Different Generations

Something recently made me recall this conversation with a younger colleague from the early days of Twilight hysteria:

Colleague: I feel old. All the freshman women in my class are into this Twilight thing.

Me: Ah, yes.

Colleague: I asked them what it was and they told me this girl is in love with a vampire named Edward, but Edward is a good vampire that doesn't kill people, etc. But I was like "Isn't that just a copy of Angel from Buffy?" But that didn't seem to resonate with them.

Me: Actually, from what I hear, Twilight sounds basically like a copy of Forever Knight.

Colleague: What's that?

Things I've Learned This Week

• When your five year old son calls you because "there is crazy pee" in the bathroom, bring a towel when you go to investigate.
  
  
• Do not join a committee that deals with a controversial college-wide program if you care about the program and you have strong doubts about the leadership ability of the committee's chairperson.
  
  
• Do not schedule appointments with students to take place on the day before spring break, even if it was their idea.
  

Because he can't put this in his Facebook status line

An observation from Dr. H:

Turns out if you don't attend class all semester, you don't write a particularly good final paper.

Feel my pain

Recent exam answers:

• "A semiconductor only does half of what a real conductor does."
  
  Well, there is no harm in guessing if you really have absolutely no idea.
  
  
• "It handles the downed-sized work of a conductor."
  
  The economy does seem to be hitting everyone very hard these days.
  
  
• "Speciation is the lack of water or water flow."
  
  Ah yes, you were present the day the guest speaker spoke on this topic. If I recall correctly, you spent the entire time texting.
  
  

The questions came directly from the sample questions on the study guide.

Difficult Day

I removed this post because I think maybe it shouldn't be up here forever.

Still, I'm disappointed by the whole thing.

Advising notes

Me: How is your math class going?
C: Okay.
Me: Really?
C: Yeah.
Me: Because I have a midterm grade report that says F.
C: Yeah, but now we are on matrices and I know how to do those.
Me: Okay, so it is going better?
C: Yeah, I guess.
Me: So what did you get on your last test?
C: Uh, I don't know, because we just turned in the take home part of the test.
Me: What did you get on the other part?
C: Uh, I haven't gotten it back yet.
Me: Okay. Are you attending your math class as frequently as you are attending my class?
C:
Me: I'm actually hoping the answer is no, that you are attending math more frequently than my class.

Secret message to my first year experience students

Sometimes it helps to read more than the title of an article before answering the homework question that asks what the article is about.

Your academic advisor? That would be me.

I'm a first year advisor this year and my advisees are all in my first year experience class. This week, I fielded multiple requests from football players to drop from four course to three. Two colleagues mentioned the same issue. We are division III people, your coach isn't supposed to tell you how many course to take.

A conversation

Me: Wow, I had no idea there was an xfig port for the Mac

Dr. H: Um...

Me: Can you tell I don't want to work on these letters?

Dr. H: I wasn't going to say anything, but...

Difficult Letters

Student A: Reasonably bright, helpful, model student in terms of homework, deadlines, attendance and the like. He is not challenged in the majority of his non-science classes where he seems to excel. He also does very well in science classes with a lot of structure and a lot of graded homework. Unfortunately, this makes him lazy in the few science and math courses that require him to study on his own to fully grasp the material. Recently dropped a recommended, but not required, math class because he had done all the homework, but was scoring low on tests. Dependable, but never goes above and beyond what is required in classes. Yet he is intellectually curious, takes extra classes and reads non-fiction for fun. I really like him. I hope grad school makes him step up to his potential.

Student B: Quite bright, but not nearly so much as he thinks he is. So sure of his own abilities, he has trouble seeing past his own mental models. When something looks somewhat familiar, he says he "knows all that already" even though it only looks like what he does know on the surface. Shows moments of deep insight in between being annoyingly stubborn. Has good leadership qualities except when he is pissing people off by being so arrogant. Has e-mailed me at least four times regarding letters of recommendation for grad school, not one of the e-mails has the appropriate tone for someone asking for a favor. He has no idea how much further he will go if he drops some of the attitude. I really want to like him, but usually don't. I hope grad school humbles him a little, because that is the way he will be able to step up to his potential.

