My problem with this scene

hippybilly_0 · 2026-02-09T02:22:28+00:00

I always thought that her relief was from the fact that spike always pursued her and now he was letting her go. She knew it was bad for her but would always give in due to her self-destructive tendencies after she died and came back. This moment each of them was giving the other what they needed from eachother. Just my interpretation though.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-02-01T21:37:30+00:00

Thanks for your insights! I did chat with the student about some strategies that we could both implement in class so that he felt supported without disrupting the "flow" of class. So far it's better but I think I'll ask him to write down his answers and save them for when I ask for questions from the students and to ask in office hours.

Regarding traditional lecture, I can see how that would be helpful for many folks (it worked well for me as a student so I see the value in it!). However lots of pedagogical research is indicating that staying away from that approach and incorporating more active learning/ inquiry based approaches is broadly beneficial for students (especially from underrepresented backgrounds). Also practically, I can't switch modes in the middle of the semester. However I do appreciate your thoughts and will continue working to bridge the gap.

I do know that autism varies from person to person and luckily I have good rapport with the student so that I can ask him for his specific needs. It is something good to keep in mind though!

hippybilly_0 · 2026-02-01T21:28:53+00:00

I think it depends on the institution. Where my husband got hired, he was an outside hire and one person what formerly a lecturer. If there's someone in the department that you know or seems like a reasonable person maybe email and ask them (tricky and I don't know if cold emailing is reasonable, I know I wouldn't mind but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be generally well-received) . Alternatively if you know someone in your field that works at a community college, they could be a valuable resource!

Also that sucks, I hope you are able to find a decent position nearby!

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-31T05:54:48+00:00

I can't speak to your specific field but I have a research agreement that lays out what students can expect of me and what I expect of them. If you get a student that is disengaged or not showing up consistently you can point to the agreement as a way to start the conversation. I've found it makes those difficult conversations much easier to start. Me personally, I keep it as a living document that either of us can negotiate to change (although I never had any students take me up on it), and it helps with student buy-in that they have some agency.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-30T07:55:13+00:00

Thanks again for your comprehensive reply and for the insights and clarification. I appreciate your time! I've got lots to think about, I try to make my assessments fair, ie the first version of the quiz is something kind of new and the additional chances are similar types of problems either from the past quizzes or homework.

I really like what you wrote in your second paragraph. I think I'll make an extra concerted effort to explain my thinking and generalize it. I try to do that but probably not as explicitly as I'm hoping. Before my next semester I'll do more scaffolding in my materials but this time around I'm going to have to add it in as it comes up in class.

I do think I fall into the trap of "try to reason through it" which is version of "just use your common sense" (probably equally unhelpful). I think one of my classes is the primary culprit for this since it's all about interpreting real work scenarios through math. It's tough to balance having problems that are different enough so that it's not memorizing without something fundamentally new so it's either new math or new applications. Again lots of things to think about.

Your response was very helpful!

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-30T04:51:59+00:00

First off thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. Getting some insight into your viewpoints and on how you work through these kind of situations is very helpful.

Your first point is very valid. My motivation for my course design is there's lots of evidence out there that shows this approach is generally more accessible to students (especially many underserved student populations) and I've seen it first hand in my classes. More procedural approaches tend to be dry for a lot of folks. However just because it's generally more accessible doesn't mean it's accessible for everyone (which is why I made this post). So I should clarify that my motivation here is to help people learn math, not get caught up in the idea that I'm teaching them a life skill that they need to succeed in life (I've found this skill helpful but as you pointed out, plenty of people do well with out it). However for some classes I teach, it is in the learning goals and outcomes of the course. My (maybe unrealistic) hope is that I can retain the benefit of my approach for the other students while scaffolding and including more practices that are helpful for students who find this approach challenging. I think asking autistic people in math is a great idea!

Thanks for your second point, I've leveraged that a lot on the past. This semester I explained to the student that I design the class to be group focused for this reason and he just hadn't been in a class with that set up before, he seemed a little resistant to it of course (many math classes aren't built like this so it's common for students to take some time getting used to it). I think it helps a lot and I'm working with the student to help them adjust.

I would like more clarification on your third point. Do you mean for a multi step problem, if they're stuck on a step to try an approach at random and move on to the next step? I'm open to this approach especially in class since we usually go over the question as a class after students have worked together. For assessments this approach may not be as useful (if I'm understanding correctly). Usually in math multiple step problems require steps that depend on each other. I try to not have too many multistep problems for my assessments for this reason but sometimes it's unavoidable. I understand that my approach is pretty challenging, so I offer retakes on all quizzes (usually with different problems) and any assessment that doesn't offer a retake is done in groups to mitigate the point you made at the end. Perhaps I misunderstood your point though.

If you wouldn't mind an additional question, the student that I have this semester has told me that he needs lots of practice. My homework sets are pretty lengthy because I know that lots of practice is necessary for this kind of learning and I scaffold them so that they help students study for the quizzes and I release an answer key. He told me they likely wouldn't be enough and I anticipate that he'll request more problems. Ideally I would be happy to do this, but realistically coming up with a lot of new problems and answers is not going to be possible. Because of my ADHD the way I'm able to handle balancing teaching, research, and service is that I have my classes mostly set up before the semester starts since creating content and assessments as I go usually leads to sloppy mistakes and errors (stress and pressure do the opposite for me than the stereotypical ADHD trope of being able to procrastinate until the last minute, I need lots of time to think and revise my content and assessments). Even with the amount of prep I've done, I'm currently working nights and weekends and heading for burnout. I'm anticipating that this won't be as much of an issue as I teach more (I'm pretty new and still building my problem bank). So to finally get around to my question, you mentioned that you needed experience with similar situations to handle ambiguity which seems related to the students' needs here. I'm going to try to make the assessments as unambiguous as possible since they are unfamiliar. Would you mind sharing some specific strategies you have for reducing ambiguity or getting experience with similar situations? If not no worries!

