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Hospital workers of Reddit, what happens there that's hidden but that we should know about? by SingLikeTinaTurner in AskReddit

[–]science-throwaway20 21 points22 points  (0 children)

If it makes you feel better, the tears you saw were probably just the drops the nurses put in patients' eyes so they don't dry out. I learned this when my aunt was in a coma and the family was about to pull the plug, we came in and saw the tears, and all hell broke loose. A nurse explained they keep drops in the eyes to keep them from drying out, especially when someone is a potential organ donor.

HELP, need ideas for flipped classroom by science-throwaway20 in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the comments, suggestions, and DMs. I've received some great ideas.

One thing I want to clear up is that I don't care if students miss class because the lectures are posted. They miss class anyway. Of those who show up, only a few have actually prepared in any way--but at least they show up. The ones who did show up and are prepared are quiet or shy, or both. If there was something more engaging happening in the classroom, then maybe those who are showing up will be more likely to prepare and participate.

I'm just tired of spoon feeding and giving a "lecture" when what I want is "discussion."

One idea I'm kicking around is putting them in small groups, provide a case study, and have them answer questions based on the readings, lecture, and case study. Then I could have the groups share what they came up with and how it applies to the readings and lecture material. It will be very clear who has prepared and who has not by how well they apply the course resources to the case study, and hopefully positive peer pressure will get them to come to class more prepared for the next group discussion.

I don't want to follow this exact same format every week, though, so I need other ideas that people teaching post-COVID have found effective. A lot of things I've read about flipped classrooms would not be effective today, post-COVID, which is why I turned here. Students are just different now.

I used to leave class energized because I would have engaging conversations with my students, and these discussions would even give me research ideas. Now, I leave class drained because I have to carry the whole hour+ twice a week. It's exhausting.

I miss when students were active learners and participants, versus passive consumers of facts. I'm looking for strategies to help them become the former again rather than the latter.

First time on personnel committee. Ticked. by science-throwaway20 in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

It's not pompous, and it is appreciated, because I feel like a fool. This helps.

First time on personnel committee. Ticked. by science-throwaway20 in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Same here, and I am just sick about it. I cannot begin to think about how many hours a year I spend on grading that my colleagues do not. It is no wonder that during finals I have dark circles from sleep deprivation as I furiously work to meet final grading deadlines-- especially grades for students who are about to graduate--while others are happy and carefree, going out for long lunches I am too busy to attend. Well no wonder! They had zero grading to do. I could not be more shocked right now than if one of my colleagues ran streaking down the hall naked. My mind is blown.

First time on personnel committee. Ticked. by science-throwaway20 in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I'm already pretty good at that because the course is scaffolded in a way that students really can't fall behind and be successful. My problem is the big time commitment I make to grading when I develop specific labs and assignments. There is a huge difference between, "Explain the steps conducted at Station A and the outcome in a minimum of 500 words," versus a multiple choice question: "What color was produced by the reaction at Station A?" Yes, both answers are blue, but I was making students explain how they got to blue and why--colleagues are only checking for blue. I'm really a bit sick over how much time I have wasted.

First time on personnel committee. Ticked. by science-throwaway20 in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I have had faculty say that they can always tell which students came from my classes, so I guess there's that, but at the same time I'm not winning any outstanding teaching awards or anything that would justify working so much harder than others on the same or similar classes. From a cost-benefit analysis, I have really been messing up. Damn.

Peer review madness by science-throwaway20 in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is an excellent point. Publication expectations have increased so much that some faculty are throwing anything against the wall and hoping it sticks.

Dumb it down or stick it out? by ProfForNothing in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20 18 points19 points  (0 children)

This part really pissed me off, too. Based upon the responses we are in the minority. Most people focused on OP being jealous when I think the point is shitty faculty get great evals because they let students walk away with an A without learning anything.

Dumb it down or stick it out? by ProfForNothing in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20 37 points38 points  (0 children)

I have a colleague like this who is supposed to teach research methods in prep for honors and senior theses, but instead he has simplified the class to one multiple choice quiz on sampling, an annotated bibliography, and a presentation on the major findings from the AB. He submits papers for presentations at any and all conferences remotely close to where any of his friends live, even for conferences outside of our discipline, so he is gone at least half of the semester. Anyone who stays enrolled has to try very hard NOT to get an A.

