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Hello. My name is John Lindorfer. I teach college level safety science, computer science and programming. This is my educational philosophy. I present it here as guidance to my students and prospective students so that they can better understand me, my values, and what I expect of them. Most student/instructor problems are caused by failure to communicate. I want to avoid that, because I am a teacher who cares for his students and is concerned about their welfare. I believe that teaching is primarily the transfer of information from the instructor to the student. This document is intended to be part of that process. Another process is talking. If I can help you in any way, please talk to me.
As you can see from my resume, I am a retired aerospace safety engineer. I am a "thing person" rather than a "people person," and do not have a degree in secondary education. I am an instructor because I love my students and believe that I can help them to become responsible citizens of our beloved State and Nation and maybe teach them something that I know about in the process. I believe that the natural purpose of old people is to educate young people. It is tough being a young adult today, as I know by having raised four of them by myself. I hope that I can help.
Frankly, I don't always know why the student is in my class. That is his business. When I went to college, I attended class because I had made a substantial investment in college and sought to optimize the return on that investment by taking advantage of the opportunity to learn what the instructor had to teach. I assume that is at least in part why students attend class today. On the other hand, if a student only comes to class and does not turn in homework or study for examinations, I think he is wasting his time. Of course, it is his to waste. I feel that if a student is registered, comes to class and at least appears to pay attention, he has given me that portion of his valuable time, and I intend to repay his trust in me by making it worth his while. How much it is worth his while is up to him. College is tough, and requires a substantial investment in time, money and resources, including books, floppy disks, and other paraphernalia. Just coming to class is not enough, and not everyone who comes to class will pass or graduate.
Perhaps at this point I should make it clear that sometimes I find a conflict between my duties as an instructor and my position as a friend. My guiding principle is loyalty. I believe that if somebody buys your groceries, you owe him your loyalty. Since the state, through the college, buys my groceries, I believe I have a moral obligation to maintain their standards. This means if a student fails to meet institutional standards in a course I teach, he fails. I don't grade on how much I like the student, I grade on what he has shown me, by his assignments and examinations, he knows about the subject(s).
I agree with the belief that all human beings are created equal. I strive to treat all my students equally, without regard to age, disability, religious belief, ethnic background, gender, or national origin. Therefore, where the adjective "he" or "him" is used in this document to refer to a student, the statement is equally applicable to lady students as well. In addition, I stand ready, as part of my responsibility as an instructor, to help any student achieve educational objectives who might be challenged due to circumstances beyond his control.
Occasionally it happens that an instructor makes an honest mistake at the expense of a student. Since I am human, I admit to being less than perfect. If a student thinks I have made a mistake or treated him unfairly, he should talk to me about it. If I have, I will do what it takes to make it right.
According to page 17 of their current catalog, the purpose of one of the colleges at which I teach is "To develop the cultural, intellectual and character resources of the people of this area, point the way to an economic livelihood based on natural resources, and promote responsible citizenship." As an agent and employee of the college, I consider it my duty to contribute to that purpose by using my talents and resources to the best of my ability to teach the subjects assigned to me, to assist my students to become educated, responsible citizens, and to be a creditable example of American adulthood.
The educational objective of any course I teach is to meet the standards set by the college with regard to the information contained in the assigned text.
My purpose is to assist the students to understand and learn the information contained in the assigned text and to provide them with my assessment, in the form of a course grade, of the degree to which they have met the educational objective. I will also assist them, if they desire, to resolve their personal problems which might hinder their intellectual and cultural development, especially as such problems might relate to their achievement of the standards required of my classes. If any student feels I can help him, I encourage him to talk to me about it.
To fulfill this purpose, I impose certain rules which students must follow. If a student feels that these are unfair, or do not apply to him, he should talk to me about it. It is never a good idea not to follow the rules.
The purpose of classroom instruction is to distribute information, provide an opportunity for the students to receive my assistance in learning the material, allow students to communicate their questions and concerns, and provide a vehicle for my assessment of their achievement of educational objectives. The class also gives the student an additional opportunity to talk to me if he is having problems.
