In real life you can have all the cheat sheets you want. The key is knowing how to use them.

Ernest is completely right. Cheat sheets are a mental crutch for students. Cheat sheets encourage students to b.s. their way through an exam hoping for partial credit on topics they have not mastered. It is the hallmark of a lazy mind not to understand the difference between mastery and memorization. Furthermore, cheat sheets are not standard. Everyone's cheat sheet is different and that can have a huge impact on the final marks. Profs should give the equation sheet days before the exam so that everyone knows what information will be available and what they need to bring with them to the test.

I guess this means that, while all of Ernest's fellow students bring cheat sheets to class, he's not going to. Put your money where your mouth is. (And for the record, although cheat sheets may be allowed in Engineering classes, I haven't taken a single SAS class that allows them...that includes math and econ courses).

[QUOTE id="5d26b5be-3103-4ee6-8f20-989e23439956"]I guess this means that, while all of Ernest's fellow students bring cheat sheets to class, he's not going to. Put your money where your mouth is. (And for the record, although cheat sheets may be allowed in Engineering classes, I haven't taken a single SAS class that allows them...that includes math and econ courses).[/QUOTE] SAS student, I, like any rational student, will do whatever maximizes my grades. This is why my suggestions are directed toward professors and administrators to align grade maximization with retainment of knowledge. I am not calling for any students to join me in making a cheat sheet bonfire. I have used cheat sheets in the past, both as reassurance for knowledge I've mastered and as a crutch during an exam for which I crammed. I just feel that cheat sheets are not necessary if professors force students to use their minds to their full capacity.

[QUOTE id="f53ce581-d6a8-4d72-8d81-17da04a6dc94"]I don't know how it works for other subjects, but for a well-designed test in engineering or physics, cheat sheets are often necessary. It's rare that the classes I'm taking require just "ten equations" to do an exam - fifty is more like it. Allowing us to use cheat sheets allows the teachers to make exams that actually test us on how to use and think about the equations, rather than how well we've memorized them. This is something that no cheat sheet could ultimately help you with, but having one lets you worry about more important things than the exact form of the equation you ought to be using. No, when the semester ends I don't remember all fifty plus equations with complete precision, but I do remember their important features and how to use them.[/QUOTE] Engineering student, I would say that you approach the matter the best way possible. Unfortunately, many students (including myself at times) do not think the way you do, and we may use a cheat sheet to bail us out of a bad grade on an exam. I understand that professors may have to provide background material (and possibly equations) for very difficult exam questions. In fact, I have had exams in which professors give entirely new equations we had not before seen during the semester: We had to apply our understanding of all the course material to solve the problem. Exams like this are great alternatives to allowing cheat sheets. My problem with a cheat sheet is that it gives a student incentive to maximize its utility, which can trade off with the student's long-term understanding of the material. Even though you and many students use cheat sheets in the best way possible, I feel that the systems in place should promote exercise of BOTH memory and critical thinking skills as much as possible.

Ernest, as a engineering student I'd expect you to know that it's pretty much impossible to get through certain physics exams without some reference material. In Physics 361/362, for example, there is such an overwhelming amount of complex equations that there is really no way to memorize all of them in all of their forms. And working them out from a couple given ones is not an option -- the time on the exam should be spent solving problems, not deriving equations that you've already seen. That equates to rote memorization, and costs time and effort which is much better spent on learning how to use the equations. I have had physics courses which did not use reference sheets -- Physics 411/412, for example. But that professor opted to make a more conceptual exam, with more emphasis on understanding the implications of an equation, rather than using them for complex problems. This is totally fine. If this is how a professor wants to do an exam, it's reasonable to expect students to come in with knowledge of a few fundamental formulas. But for the more common "here are six problems with four parts each, and you need a different equation for each part" exam, it's ludicrous to ask students to memorize every formula that may come up.

I love that the writer is on the discussion board defending his article . . . are there any other DP writers who do this, instead of allowing themselves to get trashed by everyone?

[QUOTE id="d42091a5-b9c2-4029-87f8-aa5d771a4367"]I love that the writer is on the discussion board defending his article . . . are there any other DP writers who do this, instead of allowing themselves to get trashed by everyone?[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure others do, I just like to respond because the comments section can be a good forum for discussion.

[QUOTE id="f4f15c05-956a-405e-a543-8507f18591d9"]Ernest, as a engineering student I'd expect you to know that it's pretty much impossible to get through certain physics exams without some reference material. In Physics 361/362, for example, there is such an overwhelming amount of complex equations that there is really no way to memorize all of them in all of their forms. And working them out from a couple given ones is not an option -- the time on the exam should be spent solving problems, not deriving equations that you've already seen. That equates to rote memorization, and costs time and effort which is much better spent on learning how to use the equations. I have had physics courses which did not use reference sheets -- Physics 411/412, for example. But that professor opted to make a more conceptual exam, with more emphasis on understanding the implications of an equation, rather than using them for complex problems. This is totally fine. If this is how a professor wants to do an exam, it's reasonable to expect students to come in with knowledge of a few fundamental formulas. But for the more common "here are six problems with four parts each, and you need a different equation for each part" exam, it's ludicrous to ask students to memorize every formula that may come up.[/QUOTE] Physics student, Thank you for mentioning this - personally I've never taken an exam where I feel that a cheat sheet was absolutely necessary (i.e. it is impossible to know the equations by heart without a problem), but the feasibility of my suggestions is definitely worth discussing. If there really are too many variations of an equation for students to remember, professors can just give the couple necessary forms of it next to the question instead of having students make their own cheat sheets. However, I would still contend that with enough practice, any student can eventually commit any number of equations my memory without it being "rote memorization." In fact, deriving an equation is not even memorization - it's forcing a student to understand the concept. If one understands an equation enough to derive it, I doubt that he or she would need it written out for them on an exam.

