Posted by John Miller on January 17, 1997 at 10:01:39:
In Reply to: A Lot posted by Jan-Eric Nilsson on January 17, 1997 at 07:16:55:
: First, this homepage informing about the book is one of the most informative home-pages I've bumped into so far.
Thanks! We really do hope to make the homepage a
useful addition to the book for all users, so let us
know if you have any ideas about what would be useful.
: Second; where can I get an address to order a copy of the instructor's manual for an overseas user; I have already received a complementary copy of the book.
You should be able to contact your local McGraw Hill
distributor for a copy. If this is a problem, let me
know and I will contact our editor directly and get it
resolved (there was a problem initially in Europe, but I hope
this has been fixed).
: Third; we're preparing our first tests with experiment 1, and are thinking of the appropriate way to construct redemption values and costs; it's not quite obvious from the book. We've previously used the play-card trick, which was pretty usable, but are there any problems with that? Put the other way, what's the benefit from using the same values for each individual all the time? Don't they get bored??
The values from the instructor's manual are tied into
the laboratory reports, so you really need to get a copy
of the manual (for more about this, see the previous
response). The Instructor's Manual really does make running
the experiments easy, so definitely get a copy ASAP.
As for students getting bored, we have designed the
student information sheets to make sure that
the students rotate roles/values to avoid this
problem.
: Fourth; in which way do you use the 'Discussion' section? As a basis for a regular lecture? Or should one try to initiate a discussion immediately after the experiment, or after that the Home Work has been submitted?
Typically, at the end of an experiment you can begin
the "discussion." (Having the students step back at this
point and try to uncover some regularities in the data is a
great thing to do at this time. For example, ask them
what trends they see in the data, what things need to
be explained, etc. I then devote the next class to discussion
of the theory (with the expectation that the students have
read the discussion section). After that, they should be
able to finish the lab report and homework on their
own.
: Fifth; what happends when the book is used over consecutive years? Will not students pick up copies of home-works from earlier years?
Since the data will differ from year to year (and
even the underlying curves since the number of students
changes), most of the lab reports and some of
the homework will be unique. There are a few homework
questions that do not change answers (like all books),
but over all, I don't think students having access
to previous assignments will make too much difference.