My responsibility is: to communicate my expectations to the students, be knowledgeable with regard to the subjects I teach, prepare for each class, be on time for class, instruct the students in the assigned material, provide comprehensive examinations, and treat each student with fairness and dignity.
The student is responsible for: following my instructions, studying the assigned material, preparing for each class by reviewing the assignments and preparing questions for any part of the assignment he does not understand, coming to each class on time, bringing to class the necessary textbooks, homework and other items required for class, paying respectful attention to the instruction presented, asking responsible questions, studying for examinations, doing his best to answer the questions on the examinations correctly, turning in assigned homework on time, treating me and his fellow students with fairness and dignity, and cooperating with me to achieve educational objectives. If he doesn't know how to do any of this, he should talk to me about it so I can help him.
Grades are the means by which I inform my students of the degree to which they have met the educational objectives and standards set by the College. Everybody is concerned about them. Some students are so concerned about grades, the grades become an end in themselves, which I think is a mistake. My feeling is that the student should be concerned about meeting the educational objectives; then the grades will take care of themselves. Most students I know disagree, however.
Be that as it may, according to page 65 of their current catalog, one college uses the following letter grades for the meanings indicated: Note that there is no numerical score assigned. To my way of thinking, "average" (which is a C) is the arithmetic mean of the percentage scores on tests and homework. Therefore, according to this rule, the instructor has to know what the class average is to assign a letter grade. I don't have a problem with this. I prefer to post individual raw scores so that my students know the percent of questions they answered correctly on the examinations and homework and therefore how much of the material they learned. It seems to me that this is something they would like to know. It turns out that a lot of students disagree with this, too.
As I understand it, the students have established a scoring system, which I cannot find anywhere in official school policy, that assigns the following numerical equivalents to the letter grades:
My system establishes a curve which relates raw scores, and their mean, to the numerical grades noted above. The problem is defining the curve. This is how I do it:
First of all, regardless of how the grades are adjusted, anyone who doesn't take the examination or do the homework at all is assigned a zero. It doesn't seem to me to be a good idea to give someone a grade other than zero if he didn't even take the exam. In other words, a zero is always a zero. This establishes one point on the curve.
Second, a student who does perfect work is assigned 100%. It doesn't seem to me to be appropriate to give anyone who got a perfect score any less, or any more, than 100 percent. In other words, a hundred is always a hundred. This establishes a second point on the curve.
A third point on the curve is established by what the "average" is. The curve is established to make the mean of the grades (sum of all grades divided by the number of grades added) in statistically significant class populations equivalent to an "average" somewhere between 70% and 80%. I choose where that is based on my assessment of the overall quality of the work. For classes which are too small to represent a statistically significant sample population, I base my assessment on the difficulty of the course material. I tend to be liberal. This establishes the third point on the curve.
A smooth curve which meets all these criteria is an exponential curve of the form y = xn where x is the raw score and y is the numerical grade equivalent to the letter grade. If the mean of the raw scores is less than that required for a C, n is less than one. If it is greater, n is greater than one. Note that a low "average" is adjusted up and a high "average" is adjusted down. No adjustment is necessary if the mean is within the range for a C, in which case n = 1. This is shown graphically below:
Each raw score is adjusted by entering the x axis with the raw score, going up to the curve, and then to the left to find the adjusted grade. Note that a zero is a zero, 100 is 100, and other grades are somewhere in between.
I will put correct answers for examinations and homework on the Internet at locations accessible from the class schedule at Schedule.html after I grade them. After I determine what the numerical mean is, I will adjust the grades and post the adjusted grades at private/Grades.html.
One of the elements of computer science which I teach is use of the Internet. Classwork and homework assignments are available from the class schedule at Schedule.html. I will occasionally assign homework which requires a student to use the Internet. Computers connected to the Internet are available in the computer lab in Hinton Hall and the Learning Lab at Huff Hall and elsewhere on campus, so no one has an excuse for not being able to log onto the Internet. If your own personal computer isn't working right, use one that is. If you are still having problems, talk to me. Students who have complained that they can't get to my website are usually doing something wrong. I can't help them if I don't know what it is.
