Page 6 University Daily Kansan, September 30, 1981
Hundreds drop self-teaching math course
By MARK ZIEMAN Staff Reporter
An innovative self-teaching method being used this semester in Math 002 has caused hundreds of students to drop it. Many of the members and students said yesterday.
"We've had tremendous drop rates," said Bill King, Bartlesville, Okla., graduate student and assistant instructor in Math 002.
KING SAID that he had started the semester with a roster of 190 students in his section, but expected that "it will eventually be down to 100 to 110."
He said that other assistant in-
stores were experiencing similar drop rates.
Much of the problem, King said, stems from the course's new format, the Self-Instructed Mastery Plan (SIMPL).
According to Philip Montgomery, director of pre-calculus math, students in the SIMPL format must attend classes only once a week to take a test, and are not required to hand in homework or attend review sessions.
Students missing any of the 12 tests given during the semester may take them any time before Dec. 7, the last day of classes, he said.
A student may retake the test as often as often it takes for him to earn a C. Montgomery is. On retakes, the maximum score is reduced from 10 to 8.
Montgomery said that although the course had no lectures, the department did provide tutoring rooms for students, opened all week 12 hours a day.
THE ROOMS, he said, were staffed by five teaching assistants, including King and various tutors.
"The students aren't making use of
the tutoring room," Montgomery said. If they get behind, they're in serious trouble.
Partly because of the undisciplined nature of the course, many students have fallen behind, have gotten into trouble and have dropped the course, and Montgomery said he sympathized with them.
"It's a new way of teaching and the students weren't prepared for it," he told me in enrollment, at least half of the students who were told that this is the way it's going to be."
But, he said this was the way it would remain.
ENROLLMENT IN Math 002 rose almost 40 percent this year, he said, from about 800 students in the fall of 1976 to about 1,100 students this semester.
Montgomery said that he expected "at least a 50 percent increase in the near future, and maybe even a doubling of that.
"We don't have the resources to do it any other way," he said. "There's no faculty, no rooms, no money to teach it the way we really want to teach it."
"There are a lot of students who want to drop back to 000, but we couldn't accommodate them, so they had to drop."
Regardless of the drop rate, Montgomery said he believed that SIMPLi would be able to
"This may be a better way to teach," he said, explaining that he thought the drop rate would diminish as students would customized to the new method of teaching.
Some students, however, don't agree. "I hate it," said Brenda Hill, Chicago's non-traditional student and one of several critics of the program.
"I'm sure that's a problem that's going to change." he said.
"There are some exciting things happening in that course," he said.
"Why am I paying tuition and buying the book if there's no instruction in the class?" she said. "I've paid tuition and now I'm teaching myself."
HILL SAID that she knew many students who dropped the course because of the lack of motivation inherent in a self-taught program.
"Who'll show up if they tell you don't have to come?" she said.
UNLIKE OTHER courses where students received partial credit for wrong answers, Montgomery would that students in SIMPL would get credit for their mistakes, thus forcing them to master the material by requiring a C on each test.
"Look how many people are in there," she said, pointing through the door at two students being tutored by her. "See what I mean? Nobody comes."
"There's no individual attention in the room at all. How can they (the teaching staff) care? How can you you're doing poorly if they don't know themselves?"
Officials try to reach Wheat Meet promoters
Facilities operations officials said they tried unsuccessfully to arrange a meeting yesterday with represen-
tative of Wheat Meet and Pyramid Sounds.
The chairman of the charity fundraiser Wheat Meat threatened Monday to sue the University of Kansas because facilities operations hadn't furnished power to the event for as long as the time that was agreed upon.
Despite repeated attempts to contact Sharp and James Waller, president of Pyramid, there was no response, said Anderson, director of facilities operates.
Jeff Sharp, Wheat Meet chairman,
said about $700 worth of damage was
caused to sound equipment owned by
Pyramid Sounds of Lawrence when
power was cut off prematurely. The
fund-raiser, which was organized to
support the project, ended a program,
ended at 11 p.m. Saturday
when a facilities operation worker
pulled the plug on the generator
supplying power to the band's equipment.
A meeting may be harder to arrange now. Anderson said, because he was not going to the meeting.
"I tried to get a hold of them," he said, "but you wanted to kill them."
The University wants to determine whether there is a problem with the electronic equipment and possibly make a settlement, Anderson said.
"If indeed we're responsible for some damage, we want to get it taken care of or
Anderson said he tried to contact Sharp on three occasions yesterday and tended to ignore them.
phone: 843-1151
Failure to get concert surprises SUA member
Sharp was unavailable for comment last night.
THE CASTLE TEA ROOM
By CYNTHIA HRENCHIR
"This year we had the facilities, but none of the others worked out."
"You need three things to have a concert," he said. "You need talent in the area, convince a promoter that you have a good place to do it and you have to convince a financial backer that it will sell."
Duke Divine, Student Union Activities board member for special events, said yesterday he was a little bit disappointed. He was no homecoming concert this year.
DIVINE HAD worked since last May on a homecoming concert with no results. SUA finally decided to help KANU, the University public radio station, present Oscar Peterson, a famous Jazz pianist.
"But for a reason unknown to me," Divine said, "it didn't work out."
Staff Reporter
The problems with bringing a concert to the University of Kansas include location.
The available talent, Divine said, would go to Kansas City, which is a larger city with a bigger audience.
"It's very difficult and very expensive for SUA to have a band come to the campus," Divine said.
"College students are generally poor." Divine said, "Why would someone come to KU and sell fewer tickets when they can go to Kemper with a larger audience and a better place to play?"
"Because of increasing traveling expenses, tours are a lot more structured than they used to be." he said.
Divine said that a KU concert could expect 40 percent of its sales from the
Kansas City audience. But with the
fewer people and older to hold for,
they
"And if we have it at Allen Field House, people have to pay for parking." Divine said.
"I am starting my sixth year as a concert organizer," he said. "Up until last year, I was never involved in the production of a show that lost money—and since homecoming last year, there has not been one that's made money."
HOMECOMING last year featured the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Mike Frye, which Divine said was not a financial success. The rock group had never been hard for three years to bring to the stadium, so only 10,000 seats. Johnny Paychever and Shooting Star were less than financial successes.
"Kansas," he said, "they can do better in Kansas City than in their hometown. Robbie Steinhard is listed among KU distinguished graduates."
Not only do the concerts suffer losses, but in order for the bands to perform at KCJ's concert and sound systems must be adjusted to accommodate several thousand dollars, Divine said.
DIVINE STILL will to remain optimistic about the future of concerts at KU, even after the recent cancellation of "Altoona." The show was scheduled to perform at KU Sept. 25,
"I'm trying still, very hard," he said.
"We have a lot of things coming up—I hope they don't go the way of The Tubes.
The only entertainment for homecoming is a guest lecture by Dick Gates Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at Dyce School of Music, sponsored by the Black Student Union.
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