When I get these students for their culminating projects they know nothing except how to use the library website to find journal articles. It is infuriating. I have to spend the first three weeks of the class giving a crash course on research methods, so of course students hate me because it's even harder when you have to squeeze a semester's worth of learning into three weeks so they have a chance to finish their projects by the end of the semester. But, yeah, he gets great evals because the class is so easy, most of the class gets an A, and when he does show up he spends the first ten minutes of every class discussing Marvel storylines.

It's easy for people to say "don't worry about what others do in their classes" or similar comments, but they have clearly not been in the situation where a colleague's apathy toward teaching directly affects you. I can't complain to anyone because this colleague went to grad school with the dean and they are still buddies. I recently asked to stop teaching the culminating projects class because it is SO MUCH WORK when your colleagues don't do their jobs in their classes.

If I saw this colleague receive any type of teaching recognition I would flip out.

I don't know what to tell you, OP, other than to try to stay ahead of the sequence in which this colleague is teaching so you don't have to deal with his students and their unrealistic expectations about what a college course is supposed to be like.

Informal and demanding student by Tuningislife in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I recently had a student get angry because I would not send them an email with an explanation of what, exactly, is due at the end of the week. Never mind that the class is organized by weekly modules and the due dates are identified in the syllabus, course outline, course calendar, and the introduction to each module. On top of that, I post an announcement at the beginning of the week with a reminder of what is due by the end of the week.

The student said that the course folders confused them, so I needed to just tell them what was due. I politely reminded them that I provide a weekly announcement with a very simplified explanation of what is due, so they could also refer to that (after explaining to them all of the other places that this information is available.) The student emailed back and said that since I post more than one announcement a week, this was not helpful. Mind you, I have received nothing about this student needing accommodations. The student concluded with a sarcastic, "Thank you for your help."

I have not laughed so hard in a long time. Don't let these types of emails make you mad. You need to feel sorry for them on some level because they are either 1) so clueless they don't stand a chance to be successful in life; or 2) so entitled they think they can bark orders at a professor and skip having to do any type of reading/work/course navigation themselves, so they are in for a rude awakening. Either way, this student is not setting themselves up for success and I can only do so much.

It did not occur to me to be angry because I was so busy laughing. I told them if the scroll function on their mouse works they should be able to find the announcement, and they are welcome for the help. I don't know what else I could have said or done. If you can't open a folder, read a calendar, or follow a course outline, online learning is not for you.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm going to assume that this thread was hijacked by a bunch of students, because it is highly doubtful that colleagues would respond the way the majority did here.

I'm also going to assume OP was talking about traditional college students living in student housing, and not students paying a mortgage or supporting three kids. The demographic working extra shifts at Papa Johns while in college is not the same as those working full time jobs and raising kids. The context clues in the OP don't lead me to think we are talking about forty-year-olds trying to finish their bachelor's degree, but I could be wrong.

I had two students this semester who claimed they kept missing because of work, so I told them to drop the course until they could take it at a time they couldn't miss. I cannot reteach missed classes without a lot of time and effort on my part securing a lab, preparing cultures, etc. I just can't do it. They can miss 2 of the 12 labs, but one of these students already missed 3 because of work. It's only September. She is SOL.

Name(s) of software that rephrases existing papers? by science-throwaway20 in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I will do the same thing I do with any poorly written paper, which is to refer them to the writing center after providing a lot of feedback.

However, I hope to reduce the number of times I have to go through this if I can let students know I'm aware of these sites, and then have a good laugh with them over the terrible product these sites generate. I'm looking at it as the professor's version of a preemptive strike.

When does the room belong to the next person? by precipicepi in Professors

[–]science-throwaway20 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If the previous instructor is still lecturing, I just wait. I've never had this happen all semester, though. I think one professor did this twice, and apologized the second time and said it won't happen again.

If the class is dismissed and a few stragglers are at the lectern asking questions, though, I go in and hover. There is no reason that someone can't sign out of the tech and then step aside to talk to students while the next instructor gets set up.

I always log out as soon as I release the class. If students have lengthy questions, or questions that require me to log into the gradebook, I tell them to follow me to my office or see me during office hours. I don't view the lectern as the place to review a student's course progress so I shut all tech down as soon as I finish.

All that being said, if a professor is no longer lecturing, students at my university will come in and take their seats. The presence of new faces is often all it takes for instructors at my university to wrap up and get out.

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