Recently one of my students informed me that there may be certain religious problems associated with the use of the Internet. If this is a problem for you, talk to me about it. I don't want anyone to suffer for his religious beliefs, but I expect everyone to do the assigned work, regardless of what he believes about it.
As noted above, grade postings are accessible at private/Grades.html. This is a protected site, so if you don't need to know, you can't get there.
The essence of the instructional process is communication. Communication is a reciprocal responsibility of the student and the instructor, both to provide and to receive the information communicated. That's why I encourage my students to talk to me. In discharging this responsibility, honesty is absolutely essential. Dishonesty, in the form of lying or cheating, is a perversion of the student/instructor relationship, and makes it impossible to achieve educational objectives. Because this is so, my assessment of dishonest work is that it has failed to meet educational objectives, and will be graded accordingly.
I recognize that I am a member of a different generation than most of my students, with different experiences, attitudes and values. I regard these differences as a potential barrier to communication, and I intend to do all in my power to overcome this barrier. I consider it the student's responsibility to do what he can to overcome this barrier also, and that doing so is definitely in his best interests. One way he can do that is to talk to me.
Communication by its nature must involve the sender and receiver. While a student has a right to talk to anyone about anything, he cannot expect me to know what he is saying unless he talks to me. He also cannot expect me to receive his assignments if he gives them to somebody else. If a student talks to me directly, he gives me a chance to resolve any communication difficulties which may arise. If he leaves a message with someone else to communicate to me, he deprives me of this opportunity, and subjects his communication to the uncertainties associated with the means of transmission. If he tells someone else something meant for me to hear, he takes the chance that I may never hear it and therefore will be unable to act upon it. I urge and encourage any student who has difficulty with anything I say or do, either in the classroom or elsewhere, to talk to me about that difficulty as a prelude to resolving it.
Occasionally some students develop an unhealthy instructor/student relationship and arrive at college with a confrontational attitude toward the instructor. I stand ready to help the student to identify, acknowledge and rectify this problem, but the responsibility for resolving it is ultimately his. A student who is dishonest, refuses to follow instructions, intentionally interferes with the instructional or assessment process or disrupts classroom instruction creates a situation which is unfair to his fellow students. Accordingly, I may refuse to allow such a student to attend class, to drop him from the attendance roster, or to take other appropriate remedial measures.
Some students may find a confrontational attitude so ingrained that disruptive behavior motivated by it has become habitual. In such cases, remedial help, such as additional assignments, special seating arrangements or other measures may be necessary or advisable. If the student cooperates with me in this regard, I will cooperate with him, as part of my duty to assist him to become an educated, responsible citizen. The burden of actually changing his unacceptable behavior, however, remains his.
One demonstrates a confrontational attitude by interfering with the instructional process in a way which could be interpreted as simple ignorance or inattention, among others. Examples are writing one's name on a form other than where indicated, illegible handwriting, not using the proper forms, leaving out essential information, not bringing essential equipment to class, and similar behaviors. Since neither ignorance nor inattention is an acceptable excuse in college, I may have to treat these behaviors as they appear. If I cannot read a student's writing on a paper, or what his name is, I can't possibly give him credit for it. Since instructions are given for a good reason, I may not accept work which does not follow instructions
Since the purpose of classroom instruction is to distribute information and to provide an opportunity for the students to receive my assistance, a chance to communicate their questions and concerns, and a vehicle for assessment, it is obvious that a student who comes to class late, or does not come to a specific class at all, deprives himself of the information or opportunities provided. This deprivation does not depend at all upon the student's reason for the absence. I will be happy to make what arrangements are possible or appropriate for a student to obtain information or do work ahead of time if the student makes arrangements with me before the impending absence. I will also assist a student to do work after an absence if such assistance does not pose an unfair advantage to the student in question or to his fellow students.
I maintain attendance rosters because the college requires me periodically to report student attendance, not as consideration in assigning a grade. I do not grade for attendance. I consider that the decision to come or not to come to class is the student's, based on reasons which seem good to him. On the other hand, I am required to drop a student who simply stops coming to class, and I may drop him if he is chronically absent so that keeping him on the books is a waste of my time.