[QUOTE id="f4f15c05-956a-405e-a543-8507f18591d9"]Ernest, as a engineering student I'd expect you to know that it's pretty much impossible to get through certain physics exams without some reference material. In Physics 361/362, for example, there is such an overwhelming amount of complex equations that there is really no way to memorize all of them in all of their forms. And working them out from a couple given ones is not an option -- the time on the exam should be spent solving problems, not deriving equations that you've already seen. That equates to rote memorization, and costs time and effort which is much better spent on learning how to use the equations. I have had physics courses which did not use reference sheets -- Physics 411/412, for example. But that professor opted to make a more conceptual exam, with more emphasis on understanding the implications of an equation, rather than using them for complex problems. This is totally fine. If this is how a professor wants to do an exam, it's reasonable to expect students to come in with knowledge of a few fundamental formulas. But for the more common "here are six problems with four parts each, and you need a different equation for each part" exam, it's ludicrous to ask students to memorize every formula that may come up.[/QUOTE] Physics student, Thank you for mentioning this - personally I've never taken an exam where I feel that a cheat sheet was absolutely necessary (i.e. it is impossible to know the equations by heart without a problem), but the feasibility of my suggestions is definitely worth discussing. If there really are too many variations of an equation for students to remember, professors can just give the couple necessary forms of it next to the question instead of having students make their own cheat sheets. However, I would still contend that with enough practice, any student can eventually commit any number of equations my memory without it being "rote memorization." In fact, deriving an equation is not even memorization - it's forcing a student to understand the concept. If one understands an equation enough to derive it, I doubt that he or she would need it written out for them on an exam.

Ernest, you obviously fail to understand the whole purpose of a cheat sheet. It is not "to allow professors and their assistants to minimize surveillance duties during exams." (was this a joke???) Just because it has the word "cheat" in it doesn't mean it's about cheating. If you were to ever take a math or engineering class at Penn, you would realize that the whole point of these classes are to LEARN CONCEPTS AND SKILLS, NOT MEMORIZE INFORMATION. Forced memorization takes away from real learning. Real learning is not spitting out what is told to you, but using the information available to come up with your own solution. Forcing students to pointlessly memorize material takes the emphasis away from actual learning and back to elementary-school style spoonfeeding.

Damned if I can remember the proper form for a 4x4 homogenous transformation matrix. I can't. What axis? Which sign? I don't remember. I certainly know what it does. Heck, I can even tell you how it does it without breaking a sweat, but if I didn't have my cheat sheet handy, I'd be working at about 25% efficiency deriving the damn thing from first principles each time I need to use in any specific case. In real life (my example applies to software I write for a research project I'm working on), you get to whip open a reference manual, or an table of integrals, or a listing of Laplace transforms, and do your job without being hung up on tiny details.

Are you kidding me????? Is this article a joke? Just because youre a drone and enjoying memorizing copious amounts of facts instead of actually learning the material, does not make you more of an intellectual. Rather, it makes you a moron who can get by simply by memorizing rather than actual learning. You try to pretend you are somehow intellectualy superior to the rest of the penn students, but I think anyone who reads your dribble every week can tell you that contrary to what youd like us to believe, you actually epitomize the superficiality of this school.

[QUOTE id="a7dce2a8-cd10-43d1-a435-cfdd22e16551"]Are you kidding me????? Is this article a joke? Just because youre a drone and enjoying memorizing copious amounts of facts instead of actually learning the material, does not make you more of an intellectual. Rather, it makes you a moron who can get by simply by memorizing rather than actual learning. You try to pretend you are somehow intellectualy superior to the rest of the penn students, but I think anyone who reads your dribble every week can tell you that contrary to what youd like us to believe, you actually epitomize the superficiality of this school.[/QUOTE] You're misunderstanding my argument. I'm saying that in addition to understanding material, it would be beneficial to be independent from a reference sheet to recall the information. Additionally, nowhere in that article did I imply that I enjoy "memorizing" over "actual learning." I'm saying that the pressure of having to know information by heart can compel students to understand it better. It's not about spitting out facts, it's about knowing your stuff so well that you don't need a cheat sheet to recall your understanding of the material. I never implied that I'm more intelligent than any Penn students. Apparently I'm a "drone" and a "moron" and I "epitomize the superficiality of this school." I guess if there is "superficiality" that you can ascribe to the University, you're above that? I don't think I'm the one who's been asserting intellectual superiority. I also don't write "every week." Understand the article and get your facts straight before you throw around personal attacks.

I don't know how it works for other subjects, but for a well-designed test in engineering or physics, cheat sheets are often necessary. It's rare that the classes I'm taking require just "ten equations" to do an exam - fifty is more like it. Allowing us to use cheat sheets allows the teachers to make exams that actually test us on how to use and think about the equations, rather than how well we've memorized them. This is something that no cheat sheet could ultimately help you with, but having one lets you worry about more important things than the exact form of the equation you ought to be using. No, when the semester ends I don't remember all fifty plus equations with complete precision, but I do remember their important features and how to use them.

Ernest, I completely disagree. Not once have I finished an exam and thought, "Wow, I did great because of my cheat sheet." It's all about problem solving skills, and you can't put that on a piece of paper. Plus, in the real world, you have loads of reference books and textbooks at your discretion when problem solving.