As many of you know, I use a complex point menu to accomodate a variety of learning/writing/expressive styles...from objective tests to creative music and dance...as long as it embodies the basic ideas/concepts/theories of the class at hand.
And, in order to move students to less popular menu items; items which require more work and more integration of class content, I often use a profit margin; for example, students get 200 points to 'spend;' they have to spend 100 pts on objective tests...b8t can spend points on such menu items as movie labs, field research, dramaturgical analyses, special projects, soap operas and such.
For example, I 'charge' 20 points for the first movie lab but make it possible for a student to earn up to 25 points...just to break the ice...after the first movie lab; I set profit margins for other items on the menu not moving the students to investments.
I gave an assignment on The Drama of the Holy for Spring Break and restricted it to 20 students [of 95] who have not yet spent more than 20 points.
One student, Bill, wanted to do the assignment...he has already spent 160 of 200 points...I told him, No.
He wrote back and offered to buy the assignment at 20 pts and accept a two-point penalty for taking...first time I ever had a student offer to buy assignments knowing s/he would take a loss.
You might want to use this market socialist scheme for your own classes.
If so, you are welcome to download syllabi from Teaching
Sociology section on these pages.
TRYoung
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