next »

[mystictechgal]

Now I'm curious as to the student's answer...something about women's wily ways?

Yes, that was about the extent of it. When she came to complain about her grade (this was the student who made the 13), I pointed out to her that she had attempted to make up answers for most of the IDs, and that that qualified as b.s. in my book and that I for one find such practices irritating.

13?  Isn't that the number of points awarded for spelling one's name correctly and remembering to put it on the exam?

[monita]

Term papers were due for my 500-level course yesterday.  Once again, I have a non-traditional student who completely ignored the assignment guidelines.  I asked for an 8-10 page research paper with at least 10 solid academic resources (as in peer-reviewed; it is a senior-level course).  What did I get?  A three-page essay that referenced (1) a tv show; (2) wikipedia; (3) a text book from the 70s.  WTF?

This has happened before.  A few years ago, in the same course, a non-traditional student used a children's book as a reference.  I'm not kidding.  That same student decided he didn't want to do a formal presentation, and performed a poem for the class instead.

I always scaffold this assignment, with topics, outlines, and a sample reference list due long before the final paper.  I spoke with both of these students in detail about their source material early in the term.  It's like they don't believe that I actually know what I'm talking about, and that I'm serious about the assignment guidelines.  They say "wow... okay... thank you for all your help!" and then just turn in whatever they want anyway. 

Head>>>Desk.

[gennimom]

I had a few students, including one non-traditional student, do that. The problem with the non-trad was, if he had just continued on the line he started on, he probably could have made a decent paper out of it. As it was, no argument, no conclusions, just an essay and a badly formatted one at that.

Arrrrggghhhh!

[temporaryname]

My students have a major research paper (well, major for an intro class) due Monday. They've had various preliminary assignments due throughout the semester, and I've taken pains to urge them to get their sources (all from scholarly journals) together so that they can actually do the paper. This is particularly important given how thin our library's holdings are in the subject of the course, meaning that they're likely to need to interlibrary loan at least some stuff.

This morning I have a student come into office hours saying that our library holds no sources on his topic, so what should he do? I avoided saying "fail", and instead took him through using scholarly databases to find articles and interlibrary loan to get articles (even though the turnaround time makes that unlikely)--not that I haven't done that twice in class already, plus taking them to the library to have a librarian teach them how to do it. He appeared to have never heard of interlibrary loan before, though I checked my attendance spreadsheet and he was present (physically, at least) every time it's been gone over.

The really sad thing? This freshman-level class has a number of seniors in it who have avoided finishing up their gen-ed requirements until their final year. This student? Yep, he's one of them. *headdesk* C-u 50.

[canuckois]

My students had to read an article on evangelical attitudes towards science in early 20th-century America.  On the pop quiz for that particular day, to answer a question about said attitudes, a student wrote, "I don't know what 'evangelical' means.  [insert random and totally weird guess]??"

<steeples fingers together>  So.  Let me see if I have this straight.  You "read" an entire article on evangelical attitudes towards science, but you never bothered to look up the definition of "evangelical"?  I see.  What a novel approach to education.  Excuse me for a moment while I pound my head against this desk here..... 

There we go.  Now the vicarious and existential pain I might have experienced at your abysmal stupidity has been subsumed into this purely physical pain.  Ergo: you remain stupid, and I no longer care.

[polly_mer]

I gave a test before Thanksgiving on which students were allowed to use a note page of anything they could cram onto it.  A non-negligible fraction of my students copied word for word my study guide, including the practice problems, and the online quiz that drew on a pool of questions onto that sheet, while neglecting important things like the 50 vocabulary terms that I listed, but did not define, on the study guide and examples of the math that we worked in class that I said on multiple occasions, "This will be on the test".

When grading the tests, I discovered that many students answered the essay questions by copying a paragraph or set of bullet points from their note sheet.  Those who successfully copied something that did answer the question received a 4 out of 5 because, while being a good parrot does not earn an A, I can't mark the answer wrong since it was correct when I wrote it.  Those who copied something that didn't address the question earned fewer points.

To enforce the lesson that using extensive notes like a dictionary is not the same as mastering the material, I gave a quiz this week on the 4 questions to which students tended to give a parrot answer.  By doing that, I allowed them to show that they know the material or need a wake-up call before the final where they will see this material again.  After a few minutes, I let the students consult with their colleagues and the homework relevant to the material.  Then I went through the answers to the questions in class before requiring the students to hand in their quizzes.

