After the post on trends in Z movies, I got to thinking about trends in general. We tend to cluster reality according to our own messed up sorting mechanisms. So, we often see three celebrities dying in short succession because we notice the first three that catch our eye and ignore the fourth or ignore the times when only two die.
Well, in the past couple of days, I think I have noticed a trend but cannot at all be sure--the students in my Intro to IR class were far more comfortable in sharing their anxiety about the first paper, asking questions upto the last minute. Usually, I get hit hard a few days out, and then those procrastinators do not contact me much at the last minute.
Is it the case that students are bolder in their procrastination? Did I do something to make them more comfortable about their procrastination? I did mention several times in class that I was expecting them to pull an all-nighter even though they had two weeks to write the assignment? Is it because it was due shortly after Canadian Thanksgiving so they didn't start until Tuesday (due today)? Is it because the paper topic was perhaps a bit more challenging?
I have no clue. I just am realizing that trying to figure out trends probably requires numbers. Hmmm.
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