requires the same skills that one uses
in preparing a report in business or government, but the same can't be said
for multiple-choice exams.   Rarely do the problems in life come prepackaged
into four well-defined choices; certainly no real historical questions come
that way.
   My own preference:  hand out a limited number of essay questions well
before the exam to enable student to think and organize; then select one or
two the day of the exam.
From: dh3q+@andrew.cmu.edu (Daniel U. Holbrook)
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.history
Subject: Re: multiple choice exams
Date: 26 Jan 93 01:18:04 GMT
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

I would like to get some comments on something I tried last semester.  I
am a fourth year grad student, and taught my own section of world
history apart from the large lecture/small discussion section format.
This is offered here every fall term as many students from other
colleges here (engineers and architects, mostly) have intractable
schedule conflicts between World History, which they are required to
take, and some of the courses in their program.   Anyway, I had about
forty students, and some freedom to conduct the class my way.  So,
here's the deal - I made the mid-term and final exams open book, open
note.  They did not get the questions before hand, and they had to write
the essay in class. My reasoning is thus:  if we are trying to teach
higher level reasoning and analytical skills, isn't it fair to allow the
students to have the "facts" at hand rather than having them memorize
them? I mean, I do not know many jobs that require memorization; if the
boss asks you to figure out some problem or perform some task, you are
free to look up as many facts as you want, given whatever time restraint
exists, no?  Well, some of my students could not believe their good
luck, though their smiles faded a bit when I told them I would be
grading them on their ideas, arguments, analysis and evidence, and not
how much of the readings they had memeorized.  The smart ones made up
crib sheets, the others paged madly through thier notes and the book,
except for a couple who apparently had no need to consult their notes
and wrote excellent essays anyway.  So, any comments?  Is this unfair to
anybody?  
Dan

Carnegie Mellon University
History

dh3q@andrew.cmu.edu

"World history strides on from catastrophe to catastrophe, whether we
can comprehend and prove it or not."
               Oswald Spengler
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Date:         Thu, 28 Jan 1993 14:36:25 EST
From:         lin collette <BI599128@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU>
Subject:      Re: references on revisionism/historical metho
Comments: To: history@rutvm1.rutgers.edu

A couple of people have asked me to elaborate further on what I mean by
revisionism:
       I am interested in the process of revising history, and how we judge
       that revision is necessary.  How we decide that certain histories are
       inaccurate or wrong or misleading.  This can pertain to any form of
       history--european, American Western, American in general, etc.

       I am also interested in American historical revisionism; new ways of
       looking at American history.  I have looked at feminist revisionist
       texts, but am looking for a more varied assortment of sources.

       Finally, I am interested in the controversy over holocaust revisionism.
       I have gotten in touch with the Holocaust list, which discusses the
       issue, but haven't been able to locate any good books that discuss
       the controversy itself.

I should note that I have checked a few of the libraries in my area and have
not found much beyond Communist revisionism.  I have also heard from someone
else who had much the same difficulty.  Any ideas and references would be very
helpful.  As far as my request for info on good books on historiography, I ask
only because I'm trying to determine the best citations.

Thanks for your help thus far.
                     lin
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Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 12:35:17 -0500
From:         Allan Adler <adler@RISC1.ACC.URI.EDU>
Subject:      Field of Cloth of Gold
Comments: To: history%ubvm.bitnet@uriacc.ACC.URI.EDU

I'm told that there was a meeting of Henry VIII and Francois I of France
at a place called the Field of Cloth of Gold in France. It was a rather
lavish affair, wherein the fountains gushed various kinds of wine
from some spigots and water from others.

I would like to know more about why this meeting took place and why
the meeting place is called the Field of Cloth of Gold.

Please reply to me directly by email. Thanks.

Allan Adler
adler@risc1.acc.uri.edu
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.history
From: hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R Pennell)
Subject: Noel Annan
Organization: National University of Singapore
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 01:41:51 GMT


"in 1962, in Macmillan's time the descendants and collaterals of four
Victorian peers  . . . included the prime minister, foreign secretary,
lord chancellor and six other ministers; the ambassador to washington; the
goveror and former governor of the Bank of England; seven irectors of
merchant banks; and the proprietors of THE TIMES, OBSERVER and DAILY MAIL

(Noel Annan, OUR AGE (London:fontana, 1991) 9

Noel ANnan . .  is perhaps best known for his often quoted article on
"The Intellectual Aristocracy". Blurb to above book

Often-quoted, sure, but not-so-often-sourced. Can anyone give me the
precise citation for Annan's writings on this aspect of 20th century
Britain, please?


