How to fairly select participants from a group of unwilling students?

Question

What is the best solution if there are cases like the following: There is a competition at the school that requires each class to send 4 students. In class X, there are no students who are willing to take part in the competition. If a class does not send / send less than 4 students, the class will get a fine. The leader of class X doesn't want to get a fine. What can the class leader do to be able to send 4 students by trying to be as fair as possible to each student (especially the 4 students who will be selected)?

I know that rolling a die or having a vote would be a solution. But let's say that there is no one in the class that is superior to others about the subject that's being contested, and therefore, doing a vote would be unfair because there are no particular reason for someone to be voted.

So, is rolling a die would be the only solution?

Answer 1

Hack: Use elimination.

I would ask for donations for (the amount of the fine)/(number of students in the class) to share the 'load' equally.

Those that will not join the fund have selected themselves as contestants for the competition. As compensation, the four that opt out receive ¼ of the fine exacted upon the non-participants. It's the reward for the insult.

If all join with their share of the fine, no single student suffers unduly.

Fun problem!

Good luck.

Answer 2

Put each of their names on an individual piece of paper, and put all of them into a box. Than draw them, like a lot. The principle is applied for long time, say El Gordo in Spain

(credit)

I think, multiple sports events equally decide by this approach the entry-level opponents (foot- and hand ball, chess), too.

Answer 3

At its simplest, you can use use any game of 'chance' for selection. Some would argue that games of skill are also games of chance. You can use them to opt-in or for opting-out.

The device can be one die or many, a coin toss, selecting randomly from a deck of cards, a spinning 'pointing' device such as a wheel or bottle, a blind selection of a designated area, etc.

The various wars used a lottery for selection of their unwilling participants.

The devices and games are many and can be found in all gambling casinos.

And as I've suggested before, Good luck.

Answer 4

You can pay students to attend the contest.

Conduct an auction, the initial amount will be the Fine_Amount/4 for each vacant position. Students can call out if they are willing to contest for the amount. Other students can call for a lower amount. The student willing to attend the contest for the lowest pay, gets the pay and has to contest.

If no student is ready to contest, even after paying Fine_Amount/4, you are better off paying that fine.

Answer 5

My hack is to set a small written test for the students.

Now, the students are not stupid and realise that they must not do well in the test, because they do not want to be selected.

So the class leader also tells the students that the school is aware of that, and so it will select four with the worst answers to the test (to confuse them).

But what they are not told is that in reality you will select the four who you or the class leader think will be the most suitable or by rolling dice.

But because you have sowed confusion, they won't know on what basis the four were really selected, or that the test itself was irrelevant to the choice.

It is misdirection aimed at making the students think it was their own actions which caused them to be selected.

Answer 6

Hack: Use results based on student research.

Students are asked to specify, and commit themselves to an answer for a task-based question that each can research.

Ask students to vote on whether to choose the four answers closest to, or furthest from the actual answer. You (They) might want to use the two closest AND the two furthest, too. Choice is important to be seen as fair.

Pick a large or distant object. Ask each student how many steps would be needed to walk around the object (a school building, or field) or to and from the end of a long hallway or path.

Each student has the opportunity to count their own steps and put a number after their name on a list based on their personal experience. The students can 'process' their results in any way they wish before they add their 'number' to the class tally.

Prior to the experiment, an 'official' pacer has performed the task in private and recorded their result which will be used as the mark to be used to compare the student's answer.

It would be another degree of 'interest' if the person who will cast the official vote is known by the students so that they can compare themselves to the 'model.' If the model has a large stride, a smaller student might want to calculate a size compensation, up or down.

Give enough time for each of the students to complete their research prior to giving their final answer.

Good luck.

Answer 7

The best method is to use simulation technique and there will be no bias. But the easiest method will be using excel random number.

Assume there are 70 students in a class and each student has roll number starting from 1 to 70. The excel formula will be =RANDBETWEEN (1,70).

For each class, the number 70 can be replaced with the number of students.

Or for more easier way, just replace 70 with the class which has the highest number of students and then drag that formula to some 1000 or 10000 times. Now take the values for each class. If the value is beyond the number of students in that class ignore that value and take the next value.

For example, suppose you did 1-100.

Now the Random numbers generated are

70
90
23
2
78
47
79
57

Now the maximum number of students in the class you taken for simulation is 70.
Then,
Take 70.
Ignore 90.
Take 23
Take 2.
Ignore 78.
Take 47.
That makes 4 students.

Now for the next class and so on.