How long does it take your mind to switch off from one thing and get on to something else? I teach undergraduate mathematics. In a given year, I am expected to teach many courses simultaneously .In a typical year it may be a course in Algebra, one in Linear algebra or multivariate calculus, one in analysis, one in basic calculus with some numerical analysis and at times graph theory thrown in. With this kind of a teaching load, I am shifting from class to class with hardly a five minute break in between. My mind does not switch off that easily from what I have been thinking. Each of these subjects has its own modus operandi .The techniques are so varied from the continuous to the discrete mode. If I am thinking of a problem that is proving difficult to solve, my mind returns to it again and again and my concentration elsewhere wavers. Hence generally I wait to finish off my classes for the day before I start working on something new.
Does it happen to others? In other subjects? What effect does it have on one’s research output? How much teaching is too much? Is teaching to be measured by number of hours only?
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Pareto Dilema
The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes .Hence you benefit more if you concentrate on the 20% rather than squandering your efforts on the not so productive 80%.
The students I teach, appear for a common examination with all others from the university. The examination is set centrally and generally certain topics get repeatedly more weightage as they form the backbone of the course. If one concentrates on this 20% , the probability of that person scoring good credits is higher than if she distributed her efforts over the total syllabus. As a teacher, am I doing right by insisting that a student should learn the entire syllabus? Last year two of my students cleared the entrance test to a top institution creditably only because I had covered every minor aspect also thoroughly. If I followed Pareto principle, many might do better in the final outcome and it will also give me more time to pursue my own interests. 20% of me says, follow Pareto but the rest of 80% rebels against it.
The students I teach, appear for a common examination with all others from the university. The examination is set centrally and generally certain topics get repeatedly more weightage as they form the backbone of the course. If one concentrates on this 20% , the probability of that person scoring good credits is higher than if she distributed her efforts over the total syllabus. As a teacher, am I doing right by insisting that a student should learn the entire syllabus? Last year two of my students cleared the entrance test to a top institution creditably only because I had covered every minor aspect also thoroughly. If I followed Pareto principle, many might do better in the final outcome and it will also give me more time to pursue my own interests. 20% of me says, follow Pareto but the rest of 80% rebels against it.
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