I am now grading those quizzes.  I have not seen many perfect scores.  Yes, even with their notes, help from the audience, and a verbal explanation of the answers, the students cannot give correct answers on material that was extensively covered in class and for which they want full credit on the test. 

I'm too lazy to post over on the "'Favorite' Conversations With Students" thread, but the most extreme conversation I had this week on this topic went:

Student:  I am unhappy with this test grade.

Polly:  Yes.  I, too, am disappointed in your performance.

Student:  My answer on this question was the same as X's answer and X got a lot of credit and I got almost none.

Polly:  Well, that shouldn't happen.  Show me and we'll see what needs to be done.

Student:  X, bring your test over here so that I can show her.  See, right there on that problem.  We have the same thing and you marked mine wrong.

Polly:  [It's an equation ] X has an m here that you do not.  X has these two quantities divided while you have them multiplied.  Consequently, your set-up is not the same as X's and your claiming that it is indicates that you do indicates that you definitely do not understand the very concepts that the question was testing.

Student:  <grimace, but no argument>  All right, but what about these essays?  I didn't get full credit for any of them.

Polly:  That's true.  As I explained in class, merely copying my answer from the study guide will not result in full credit.  The point of the test is to see how well you understand the material.  Consequently, you must give me an essay on those topics that reflect your knowledge.  My answer is not wrong, but you did not show that you know the material.  To get a perfect score, you must include all of the important elements, but in your own words.

Student:  But I purposely picked those essays to write because I knew that your study guide was the right answer.  That's why I put them on the note sheet.  If I use the words in my head, then they could be wrong.  But your answer cannot be wrong, so I should get full credit.

Polly:  The purpose of the test is to show me what you know.  The point of the study guide is for you to think about how to answer the questions in your own words and then make sure that your answers have the necessary elements.  Two of the biggest goals of this class are critical thinking and being able to incorporate the knowledge into your own brain.  Consequently, being an excellent parrot when the material is in front of you is not work that is worthy of an A in this class.

Student:  Then what the hell was the point of the note sheet if I can't use it to get the right answers?

Polly: The point of the note sheet was to have a reference of the handful of closely related things that you tend to confuse, an example of how to work some math problems, and some definitions or term spelling that you can't quite get the hang of.  You were supposed to study a lot using the study guide and practice quizzes.  Then, for the last bit of things that didn't quite gel in your mind, you have an aid to your memory because in normal practice you would have your own notes from which to work.  The study guide/note sheet combination was not supposed to function as an all-inclusive answer key from which you merely select the proper answer any more than a book is a substitute for actually knowing something.

Student:  Well, if I had known that, then I would have done things differently.  That's just unfair and I'm angry.  <storms out of the room>

Polly bangs her head on the desk over how much class time was spent on emphasizing that students must give answers in their own words to demonstrate knowledge of the relevant phenomena instead of plagiarizing random websites, the text book, or Polly's answer keys. 

The second bang is for the points lost on previous quizzes, homeworks, and the last test for unoriginality, which clearly did not sink into the students' consciousness. 

Yes, there are only a limited number of ways to say one sentence definitions.  I don't take off points for unoriginality on those short definitions.  But a whole paragraph on something like how thunder and lightning work or why a refrigerator magnet only has one magnetic side leaves a wide open field for a nice paragraph in the student's own words.

But then that would require students to think and engage with the material instead of gaming the system.  The refusal of these students to stop gaming the system and learn something is the third bang of the head against the desk.


[on preview]  Next Monday is turn in day for project reports, portfolios, and presentations for my class as well.  A month ago when I went over what was expected, I was told:

Oh, yes, we all know about plagiarism and would never do such a thing.  You're beating a dead horse there, Dr. Mer.

Oh, yes, we all know a citation style and can construct a bibliography.  There's no need to tell us how to do that in such detail.

Oh, yes, we all took English and know how to write a grammatically correct non-fiction paper.  Naturally we will have a logical organization with an introduction, a middle with reasonable transitions and signposts, and a concluding summary.   No problem.  Geez, you treat us like we're stupid.

However, with Monday's deadline looming, I have been asked a lot of questions indicating that I likely will have lots of anecdotes to share on the "Student Sentences", "References that Students Don't Know", and "Plagiarism Chronicles" threads.   Considering the one student who took me up on my offer to read rough drafts and give some feedback, I may also have to start an "Student Abuse of Punctuation" thread. 

