On of my students who has been very strong (his marks have been extremely high) wrote about one course I teach (E304) that it "has been a challenge to most of us".
I think that this can be interpreted as a compliment to the course as it has pushed a student who is very strong rather than letting him coast through content that is not demanding enough. Of course, if the course is chellenging to him, it is likely to be even more so for others.
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Most of the [constructive] criticism of courses has been about the diversity of knowledge amongst students on language courses. I found on L120 Intermediate French that the differences were enormous, and some people did struggle. We were fortunate to have a tutor who coped magnificently but there are problems. The OU could, perhaps, do more to gauge student's suitability before they commit and students should be fully aware of the level required to avoid disappointment during the course. L168 was easier to gauge as we all started off at the same point. No grammar rules to learn, no problems with prononciation, and the interest of comparing cultures both in our studies and our student group. What's not to like? Terry.New comment
Thanks for the comment, Terry.Tutors can cope with diversity to a very large extent. It is perhaps important to engender an attitude that students can learn at different levels and in different ways.
It also seems to me that students should be challenged at whatever level they are already at and I think this is what was interesting about the comment from my student above. He is extremely able but the course still contains elements that can stretch him so that he is learning new things.