I gave a midterm this week, which I carefully crafted, using the item response analyses provided by the test center last quarter. The questions that were too difficult I made easier, the questions with poor discriminability I repaired, and I added some new questions based on submissions that the students made. One student commented, after the exam, that it was very fair. Yay!
But then the complaints started streaming in. Apparently I had used "funny wording," and so I must have been trying to trick them. No examples of "funny wording" were provided, so I have no clue what these people are talking about. And since I have now used these (new and improved) questions three quarters in a row, I have a pretty good feel for which questions were poorly worded (originally) and which weren't.
This is one of those terms that never clicked. I still feel like I did after the first week of class. Nothing I do seems to work. My students don't seem to appreciate anything I do to try and make things better for them, and when I ask for suggestions or comments on the structure of the course most of them say nothing. Many of them skip class even though I am not giving them my overheads this quarter.
All this must be at least partly my fault, but I'm damned if I know what I did wrong. I haven't changed the way I teach since last quarter, and my students from last quarter loved it. I'm ready to forget this whole group and start again clean next quarter. The only thing that keeps me showing up to lectures are the 15 or so really great students (out of 85) whom I don't want to disappoint. I can't wait to see my student evaluations!
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The world needs ditch-diggers, too.
About Me
- Angry Professor
- I am a tenured faculty member at a large state university. My teaching efforts primarily consist of delivering statistics lectures to social science majors. These experiences have colored my perspective somewhat.
Disclaimer
This blog is 100% FERPA compliant. It is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Angry Professor is the creation of Mr. Norrell, who lives in Guam with four rhesus monkeys and a gecko. He has never taught at a university.
Links Everyone Should Have
Reading Assignments
-
-
10 months ago
-
15 years ago
-
10 years ago
-
-
16 years ago
-
9 years ago
-
1 year ago
-
11 years ago
-
7 years ago
-
13 years ago
-
-
9 years ago
-
11 years ago
-
-
-
14 years ago
-
4 years ago
-
16 years ago
-
13 years ago
-
8 years ago
-
-
6 days ago
-
-
-
7 years ago
-
12 years ago
-
16 years ago
-
11 years ago
-
11 years ago
-
14 years ago
12 comments:
What type of class do you teach? Is it an introductory class? Do most of you students take the class as a requirement, or as an elective?
Maybe you should come out at the beginning of a class and just ask them, "What the hell is the deal with the 'Funny wording?' What do you want me to do here, exactly?"
THat's one of the mysteries I haven't figured out yet: same course, same material, same instructor, same methodology, diametrically different results. ONe thing is for sure, once a certain group dynamic has been established (positive or negative), it's hard to shake it. THat's why I usually work super hard on the very first sessions. Experience has told me that they are key to quality. So, I show up 5-10 minutes ahead of time and greet the students as arrive, do some chit chat. Then, very early on, I get some directed discussions going. One that I use is "How could I know how religious americans really are"... and that gets me into a discussion on research methods. It's not perfect, but it gets them going and used to open their mouths.
I'm sure everyone has their own trick to break the ice. Of course, size is key. I only have 35 students per section, so, discussions are easier to manage than with a large group.
I confess that I'd do ANYTHING to avoid those negative group dynamics where NO ONE ever wants to participate (those who did quietly stopped doing so) and there's either indifference if not hostility between me and the students.
Some cohorts are just weird. One year when I was a TA, the prof took us aside at one point and said, "guys, I'm sorry. In my 20 years of teaching, it's never been this bad."
We chalked it up to the fact that while they were gestating, China was conducting atmospheric nuclear weapons testing (as opposed to below-ground). This is the same excuse offered by my mother, who had similar problems when the same cohort passed through her 7th-grade class.
That is one of the great mysteries! I teach Statistics to Psychology majors and every few semesters this happens. You never quite get the rhythm going and the semester is ruined. I chalk it up to wacky sampling. Every once in awhile you end up on the bottom end of the distribution... you just got all the duds at once! I could, of course, chalk it up to some failure on my part...but I refuse to concede on that point.
Please do not feel that it is you. I'm in my first year on the tt and this semester, especially this week has made me question my ability as a teacher (although I've taught a ton before!). It is just the class, it happens. I think frenchdoc's comments were interesting because at my school there is such a dance the first two weeks of school of students adding/dropping that in one class I had 30% of the class change. It makes it hard to grab them early. But I'm sorry you have a miserable crew this semester.
I read Malcolm Gladwell once did an experiment where he showed students (who were not in the course and did not know the teacher) a silent 15-second video clip of a professor teaching a class. They had to estimate what his student evaluation scores would be at the end of the term. Eerily enough, they were pretty spot on a lot of the time. Tragically, that means there may be no rescue if the first two weeks s*ck, but on the other hand, you can also give yourself a break and chalk it up to their subconscious, that they have for better or worse, already made up their minds anyway and no effort will change that. Wait for next term...
I have only taught as a TA, but it does fit the bill I find. Sometimes they are charming and nice and grateful for any help, sometimes they consider it 'rude' if I don't answer my cell phone at 11pm at night after they have fished my number off the internet or God knows where... you win some, you lose some.
I read Malcolm Gladwell once did an experiment where he showed students (who were not in the course and did not know the teacher) a silent 15-second video clip of a professor teaching a class. They had to estimate what his student evaluation scores would be at the end of the term. Eerily enough, they were pretty spot on a lot of the time. Tragically, that means there may be no rescue if the first two weeks s*ck, but on the other hand, you can also give yourself a break and chalk it up to their subconscious, that they have for better or worse, already made up their minds anyway and no effort will change that. Wait for next term...
I have only taught as a TA, but it does fit the bill I find. Sometimes they are charming and nice and grateful for any help, sometimes they consider it 'rude' if I don't answer my cell phone at 11pm at night after they have fished my number off the internet or God knows where... you win some, you lose some.
oops...
I've seen this phenomenon a number of times. I think part of is is just a bad draw - sometimes you get one.
There's probably also something to the "Gladwell effect" - impressions form fast, and sometimes by the time we're aware of them, they're set in stone.
I have a similar problem this semester - two sections of the same core class. About the same number in each, and both on a MWF schedule. One is a bunch of duds - tough to get discussion going, flat affects, etc...
The other one is very lively. It could be the times (11:00 vs. 2:00), it could be that I'm better in the afternoon, or it could be just different populations.
I've seen it happen where two secions of the same class (same schedule, same semester) will give me evaluations that are 0.5 apart (4.2 vs. 4.7).
One of life's little mysteries.
>> Unfortunately, I stop caring about their progress when they themselves don't seem to care - beyond grades.
Exactly how is this "unfortunate"? It seems perfectly sensible to me.
Or, you could try *asking* the students what is happening. This can be done non-confrontationally by asking a colleague to come interview them or by asking them to write a few thoughts on index cards which someone then types up for you so that you don't know who said what. This is also a nice tactic for when the class is going well -- you can pinpoint what is working so well, then repeat it.
You could be my macroeconomics professor. He gave us a 40 question multiple choice test on the 21st. We were given a 40 question practice exam that very closely resembled the actual exam. I think many of my classmatesjust memorized the questions and didn't bother to read the questions on the actual exam. I really feel bed for my professor. He is taking alot of abuse, but he manages to hold his ground pretty well.
Post a Comment