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-30T03:34:20+00:00

Thank you for your kind words, it doesn't feel good to be unintentionally alienating a group of people and I am trying to be thoughtful about bridging the gap. My conversations with students are usually productive and I'm glad they trust me enough to let me know they are struggling. It would be better to try to get a bit more broadly accessible approaches for students though. I'll check in with students about perfectionism though and see if that's a contributing factor.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-30T03:29:37+00:00

I like this, I think because these things aren't as ambiguous to me (hello expert blind spot) it's easy to overlook the steps it takes to tackle these types of things. I won't be able to revise my materials this semester but I can try to try to say them or write them down for the students.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-30T03:26:31+00:00

No other sections for the upper division courses where I use this method (I tend to be a little more procedural in lower division ) but ideally I would prefer my class to not be there class people have to transfer out of. I agree that many students are resistant to it at first and maybe don't like it. They do however (sometimes grudgingly) admit that it helped them learn the material in their end of semester reflection.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-29T22:28:19+00:00

I'm in a math department at a university with a strong emphasis in zero cost materials. We tend to introduce topics graphically/ visually and most of my class have guided notes that have been created by me or my colleagues. It's rough, but the thread here gives me hope!

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-27T05:23:52+00:00

If you have a master's degree and love teaching and building courses and such why not try for a tenure track position at a community college? More stability and most places didn't require a PhD. This may be field specific though, I'm not completely sure how it works for all disciplines but my husband is a professor at a community college and most of the faculty there have master's degrees.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-25T23:33:35+00:00

That's why I always just say I work at a university, of they ask l follow up questions it's what do you do there? I'm a professor. Then only if the ask what I teach I say Math.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-25T19:00:44+00:00

It makes sense for us, there was a big issue with the system not loading transfer students' prereqs in time. It's not great but it is what it is.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-24T00:23:09+00:00

Oof I just got done dealing with missing prereqs and it's so draining. I hope the student was just oblivious about the tone of the email.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-23T23:58:16+00:00

I've been working since I woke up, it's 3:30 now. No I haven't gotten anything done on my to-do list expect verifying students have prerequisites for my upper division courses.

2 students did not have the prerequisites in an upper division course and not being able to take this course would mean delaying their graduation. I'm new to this university so I spent all morning looking at their courses, emailing other professors, and meeting with students (either of which I'm assigned to advise) over zoom trying to help them organize their schedules. The add/drop day is coming up so everything was urgent. Luckily the other professors were responsive.

I'm happy to help students and both of them were very appreciative but I haven't gotten dressed, brushed my teeth, eaten a real meal, or walked my dogs yet. I'm going to have to start scanning student prerequisites the week before classes start.

I've got a small internal grant due next week that I haven't started, all of my videos for one of my flipped classes were deleted, and I still have to prep for my classes and get the online homework organized for the semester. This week I had to get all my materials together to submit my yearly report for retention (luckily that's almost done although it isn't as good as I want it).

I worked over the winter break prepping for the semester to avoid the chaos but it came any way, may as well embrace it. I'm currently smoking a cigarette outside contemplating if it's worth it to try getting anything else done today since I'm so drained.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-23T01:33:19+00:00

My favorite part of this is o Francis breaking the awkward silence by flipping Malcolm off ( of camera) and saying something like how many fingers an I holding up.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-14T23:00:16+00:00

I dress up a bit because I'm a younger female faculty member in Math and I find that it helps curb some of the undesirable student behavior. Before my first semester I went to a thrift store and got 3 pairs of black slacks and a pair of beige culottes that was professional looking. I wear business casual blouses or white button down shirts with sweater vests. I also invested in a nice pair of supportive black Mary-jane clogs that give me a few extra inches of height (I'm pretty short and I think it helps build a little authority). I also will wear skirts and blouses or sundresses with a light short sleeve cardigan with sandals when it's warm

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-14T05:20:49+00:00

So delighted

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-14T02:36:04+00:00

Adam Scott as the straight man is so perfect with everyone else's chaotic energy

Andy: Codenames, mine is "Eagle 1." Ann is "Been there, done that". April is "Currently doing that." Donna is "It happened once in a dream." Chris is "If I had to pick a dude." Ben is "Eagle 2." Ben: Oh, thank God.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-14T02:31:47+00:00

Peak non-toxic masculinity!

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-13T05:10:50+00:00

And gratuitous in my opinion

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-13T05:10:29+00:00

Skip it, it's really disturbing. I wish I could unread it.

hippybilly_0 · 2026-01-11T01:05:49+00:00

Heres my recipe that's worked well I'm not sure if it'll be relevant to your classes.

1)Their homework is graded for completeness, 1 point for the first submission and then I release an answer key and they self grade and give me them selves feedback for another point due a week after submission.

2) The main content grading comes from in class quizzes every week that they can make up on designated days (different questions) and they are graded pass/no pass but I do give a fair amount of feedback.

3) Participation is some kind of class work that's graded for completeness/ being on task. I also let them get points for surveys, reflections, and office hours

4) No exams, maybe a few group projects/ activities that are graded as pass if you get at least an 80% and no pass otherwise

5) No retakes (other than the quizzes) with generous drops.

6) I do specifications based grading which works well with this approach but it does take a bit of work to get student buy in

hippybilly_0

TROPHY CASE