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[llanfair]

Not sure if this was a true victory, but it was funny, and I think it got the message across.  Backstory: I'm teaching a History of the Life Sciences course one evening/week this term, and there are a lot of Engineering students in the class (they're required to take a writing course to graduate).  Their first writing assignment came in a couple of weeks ago, and most did pretty well, mostly because they were so far outside their comfort zones that they actually paid attention to the assignment guidelines.  There were some who didn't, though, and the results were predictable - several Fs and a whacking number of Ds.

So this past week, before returning the papers, I gave them the run-down on what most people had had trouble with - and I started this discussion with four large letters on the board, asking them what they meant to the class. 

The letters? R. T. F. M.  They laughed, they got it, and I'm betting there will be far fewer Ds and Fs next time.

[dr_alcott]

Not sure if this was a true victory, but it was funny, and I think it got the message across.  Backstory: I'm teaching a History of the Life Sciences course one evening/week this term, and there are a lot of Engineering students in the class (they're required to take a writing course to graduate).  Their first writing assignment came in a couple of weeks ago, and most did pretty well, mostly because they were so far outside their comfort zones that they actually paid attention to the assignment guidelines.  There were some who didn't, though, and the results were predictable - several Fs and a whacking number of Ds.

So this past week, before returning the papers, I gave them the run-down on what most people had had trouble with - and I started this discussion with four large letters on the board, asking them what they meant to the class. 

The letters? R. T. F. M.  They laughed, they got it, and I'm betting there will be far fewer Ds and Fs next time.

Clever, Llanfair. I bet your prediction is right.

[cc_alan]

An algebra student from last semester came by to thank me for making Chemistry easier for her. She said she sure did hate how many word problems we did in class, but now she was happy we did them because apparently she's helping her whole group with solving the chem. problems.

Woot! Go Kiana!

And a big "thumbs up" to Llanfair, too! A very nice use of humor that also gave them a mild mackerel slap where they live. Engineers will be hip-deep in manuals.

Alan

[polly_mer]

I had a student not finish in class on Friday because he biffed on instructions.  However, I have student hours right after class, so I told him he could come with me back to my office and finish his work there.  After he finished, he asked if he could ask me a question.  "It's student hours and you are a student.  Ask me a question!"

His question was whether I had attended this university (I hadn't).  We then had a great talk on US geography and the variety of ways that people live in places that aren't the small town in which he's spent most of his life.  He was stunned to learn that he could get paid to spend his summers in a different part of the US doing things that would look great on a resume or a graduate school application.  He was interested to find out that people can get paid to travel and do things that he is already qualified to do.  I don't know if this student will follow up on the possibilities, but he seemed a lot more enthusiastic about college and life after college than he was when he sighed upon finding out that he had to turn in his own worked unit conversion problems instead of just one group paper (the thing he had not completed that prompted the Friday evening time in my office).

[llanfair]

And a big "thumbs up" to Llanfair, too! A very nice use of humor that also gave them a mild mackerel slap where they live. Engineers will be hip-deep in manuals.

Alan

My thinking exactly.  But I'd never heard of RTFM till the fora, so there's yet another debt I owe you all!

[mountainguy]

My students had their library orientation today. I made sure they had chosen research topics in advance. Instead of looking glazed over and disgruntled by the librarian's talk, a lot of them really got into it and found some good sources.

[dochalladay]

My students had their library orientation today. I made sure they had chosen research topics in advance. Instead of looking glazed over and disgruntled by the librarian's talk, a lot of them really got into it and found some good sources.

Mountainguy, I had a similar situation last Friday. It was an optional library workshop day for students to learn the process of conducting research in our discipline. Only a few showed up, but those that were there were really interested, took good notes, and seemed genuinely impressed by the whole notion of Interlibrary Loan. Even better was the fact that the students who showed up WEREN'T the ones who you'd expect. Some of my middle-to-bottom-of-the-class kids were there and actually paid attention. We're following up with a second workshop (again optional--these are held on days when my department has cancelled classes for a function that does not involve me of 95% of my students) where they will have their topics and we can work through individually with students. I'm very excited about this!

[zuzu_]

I just read a draft of a student essay that, while quite rough around the edges, gave me that same punch-in-the-gut feeling you get when you feel moved by a good poem.

And I get to keep this student for the rest of the semester!

[compdoc]

All right, zuzu!

First versions are coming in today for peer review. I would love to be able to come back here and write what you did.

[zuzu_]

Just read an insightful intro-to-Lit "journal" assignment comparing "The Revolt of Mother" to an episode of MTV's Teen Mom. Awesome.

[dr_alcott]

Just read an insightful intro-to-Lit "journal" assignment comparing "The Revolt of Mother" to an episode of MTV's Teen Mom. Awesome.

That does sound cool, Zuzu_.

Small victory: I started off a class feeling ornery about the late-comers, all the absences last time, and the student who asked, 30 minutes before class, if I knew what today's reading assignment was. (Yes, I told her, I do.) I was prepared for a crappy class filled with unprepared, unmotivated students--but instead it was a great class. The material I brought it to contextualize the text really helped, and a lively discussion followed. The students didn't seem to want to leave when time was up.

[systeme_d_]

What a terrific bunch of posts on these last couple of pages. 

You folks rock!

[reener06]

OK, I don't get to post on here often, but I have two:

1. student from large (150 person lecture) last semester emailed me after Xmas to thank me for mentioning a book in class (the one about Henrietta Lacks) that I used as an example of unethical practices/times changing in medicine and only put it in the lecture at the last minute. She was intrigued, bought it, read it, and gave it to her Dad as an Xmas present. She said it was eye-opening. I must say, I talked about it in Sept., so I was shocked it made such an impression--or that someone was listening!

2. Student in my grad seminar who I was pretty sure would not fit in with the topic, and I couldn't figure out how it would aid her dissertation research, but who ended up being a huge contributor to the class and I was so glad she was in there emailed to tell me that she is using so many of the course readings on her quals, that her advisor approved the course as part of her outside region and just wanted me to know how helpful it was to her.

Feeling gratified...

[compdoc]

reener06, That ROCKS!

[lohai0]

My first section (which is my weaker section) of Math for Humanities Majors just AVERAGED a 95% on their test (which the coordinator said might be too hard).

Of course, now I have to grade class #2. Le sigh.