The Human Factor in Software Engineering

Interesting, but also a pity is the following effect which I observe at many universities where I teach. At first, the new teacher has few students, because they do not know how strict she is. So at first, teaching is fun with small groups where only the best of the best students take part, who are really interested in my topic, independent of how much work the course will be. So finally, they end up with very good grades, all of them. When the co-students hear what good grades I gave, they think the course is easy. So, the course gets full the next time. All sorts of students now take part, including such who have already failed at other courses and now hope that this easy course will save their average. As people see what they expect to see, they think my course is trivial and they do not need to learn much. The exercises are trivial, everything trivial. This naturally ends up with really bad exams. We had that recently. Students complained that this exam was more difficult than the other ones and that the exercises in the course where simpler, too. So, they could not expect me to write such a difficult exam. Puh, it was not more difficult than anything else. Of course, it is a psychological effect that the same exercise looks more difficult in the exam. When I studied, I calculated exam questions in half the official time during exam preparations, but never in the exam itself. There, I was slower. Well, anyway, the exam was a massacre. For me, it was painful to correct, too. But I know that I just need to continue. After these ups and downs, finally, students will understand that my course is simply just. Those who work hard get excellent grades, those who do not work hard, can not make it. For the moment, however, the shock is deep. My next course had to be cancelled because no-one wanted to take it. I hope they will return like the tides...