Professor Elam

: to spend time doing things that are not useful or serious : to fool around and waste time

Unit Cohesion

Unit cohesion is a military concept, defined by one former United States Chief of staff in the early 1980s as "the bonding together of soldiers in such a way as to sustain their will and commitment to each other, the unit, and mission accomplishment, despite combat or mission stress".^[1]

 

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It's only October and already only half the class is checking in either on line or in person. About one third of the classes are completing the weekend quiz after the posted deadline. 

Quiz Deadlines are posted Sunday Night at  10 PM. Extentions will not be granted unless you show up for class in a very large plaster cast. Plan to start and finish well before Sunday night. 

And I am receiving requests

-that I post all the answers to every homework problem

-that I extend time to take exams for all sorts of varied reasons, pick one, 

The Paper Chase, quoted above, is a movie about first year Harvard Law students. They are enrolled in Professor Kingsfield's contract law class. He is brutal in his questioning and not the least empathetic as students squirm under his socratic method of questioning. 

But in the end, Hart and another student persevere and pass with an A. The movie profiles the various student types as they form a study group. The group finally breaks down as students fail to complete their share of the outline or the lack of 'unit cohesion' splits them apart. 

Where am I going with this?  One learns by doing, not by simply listening. The learning process can only proceed if first you and then I understand what you do not know. That only happens if students attempt the problems before coming to class. Then ask questions on what you do not understand. 

Learning does not take place by simply staring at the answer to a problem. This is overwhelming. This does not stimulate critical thinking or questioning. 

Now stop and think. How many questions do I get in class?  How many questions are registered by those at home?  The answer is few to none. No doubt everyone is of the opinion that they can simply open the book during the timed exams at home and locate teh answer. The too high grades suggest this is the case. But that will be of little help after graduation whe you are facing a real exam on a computer at a test center under highly regulated and monitored conditions. 

Not so long ago the CPA exam was the last of the professional exams (law, medicine, architecture) still given on paper. One had to literally write out some of the answers or problems. The same exam was given to the entire nation and only twice a year. And in Texas in only four cities, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Lubbock. And of course one had to qualify and register months in advance. 

The result was the formation of cohort study review groups via universiites or private providers like Becker. It afforded one the opportunity to observe others in stressful conditions. Liasons were formed, and as time went on it became clear who was really serious. Then as now the pass rate was lower than it is now, then about 35% on any one part. 

I have concluded that one reason so few of our graduates take any certified exams is the lack of unit cohesion. Unit cohesion, remember the Three Musketeers, one for all and all for one, results in if she can do it I can do it attitude. This is precisely why the military so values this concept. But our commuter campus does not lend itself so much to the sort of intense competitive spirit one might encounter at a residential university. To wit, UT Austin and College Station typically score the highest pass rates andd they have the highest admission standards. 

Suggested viewing

The Paper Chase  

 

An Officer and a Gentleman-= the story of how the military basic training can change an otherwise rebellious individual has been told many times but never better than when Louis Gossett Jr. is the Marine Drill Sgt. A different setting but the same basic theme as Paper Chase.