Richard Pennell, History NUS.
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Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 1993 14:56:45 EST
From:         Pierre Blackburn <LDAA@VM1.SI.USHERB.CA>
Subject:      Cortez, Pizarro and Montesquieu

In the "Discours sur les motifs qui doivent nous encourager aux
sciences", Montesquieu says that an important factor in the invaders
(Cortez and Pizarro) success was that  the indigenous population
thought they were kind of surnatural because of their appearance and
technology. Is this a) false, b) partially true, c) true.

The passage is "C'est que tout leur paraissait nouveau, un homme
barbu, un cheval, une arme a feu, etait pour eux l'effet d'une
puissance invisible, a laquelle ils se jugeaient incapables de
resister. Le courage ne manqua jamais aux Americains, mais seulement
l'esperance du succes".

Pierre Blackburn
Departement de philosophie
College de Sherbrooke,Quebec, Canada    Ldaa@vm1.si.usherb.ca
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Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 19:29:00 CST
From:         NFPKP2@AUDUCVAX.BITNET
Subject:      Re: Large section classes

Some might argue that history "strides" from catastrophe to revolution to resolu
   tion to catastrophe, etc.
Bob Saunders
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Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 1993 03:03:37 -0500
From:         Agnes Kruchio <kruchio@EPAS.UTORONTO.CA>
Subject:      Re: Large lecture sections
Comments: To: HISTORY@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu
              22, 93 12:33 am

>
> My school handles large lecture sections by using OMR "black-in" tests.
                                                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                                    ???

                                                    AK
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Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 12:42:04 -0500
From:         "Philip J. Schwarz" <pschwarz@CABELL.VCU.EDU>
Subject:      Re: i'm curious...
              93 7:56 am

In reply to questions about the free black population and free
black slave holding I offer the following figures and brief
remarks--once again, focussed on Virginia:

Free Black Population of Virginia, 1790-1860
      Free Black  % change, prev.  growth rate,  FB % of total
Year  Population      decade       prev. decade   population
1790    12,866         ----           ----           1.7
1800    24,901         93.5           .068           2.8
1810    37,281         50.0           .041           3.8
1820    44,729         20.0           .018           4.2
1830    55,307         23.6           .021           4.5
1840    58,435          5.7           .0005          4.7
1850    54,333         -7.0          -.0007          3.8
1860    58,154          7.0           .00068         3.6

Note: I computed these figures 8 or 9 years ago.  I have not
checked them since.  In the words of Jackson Turner Main about a
preliminary table he once presented, "place no bets."

These population data reflect the impact of the 1806 and 1816
legislation.  The difference between the measures of change in
17990-1800, 1800-1810, and 1810-1820 resulted from decreasing
emancipations and decreasing numbers of free blacks who stayed in
Virginia after being freed.  Most growth resulted from
reproduction.  The 1806 and 1816 laws were not consistently or
regularly enforced, but they presented an obvious danger to free
African Americans.

Free black slave holding: New laws of 1832 and 1857 sharply
curtailed slave holding by free blacks.  This was whites'
intervention rather than African Americans' decisions at work.
For perspective on this subject see Loren Schweninger's _Black
Property Owners in the South_, which cites the standard sources.

****************************************
***                                  ***
***        Philip J. Schwarz         ***
***      Department of History       ***
***   Virginia Commonwealth Univ.    ***
***           Box 2001               ***
***     Richmond, VA 23284-2001      ***
***     pschwarz@cabell.vcu.edu      ***
***                                  ***
****************************************
From: FLADD.ILS@MHS.UNC.EDU (Fladager, Darlene)
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.history
Subject: Electronic Journals
Date: 26 Jan 93 17:42:32 GMT
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Comments: To: - <history@rutvm1.bitnet>

Hi, My name is Darlene Fladager and I'm a graduate student at the school
of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.  I'm trying to find (for a historian friend) out the
existence of any electronic journals that someone with access to the
Internet could subscribe to.  Of particular interest is the area of
ancient (Greek) history.  I'd greatly appreciate any assistance.

Thanks!