The point of all this is that if a student is likely to be absent, he should talk to me about it beforehand. Occasionally, a student will not be able to come to class due to circumstances beyond his control. In either case, the consequences of not attending class are still the student's. Each student must base his decision not to come to class, or to arrive late, on the good to be gained by missing class versus its undesirable consequences, which may include getting dropped from the class.
Some students have chronic or periodic infirmities, personal crises, or outside responsibilities which prevent their regular attendance in class. These are serious problems which require serious effort on the part of the student to overcome. I stand ready to assist such students who talk to me about it, but I cannot accept the responsibility for the consequences of such problems. If these problems cannot be effectively resolved by the student, with my help as necessary, I recommend that the student withdraw from the course and reenroll only if and when such resolution has taken place and the student is able adequately to concentrate on educational objectives.
If my infirmity, personal crisis, or outside responsibilities interfere with my attendance in class, I will take appropriate measures to assure that my students are not unfairly affected.
It is the policy of the college, and therefore my policy, to encourage extracurricular activities. These activities enhance the student's college experience, provide an outlet for youthful energies, promote a healthy relationship with fellow students, and provide an opportunity for wholesome recreation. Where such activities involve athletic competition, they have the additional advantage of promoting physical health and a team spirit which contribute to educational objectives.
In other words, I am for them, one hundred percent.
Occasionally participation in extracurricular activities interferes with the student's participation in class. In such cases, it is the student's responsibility to take what measures are appropriate to minimize the harmful consequences of this situation. Usually, this can be done by the student telling me ahead of time that he will be absent, then following my instructions about what to do about it. Just letting me know he won't be there does not address the problem of the instruction he misses. I can help him if we can make arrangements together.
Because is the policy of the college to excuse students from class for extracurricular activities even when examinations are scheduled, I make arrangements for such students to take the examinations at other times, just as I do for other absences. Because the schedule for extracurricular activities is always known ahead of time, it is always possible for a student to make arrangements ahead of time to receive information, do work, or take examinations which otherwise would be missed. I do not discriminate against all the other students by preventing them from knowing the results of their examination because someone did not take his.
In other words, if you are going to be absent, please talk to me ahead of time so that you don't miss out on something important. If you just don't show up, you take your chances. I note that athletic events are always scheduled well in advance, so the student has more than adequate opportunity to make appropriate arrangements. Missing work in class because an athletic event or practice was scheduled is no more of an excuse than missing an athletic event or practice because a class was scheduled.
Coaches and faculty advisors, please encourage all your students to make sure they have made appropriate arrangements ahead of time for classes they are going to miss. If I can help any of them to minimize potential conflicts between class and other school-sponsored events, I stand ready to do so.
Because the assigned texts contain the information to be covered in class, a student can learn what is going to be taught in class by reading and understanding the assigned text. My job is to assist him in doing that, not to do it for him. The class may, however, include information or assignments which are not in the textbook. Textbooks should always be brought to class because they contain the material that the student has to learn.
Please don't get into so much trouble that you can't get out. If you are having problems, please talk to me to help get them resolved.
Sanctions for undesirable student behavior are explained in the current catalog.
Since one of the purposes of classroom instruction is to distribute information, a student takes his chances on missing something important if he doesn't attend class or arrives late. As a consideration to students who may be unavoidably detained, I will attempt to make information available on the Internet at Schedule.html and elsewhere, but something may be said in class that's not there, and a student may miss it if he's not in class.
In other words, you take your chances if you don't come to class.
Makeup work is work different from that assigned in class, and, because it is inherently potentially unfair, I generally don't assign it. I will make arrangements ahead of time for a student to do any work he is likely to miss because he cannot attend class, and I will make arrangements after a student has missed a class for him to do the work assigned if it is possible to do so without being unfair to the rest of the class. Occasionally, a student will make an honest attempt to make appropriate arrangements with me and it will not be possible for the student to turn in the assigned work on time. Then, and only then, I will consider makeup work, but only for good cause, and then only on a case-by-case basis.
The purpose of an examination is to encourage the student to meet the educational objectives of the class, to provide the student with an assessment of his progress, and to provide a basis for assigning a grade for the course. None of these purposes are met if a student cheats on an examination. Accordingly, a student caught cheating on an examination will receive a zero for that examination, and may be subject to other disciplinary action as well.