Yet more consistency with expectations

• Overheard: "I am so screwed."
  
  A student in my non-majors class who hasn't been to class in a week and a half, after receiving today's test.
  
  
• Observed: Another faculty member pulling out of the local sandwich shop in his large SUV, as I pull in driving my Prius hybrid.
  
  He is our resident climate change denier/skeptic.
  
  
  

 

Exactly what I expected

• 9 a.m. class, junior/senior majors: 100% attendance
  
• 11:30 a.m. class, freshman/sophomore nonmajors: 55% attendance
  

Share my pain

The setting: An exam in a non-science majors general science sort of course. The question: Natural uranium is 99.3% U-238 and 0.7% U-235. What is enriched uranium and what is is used for?


Here is a sampling of the most painful responses:

• Enriched uranium is uranium made to be more polar
  
• Enriched uranium is present in U-238 and used before
  
• Enriched uranium is used for buildings
  
• Enriched uranium is processed and used for cleaning
  

A question for a student of mine

I have a student in danger of failing for no good reason, but lots of bad ones. Here are the reasons I have identified so far:

• He didn't buy the book because someone told him he "didn't need it"
  
• He has not had high school PhysChemBio. Instead, had a similar class 8 years ago in middle school that he doesn't really remember much about.
  
• That class was taught in a different language.
  
• He skips class regularly.
  

I've suggested he come and see me once a week (in addition to, you know, showing up for class). Today, he came to my office hours for help.

Here's the question I really want to ask him: Did you think it was a good idea to show up in the office of a professor whose class you may be failing reeking of pot?

Long Day of Exams

Both of my upper division classes had final exams scheduled today. Each exam has two parts: a standardized part put out by our discipline's national organization, and a portion written by me. I allowed students to take them anytime (within reason) this week, and they were allowed to check out one part at a time. Today, I had students spread out all over all day taking various parts of one or both exams.

I walked into one room, where everybody was working hard. I love to see people working hard on physchembio classwithlotsofmath!

"It's a party!" I exclaim.

This comment was not greeted with the same level of enthusiasm with which is was given.

Oh, and did I mention the tests are, um, a little long? We talk briefly. I admit the tests are long. They admit they are not so bad, just long.

"It's just that we feel like we are never getting out of here," they say.

"Like Hotel California?" I say. Then, "No really! Hotel California is the perfect metaphor: You can check out any time you'd like but you can never leave."

[The room erupts in a burst of much needed laughter]

End of Term Shenanigans

A new transfer student (let's call her Jill) joined my upper division class this term. Jill is somewhat bright, quite needy and a little whiny. One common mode of operation is to keep asking you the same question repeatedly, trying to get out of you the answer she wants. One the positive side, she has been getting more integrated into the community of physchembio majors, which has helped mediate the whines a bit. Now, however, we have a problem.

Last week, I gave the last unit exam in physchembio classwithlotsofmath. For complex and different reasons, Jill and some other students were taking the test the next day. She walked in on another student who had already started the test. We'll call her Sarah. The version I heard about (second hand) went something like this:

Jill: Hi, what are you doing?

Sarah: I'm taking the test.

Jill: Yes, that is why I'm here too. Do you know how to..

Sarah: Hello, I'm taking the test. Right. Now.

Jill: Oh, now?

[leaves]

[comes back in]

Jill: Is this problem on the test?

Sarah: What? I'm not going to tell you that. Please go, I need to work.

For various reasons, I am not really surprised by this. As a result, I'm not angry. I figure, good, now maybe she's learned something.

Another student "Amanda" (same class) took the physchembio classwithlotsofmath final early. This morning Jill asked her what problems were on the final.

Now, I am angry.

I heard about this portion of the story third hand. But I also heard that Amanda (the child of a physchembio professor elsewhere) ripped into Jill about academic dishonesty for a full two minutes.

Perhaps this is one of those problems that will eventually solve itself.

I hate destroying hope and optimism

• A student, taking a test, asks me "Do we need more information to solve this problem?"
  
  I take a look. "No" I say, "Sorry."
  
  "That's okay, just thought I'd ask."
  