Darlene Fladager
e-mail: fladd.ils@mhs.unc.edu
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Date:         Sat, 23 Jan 1993 14:32:37 CST
From:         Brett Person <person@PLAINS.NODAK.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Large lecture sections
Comments: To: HIST-L@ukanvm.bitnet

>
> There are Right Answers in History? At undergraduate level?
>
There were in the classes I tried to pass. :-)


--
Brett Person
Guest Account
North Dakota State University
person@plains.nodak.edu || person@plains.bitnet
I don't do Windows, but OS/2 does.
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Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 08:12:15 EST
From:         Ken Koester <MAINT2@ERS.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Large lecture sections
              24 Jan 1993 16:31:56 +0100 from <ccurrie@CLUS1.ULC C.AC.UK>

On Sun, 24 Jan 1993 16:31:56 +0100 Christopher Currie said:
>
>Especially as the question has been so phrased that none of the answers
>offered is right.
>
>As every schoolboy knows, William defeated Harold at Battle, not
>at Hastings. That the battle has been known as the 'battle of
>Hastings' since the 12th century or earlier is one of those
>nuances that multiple-choice questions can't expose. You can't call it
>the Battle of Battle without sounding silly.
>
Umm.  I found myself more interested in the nuance of whether William defeated
Harold, or Harold defeated himself (-:
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Date:         Sat, 23 Jan 1993 01:01:18 ECT
From:         Robert Harris <BB05196@BINGVMB.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Large lecture sections
              22 Jan 1993 16:30:40 -0500 from <dshaffer@WAM.UMD.EDU>

I have been following the discussion of how best to handle large classes with
some interest.  Although I agree with Mr. Shaffer that large classes are best
avoided, this is not always possible.  At my university our largest history
class runs at about six hundred students.  It is our only class which is that
large.  As other participants in this discussion have noted, graduate TAs play
an important role.  One graduate is assigned to about 50 students, and runs two
discussion sections every week.
    What has surprised me about this discussion is that many participants have
referred to standardized, multiple-choice testing methods.  This is certainly
no way to teach or to grade history.  At my university all tests are of the
short answer and/or essay variety.  There is no reason I can think of that one
graduate student with 50 students should not be able to grade fifty essay
exams.
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.history
From: rbp@netcom.com (Bob Pasker)
Subject: Re: Large lecture sections
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 17:00:26 GMT

we had a long discussion about this last semester at the history
student's assocation meeting.

currently, the largest classes (surveys) have about 65 students and
the students are expected to take essay exams, which are graded by
$6/hour seniors & grad students and reviewed by the prof.  with the
budget cuts at CSU, there is a possibility that the dept. will have to
enlarge the classes, and the administration is offering use of large
lecture halls and an auditorium.

the problem with large lectures is that some profs. feel that the
lower division survey courses are where electrical engineering and
sculpture students sometimes figure out that history is what they
really want to study.  i think this is a valid point, as my interest
in history was not a result of a pre-existing burning desire, but from
the interest and encouragement of an instructor in my first american
history survey course.  although i cannot say for sure, i don't think
i would have had the same reaction had it been a 600 person class.

well, this doesnt really answer the original poster's question: how to
do, but instead questions the wisdom of what seems to be becoming a
growing trend.
-- 
-- 
-- bob pasker
-- rbp@netcom.com
--
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Date:         Tue, 26 Jan 1993 08:22:51 EST
From:         "James G. Carrier" <jgc5p@UVA.PCMAIL.VIRGINIA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: multiple choice exams
Comments: To: History Discussion List <HISTORY%RUTVM1.BitNet@pucc.princeton.edu>

On Jan 26,  7:50am, "Daniel U. Holbrook" wrote:
> Subject: Re: multiple choice exams
>              Well, some of my students could not believe their good
> luck, though their smiles faded a bit when I told them I would be
> grading them on their ideas, arguments, analysis and evidence, and not
> how much of the readings they had memeorized.  The smart ones made up
> crib sheets, the others paged madly through thier notes and the book,
> except for a couple who apparently had no need to consult their notes
> and wrote excellent essays anyway.  So, any comments?  Is this unfair to
> anybody?
> Dan
>
     First, it is hardly unfair to anyone, it just tests a slightly different
set of skills. Of course, this does not mean that a body of those so assessed
will not feel hard done by.
     Second, while memorization may not be a requirement of many jobs,
knowing a lot of stuff is useful. Whether knowing a lot of stuff about
history is useful if you are working for Chase Manhattan Bank is a different
question.
     Third, I used to run take-home tests, open-book. Except for the fact
that it encouraged cheating (and that here at the home of Honor), it worked
just as well at differentiating the sheep from the goats. The better students
will do better work just about whatever the assessment device.

