Voting Rights Act and the Supreme Court

The scientist in me has some early thoughts on this morning's Supreme Court decision re the Voting Rights Act.  Warning:  this is obviously an issue some will see as political.  Click down only if you're okay with that.

May 2013 tornado links

I've realized that I need to aggregate some of the links for the May tornadoes in Oklahoma and Kansas, just so I don't lose track of them them.  With that in mind, I may as well share that list publicly.  I'll most likely add to it (the first edition consists of blog posts and videos; I need to add NWS and SPC page links, among others).

• Video of the first 10 minutes of the Moore tornado from the 20th

•  Time lapse of the Bennington, KS tornado of May 28th.  Storm motion was roughly zero for nearly an hour.

•  Run or Shelter?  What to do if a tornado threatens?  Blog post and great discussion by Dr. Cliff Mass of UW

• Analysis of the May 31 El Reno tornado by Jeff Masters, with images and video.

Disclaimer:  I don't mind the profanity but I do find some of the video commentary and actions of those chasers to be scientifically repulsive.  Inclusion in this list is not an endorsement of the author, and I've intentionally not included some of the even worse offenders.  More than one of these people, quite frankly, is incredibly lucky to not have suffered the same fate as Tim Samaras for such idiotic behavior.

What "the tests count for too much" really means

All my student evaluations for Spring '13 are in, and in multiple classes I heard variations of this:

"The tests count for too much of the course grade."

Hmmm.  For large (>50) introductory classes with labs, I typically use the following breakdown:
  Exam 1: 20%
  Exam 2: 20%
  Final: 20%
  Warmup Questions: 15%
  Lab Exercises: 25%

A scan of my department's syllabi from this past semester for large-lecture, introductory courses with labs (not discussion-based courses) found exams worth anywhere from 30 to 70%(!!!) of the course grade.  Skimming some online syllabi from other physical science courses gave similar results--typically around 50 or 60 percent.  One sophomore-level course that shall remain nameless was 80% exam and 20% lab...wow.

In thinking about this, I've come to the conclusion that "tests count for too much" is actually not what my students were trying to tell me.  The true sentiment is probably closer one of these:

1. The tests are too hard.

In some of the other open-ended feedback, students flatly stated they thought my tests were hard.  I don't apologize for that:  they are.  I rarely test the ability to recite simple facts, definitions, and formulas.  I want to see your problem solving skills--what can you do with those definitions?  Of course, this presumes you have the basics in your arsenal in the first place.  If you don't, on my exams, well, you're !(@$ed.  I know people don't like that--I know it's painful--I know it's different--and I also know that problem-solving is a more important academic and life skill than simple memory recall.  That's why my tests are written the way they are.

And/Or,
2.  There's no homework!

This sentiment, a lack of homework, is a good point.  And let's be honest about some of the reasons why homework is a rarity in large lecture courses.  In a class of 60+, homework is difficult to manage, time-consuming to grade, and nearly impossible to return, given that class attendance averages about 75% except the day before an exam.  Yeah, I said it--it's time-consuming.  Professors have lives too, y'all.

An alternative is to farm out the grading to the teaching assistants/associate instructors/graduate students, but that goes against my teaching philosophy.  If I'm responsible for writing and assigning the work, I should be the one to assess it.  I'm the one who truly "knows what I'm looking for."

However, warm-up questions were my alternative.  (If you don't know what these are, read up on Just-in-Time-Teaching.  That's the basic premise.)  They require daily reading assignments, daily submission of answers, are occasionally checked for content, and the answers are discussed in class.  In short:  read the textbook, answer questions before class, get 15% of the grade without even showing up.  That's a pretty good deal, right?  But it doesn't feel like a "real" homework assignment...but, "real" homework wouldn't really be suitable since exams in large courses will be almost entirely multiple choice.  There is no way to keep the assessments consistent in format.

So I'm at a loss about homework.  I like the warmup questions, since they link textbook reading to in-class discussions.  They "test" your basic understanding of the reading, which is the first step toward thinking critically and solving problems...the true goals of (my) exams.

Any thoughts from the gallery?

Breathing

I love walking down a busy street that is...not busy.  For those (usually few!) seconds when there are no cars within sight, you can hear the stillness.  It's almost as if the city gets to stop and take a deep breath, preparing for the next surge of traffic.  Love it.

Trip Impressions, I

As I start to process my thoughts about the 21-day journey through Europe, here are some first impressions.

1. Behavior at crosswalks.  Completely different from one city to the next.
- London: every man, woman, and child for themselves.  The "don't walk" sign means nothing.
- Brussels: they don't even have walk/don't walk lights at many intersections--pedestrians have the right of way and cars will stop.
- Berlin: jaywalking is illegal.  With no traffic in sight, at 2 a.m., people will still stand there and wait for the light to turn green.

2. Activities.

To me, travel is not always about "doing things you wouldn't do at home."  Sure, I:
- spent time at the casino;
- tried several different brands of beer (I'm still not really a fan!);
- didn't shave for a week at a time; and even
- struck up conversations with random strangers.

But I also:
- went to the mall;
- took naps;
- went to the grocery store and bought milk, donuts, cereal, etc.; and even
- spent a couple hours doing my laundry at the laundromat.

There's a fine balance between being touristy and feeling like you live somewhere.  I tried to do more of the latter.

3. Customer service.

Even when it's a façade or a formality, I expect a polite greeting from cashiers, waiters, and greeters.  Everywhere I went, I was greeted with "hello", "good morning", or more.  My Southern-ness was only reinforced in Europe.  :-)

In the couple days I've been back, I have noticed how absent that behavior is in some places.  There will be stores that I don't frequent any longer if I find the staff to not at least be minimally polite.

Luring in the Tourists

Convincing the hordes to give you their business should be easy--but the competition is fierce.  In this case, a restaurant advertises one set of prices on the sidewalk (take a look at the photo in white), and a very different set when you are presented a menu at the table (on the reddish light). A nearly 40% markup on some dishes!

For reference, 1 crown, the unit of currency, is about a nickel. So these are $7 dishes that you'll be charged $12 for.

Me, I skipped their printed menu altogether and went with the daily special--a chicken breast with mashed potatoes in a tasty mushroom sauce--for $4.95. You can eat like a medieval king here, for medieval prices, if you're alert!

Flooding in Prague

The flood walls have been erected here in Prague. Although the Vltava river was expected to crest last night, it hasn't quite yet. Hopefully soon. To interpret that page, just go straight to the brightly colored graph, which shows the river height at a gauge just a few miles out of town. The river level is about 400 centimeters (4 meters, or nearly 13 feet) above where it was a few days ago.

All of these pictures were taken upon my arrival last night...after a long walk from the main train station to my hotel, since the subway is closed as a precaution. Most trams are still running though, since there has not been (and isn't expected to be) any street flooding except very close to the river.

Still, it's fascinating to see a minor natural disaster and the local response unfold right before your eyes. More photos to come after breakfast.