Re: Solutions manual

Julian V. Noble wrote:
Dear Colleagues,

As I have been composing my masterpiece, I have been solving the
problems and exercises as I go, keeping the solutions in the form of
block comments between \iffalse and \fi commands. This is fortunate
because the publisher wants a solutions manual, although, frankly,
anyone who can't solve a problem from my book is unqualified to
teach the course.

It's not a matter of whether or not another professor can solve the
problems---it's a time factor.

1) I know when I'm teaching a class, it is FAR faster for me to be able
to
skim a solutions manual to gauge the difficulty factor of each problem
(I don't completely trust the dot, two-dot, three-dot systems used) so
I
can judge how long it will take my students finish an assignment.

2) If I have a solution manual, I can cut/paste, photocopy, or whatever
to put together a solution *** for my students of only those problems
I have assigned. This will come out looking much cleaner than my
doing them on paper and scanning them; it is also takes MUCH LESS
time then my having to create them from scratch.

3) I can cut my grading time down significantly if I don't have to work
each and every problem out myself. This means homework gets
returned to students in a more timely manner.

All of the above means that I can put more of my time and effort into
instruction preparation. Thus, a solution manual is must for me
these days.

.

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