          Yours, having tried just about everything,
> -- End of excerpt from "Daniel U. Holbrook" <dh3q+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU>




          James G. Carrier

29, University Circle / Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903
(804) 971-2983 / jgc5p@virginia.edu
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.history
From: disraeli@leland.Stanford.EDU (Jamie Lara Bronstein)
Subject: Re: Large lecture sections
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 93 02:23:24 GMT

This seems to be a pretty good system, and I certainly can't complain --
the graduate students get a fair amount of autonomy, and the students
in sections benefit from their individual areas of expertise AND from their
enthusiasm as new teachers -- plus the opportunity to really discuss the
course material rather than being spoon-fed. 

I can attest, from my undergraduate experience at a small liberal arts
school (Tufts) to the fact that being taught by an enthusiastic grad
student is not generally as preferable as being taught by an enthusiastic
professor, but there are plenty of unenthusiastic professors!

Jamie Bronstein
History Department
Stanford University
disraeli@leland.stanford.edu

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Date:         Mon, 25 Jan 1993 00:50:54 ECT
From:         Robert Harris <BB05196@BINGVMB.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: 1993 GSA meeting

Greetings:
     My soulmate is presently in Berlin on a ten month Fulbright Scholarship.
Krista O'Donnell is studying the effects of gender and nationalism on the
female migrants from Germany to South Africa.  My description of her work is
assurably lacking.  Ms. O'Donnell will be returning to the US in July of 1993.
Her mentor is Jean Quataert.  I am sure that she would be interested in this
gathering, and am happy to refer her address:
      Krista O'Donnell
      bei: Manuel Biedermann
      Reuter Str. 55
      1000-Berlin 44
         Germany
 _Please_ notify Ms. O'Donnell of this call for papers
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Date:         Thu, 21 Jan 1993 12:18:00 EDT
From:         "Donna J. Spindel" <HST001@MARSHALL.BITNET>
Subject:      Large lecture sections

We would like to initiate some large (140 students) lecture sections in World
Civilization. I'd appreciate having advice about how other History departments
manage this. Do you have small discussion groups, for example? What kind of
testing to ue use? Thanks for your help.
Donna J. Spindel
HST001@Marshall.WVNET.EDU
Dept. of History
Marshall University
Huntington, WV 25705
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Date:         Thu, 21 Jan 1993 14:52:38 -0600
From:         mlove@UX1.CSO.UIUC.EDU
Subject:      Re: Large lecture sections
Comments: To: History <HISTORY@UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu>

>We would like to initiate some large (140 students) lecture sections in World
>Civilization. I'd appreciate having advice about how other History departments
>manage this. Do you have small discussion groups, for example? What kind of
>testing to ue use? Thanks for your help.
>Donna J. Spindel


Donna,

We have lectures up to 600 or so.  We then have discussion sections of 25,
in our case taught by teaching assistants.    The tests are usually short
answer and essay and are graded by the section TAs but created by the
instructor (sometimes in consultation with the TAs).

Sharon D. Michalove
Assistant to the Chair for Undergraduate Affairs
Department of History, UIUC
309 Gregory Hall, 810 South Wright Street
Urbana, IL  61801
 217-333-4145
mlove@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu

*************************************************
A cat's idea of what is comfortable and what is not is
incomprehensible to a human.

        Colette
*************************************************
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Date:         Wed, 27 Jan 1993 11:42:34 -0700
From:         Elliot Palais <IACESP@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Subject:      British Casualties WWI

A history faculty member needs the following for a book in progress:
the number of British casualties suffered on each front in WWI.
Figures for all campaigns inEurope and the Middle East are needed.
Any suggestions for sources?
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Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 1993 19:13:44 EST
From:         "James G. Carrier" <jgc5p@UVA.PCMAIL.VIRGINIA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Right Answers
Comments: To: History Discussion List <HISTORY%RUTVM1.BitNet@pucc.princeton.edu>

On Jan 22,  5:43pm, Christopher Currie wrote:
>
> There are Right Answers in History? At undergraduate level?
>
> -- End of excerpt from Christopher Currie <ccurrie@CLUS1.ULCC.AC.UK>

If there are not Right Answers, you can't use multiple-choice questions, so
you can't teach large classes.
     Thus does the economics of higher education provide answers to vexing
metaphysical questions.

          Yours,



          James G. Carrier

29, University Circle / Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903
(804) 971-2983 / jgc5p@virginia.edu
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.history