  
• A fairly hardworking student who is taking two of my upper level classes comes to speak with me. He inquires about his grade in one and is wondering how well he would have to do on the final. I tell him he has a pretty solid B, so he has some wiggle room, and that I would not expect him to fall to a C unless he did really badly.
  
  "Oh, I'm not worried about that." He says, confidently. "What do I need to get an A?"
  
  Not sure what to say in the face of such confidence, I decide to rely on simple math. We add up the points he has missed on the exams so far, note that these are the sum total he would be allowed to miss, not including points lost on homework and in lab, and he quickly sees the problem.
  
  Then he says, "Well, at least I'm not worried about physchembio classwithlotsofmath."
  
  Fortunately, in that class things are looking more positive, but not so much that he shouldn't worry.
  
  

Nostalgia

One of my students recently began a new relationship. She has begun to come late to class - afternoon labs, specifically. She has always been one to be a little late to her first class in the morning, and she has never been one to be inconspicuous upon entry. But now, things are noticeably different - she enters with a different manner, with wet hair, looking satiated and tired.

I remember those days.

I don't remember it looking so obvious. In hindsight, I'm sure it was.

Working Late, Trapped by Frat Boys

I'm in my office and cannot leave without calling "Bill" or "Anthony".

A fraternity is doing a "sacred ritual" in my building. My working late tonight is interfering with their plans. I graciously offered to stay in my office until I have to leave. After much consultation, the young men have decided that this is preferable to waiting for me to leave. I have two phone numbers to call when I want to leave, and one of the young men will come and escort me out of the building. So polite, students today.

[Seriously, they were actually very profuse in their thanks for my willingness to be so accommodating.]

Being so busy is making me a better teacher

I've been swamped the last few weeks. I'm teaching three different classes with three different labs. This is not horrendous in itself - one course is in it's 10th iteration, another in its 4th. I did make a major change in the 4th iteration course, which is taking some time. The other course I taught once 10 years ago, so that's a little more trouble. The real problem is all the stuff I have on top of that, committees, other teaching/research responsibilities and the like. This week, I also had my sabbatical research presentation. That went well, but what I want to talk about is how having no time has influenced my teaching.

I don't have a lot of time to spend on class preparation. As a result, I've lost track of what I'm supposed to "cover" each week. In my faculty development days, I was fond of telling people that "to cover" normally means "to obscure". Merriam-Webster has the definition as "to hide from sight or knowledge" - not exactly what I'm trying to do in my classes.

I have built up a library of in-class group exercises for that course now in its 10th iteration. Normally, I schedule days to do group work, and when the day comes, I build an assignment based on something new students are ready for, what they are having trouble with, or some upcoming topic I have a cool problem for already. This term, I feel so busy, I keep looking at the next thing in my lecture notes and think "I'd rather just have them DO this". And, as it turns out, I usually have some problems or an activity in my stash that addresses that topic. I'm using all of them. I'm lecturing a lot less. And, what do you know? My students are learning more. This should be no surprise to me, as I have recommended the practice to others. I've given workshops on such approaches. And, I must admit, I've always wanted to figure out how to do more of it myself. Of course, this approach does take more time under normal circumstances. You have to figure out what you want your students to be able to do after the class session, find/design/create an appropriate activity, plan the lead in to the activity to prepare the students, and figure out how to lead or guide the activity. The only reason it is working for me now with less time is the extensive problem and activity base I have built up already.



I'm doing something similar in the course I have not taught in ten years. We are currently working on topics now that underlie the basic ideas my graduate work rests on. As a result, I'm just letting the class go where it goes, presenting some, throwing up problems on the board when everyone is having trouble, leaving half the class period open and filling it with what the students seem to need at the time. I won't be able to do this for every topic in the course, but for now, I can. It is a senior level class, the students are excellent and interested, and I know most of them well.

Recently, I was in need of an icosahedron for this course. After considering making one from card stock, starting and deciding I had no time for such an endeavor, I looked at Dr. H and said "You played D&D! Where are your dice?" The result was an excellent activity in which I emptied Dr. H's "geek kit" onto the table and gave two sentences of instructions. The second sentence being this one: "You can ignore dots and writing."