I will publish the results of examinations and the correct answers either in class or on the Internet. I generally wait a while to do this so people who didn't take the examinations because they were absent have a chance to do so. But I won't wait forever because the students who took the exam have a right to see the right answers and compare their scores before they forget about it. Once the right answers for an examination are posted on the Internet, students have lost their chance to take it.
I will also discuss homework and examination answers in class if circumstances warrant. Any of my students should feel free to discuss the results of his examination or homework assignment with me during my scheduled office hours or at other times by appointment.
I frequently use Scantron forms for examinations. If anyone has any questions about how to use the form, he should ask me. Multiple answers or incomplete erasures are the student's responsibility. Also, if you don't indicate your name correctly on a Scantron form, you may not get credit for anything on it because I don't know whose it is. One of the educational objectives of a course in which I use Scantron forms is the correct use of Scantron forms, so a student may lose points if he doesn't know how to use them correctly.
Because students sometimes run out of Scantron forms or #2 pencils, I may have some which I will sell them to save them the time otherwise lost going to the bookstore or the interruption caused by borrowing from other students. The College does not require me to do this, and, frankly, I don't like to; I do it as a favor to the student. If a student doesn't want to buy them from me, or if I run out of them, he should bring them to class himself.
I assign homework for a variety of purposes and include homework grades as grades for the course. Homework is due the class period after it is assigned unless otherwise announced. As for any other work potentially missed by absence, I will make what arrangements are necessary with regard to homework if a student coordinates with me before the absence.
I will publish the correct answers for homework either in class or on the Internet if they are not available somewhere else. I generally wait a while to do this so people who didn't do the homework because they were absent have a chance to do so. But I won't wait forever because the students who did the homework have a right to see the right answers and compare their scores before they forget about it. Once the homework is posted on the Internet, students have lost their chance to turn it in.
To enhance student privacy, I have assigned each student a code name which I used to identify him in situations where only he has to know his identity. Each student has a card with his name and code name on it. If you didn't get a card, you weren't present when they were passed out, and you need to talk to me to get it.
I have a problem with discussing student grades in class because I believe this violates student privacy. That is why I don't do it. Some students have complained about this, and if there is a general feeling that privacy is not violated by discussing grades in class, I will do it, but I still think it's a bad idea.
Because of privacy issues, I do not use students' Social Security numbers for anything. Occasionally, the college will furnish me with a number which they use to identify the student, and will ask me to identify the student with it, which I do. For the record, I do not request the student to tell me what his Social Security number is. If I mistakenly ask for it, what I am asking for is the number the student has given to the college, not necessarily the number the Social Security Administration has issued to him. Whether or not these are actual Social Security numbers is a matter between the student, the college, and the Social Security Administration.
Student grades are a matter between the student and me and the college. If a student asks me in writing to share his grades with someone else, I will do it, and I will let any authorized coach or faculty advisor who asks me know how to access his student's grades, which are accessible at private/Grades.html. The coaches or faculty members will be given the students' code names for this purpose. People who need to get to this information know the usernames and passwords for these sites.
A - Represents superior or outstanding achievement in regularly prescribed work.
B - Above-average achievement in prescribed work.
C - Average level of achievement.
D - Below-average achievement. This is the lowest passing grade.
F - Failure to do regularly prescribed work or withdrawal from a course after ten weeks of a semester.
A - 90% to 100%
The problem here is that the average level of achievement (which the school says is a C) is not always 70% to 80%, as the students claim. I think that if they believe 70% to 80% is a C, they should work to establish this as their mean score, which they don't always do. This requires me to come up with some method to establish a numerical scoring system which meets both criteria. I can do this. I call it "adjustment." Some students call it "grading on the curve." I understand that other instructors do this also. Because different instructors may use different methods from the one I use, or what the students expect, it may cause of some confusion. The following discussion is intended to explain my method and to reduce, or, hopefully, to eliminate, this confusion.
B - 80% to 90%
C - 70% to 80%
D - 60% to 70%
F - Below 60%
Mean scores below C Mean scores above C