[apollo]

You people are not making me look forward to the tenure track...hahahaha

[mad_doctor]

You people are not making me look forward to the tenure track...hahahaha

You're not missing much, apollo.  In some ways I miss my days as an adjunct - I was an adjunct for one year before I became a professor.  Adjuncts come in, teach, and go home - no bull$hit, no meetings, no service, no nothing.  It's even better if you can afford not to care about whether you come back next term.

[john_proctor]

This just in:

(I quote): "The choice to be a vegan is immoral.  Animals were put here for a reason."

Alas, I'm sad to report that is the argumentative high-water mark for the paper.

Sigh.

At least it's a good "teachable moment" for defining "to beg the question."

[oseph]

This just in:

(I quote): "The choice to be a vegan is immoral.  Animals were put here for a reason."

Alas, I'm sad to report that is the argumentative high-water mark for the paper.

Sigh.

At least it's a good "teachable moment" for defining "to beg the question."

Didn't Sarah Palin say something similar just the other day, about if God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat?

[drmooks]

Background:  a snowlete registered late for my early morning lecture course, missing close to two weeks of material in the process.  About six weeks later, he showed up to take the midterm - the first time I had seen him since registering for the class, mind you - and promptly earned an F.  Within minutes of finishing the exam, he apparently went to a computer lab on campus and e-mailed me to set up an appointment to discuss some of his concerns.  His e-mail arrived approximately 20 minutes after the test session had ended.  Naturally, he no showed for the scheduled meeting.  No e-mail, no call, no nothing.  Over the next month, he continually misses all in-class work.  Then, like magic, he suddenly reappears last week and completes a quiz - earning a surprisingly good grade.  Finally, this morning, he shows up in my office to ask what he can do to pass.  Keep in mind he has successfully completed one of five quizzes, one of three in-class writing assignments, and failed the midterm.  Though tempted, I opted not to tell him to pray for an error on my end as I enter the grades on the computer. 

[gennimom]

I actually pasted this cartoon to a powerpoint slide and showed it to my students Monday. Hopefully some of them take it to heart.

[dr_evil]

I have moved from banging my head on the desk to banging it against the wall.  I'm about ready to name the wall after particular people.  If I don't get a concussion first.

I've already mentioned it on the "favorite" conversations thread, but I am confused (and annoyed beyond belief) about students who feel they can dictate my policies for exams.  One has bothered me all term about having a note card for tests and quizzes.  Much of the course is terminology, nor does anyone that I know of ever allow note cards for exams in this subject.  I have no idea where this entitled nagging annoyance get the idea of a note card, but I've lost all patience with it.  Oddly enough, this person is doing fine (not great, but fine) in the course. 

Another wants to reschedule the final because the scheduled time so hu can have more time to study.  Oh, and a large group of them was mad with me because the course next term is full...at their preferred time.  The other section, however, is still open, but that's not convenient.

[temporaryname]

This one probably doesn't rise to the level of *headdesk*, but it was still worthy of a moment of slack-jawed amazement.

A paper comes due today, based on a number of texts that the students have been able to download from the Blackboard site for the course since the beginning of the semester. (I repeat, for emphasis: since the beginning of the semester.) Late last night, right before I'm about to go to bed, a student emails me saying that Blackboard isn't working so she can't get the texts she needs to read. Then she asks what she should do about it, and could she please have an extension?

I check Blackboard, and it's working fine. I'm tired, I don't have time for this, I think to myself. I email back and say that Blackboard is up so I can't offer an extension (per the syllabus), and I suggest rebooting her computer. I then go to bed.

This morning, waiting for me is an email message that reads, in its entirety:

I rebooted and its working.  I never would of thought of that.

Have I mentioned that this is a senior-level course? One on English grammar, no less? I'm not paid enough.

[punchnpie]

Another wants to reschedule the final because the scheduled time so hu can have more time to study.

Jebus. Where do they get the gonads to ask this stuff? My son was complaining about his exam schedule and I told him about my undergrad exam schedules, how I often had 2 exams on the same day and that he's lucky he can drive to his, I had to walk from my dorm, 10 miles, uphill, both ways, in the snow and that he should just suck.it.up.  I know my son is complaining to me because he would never complain to the prof, but boy, some of these students!