Minutes of the Graduate Committee Meeting on August 18, 1997

The Graduate Committee met at 1:00 on August 18, 1997. All members were present. The orientation schedule was discussed and revised. A general discussion of the issues list was undertaken.

The remaining discussion focused on the proposal to add recitations to some courses. First there was discussion of the format. Alspach stated that the intent of the proposal was to have students present solutions to problems. The faculty member's role would be to organize, encourage critical evaluation by the observing students and provide criticism when needed.

There was strong opposition to the proposal from two members of the committee. Two favored the proposal and one expressed support for the idea but favored modifying the proposal.
Some of the comments were:

• The principal instructor might be uncomfortable having another faculty member lead a recitation. There might be disagreement over treatment of some material.
• Having a recitation run by someone else might interfere with the conduct of the class or force the principal instructor to teach the class in a less than optimal way.
• I dont like or think it is particularly beneficial to have students present homework assignments.
• I have often advocated a seminar course for our students where they can learn and present things to other students. A seminar course would give the students experience speaking and listening, but at a point that they were more mathematically mature and not attached to one of the core courses.
• A seminar course during the first year is too much additional work.
• This will increase faculty teaching loads.
• Watching a student present a solution gives the other students a chance to listen critically and try to catch errors. This is something they may do frequently later if they become teachers.
• We would need to increase the credit hours for the course.
• It would not be necessary to increase credit hours because discussions and labs do not necessarily have credit hours assigned.
• The discussion section would be more than one hour of work for the faculty member.
• The idea has merit but should be incorporated throughout the curriculum not in just one or two courses.

Because the proposal did not have sufficient support, the proposal will not be brought to the full faculty. It was recommended that the idea be communicated as a suggestion to instructors for core courses and perhaps all faculty.

Scheduling of future regular meetings was discussed and a meeting to review comprehensive exam results was tentatively scheduled. The meeting was adjourned.

Signed
Dale Alspach