Topic: Bang Your Head on Your Desk - the thread of teaching despair!

[Puget]

For that kind of assignment, I used to get all kinds of nonsense. I finally worded the instructions with "You will get points for any kind of sensible answer." That eliminated the time-wasters. Some of them now just don't answer at all.

I word it as "a good faith effort to answer all the questions". This seems to communicate that they don't have to be right but they do have to TRY and certainly it needs to be on topic.

[bio-nonymous]

For that kind of assignment, I used to get all kinds of nonsense. I finally worded the instructions with "You will get points for any kind of sensible answer." That eliminated the time-wasters. Some of them now just don't answer at all.

I word it as "a good faith effort to answer all the questions". This seems to communicate that they don't have to be right but they do have to TRY and certainly it needs to be on topic.

Great idea!
I sometimes say something like, "If you get 80% correct you get full credit (<80% = 0), and you can have as many attempts as needed"--for online "quizzes" or the like.

[the_geneticist]

I was walking in the hall by the lab classrooms and a student in flip flops asked "Do you know where I could get, like, a covering to put over my flip flops?"

[fishbrains]

I was walking in the hall by the lab classrooms and a student in flip flops asked "Do you know where I could get, like, a covering to put over my flip flops?"

New million-dollar dream: I stride confidently onto the Shark Tank set in flipflops, stand on the carpet, and begin: "Hello sharks . . .!"

[Sea_Ice]

I was walking in the hall by the lab classrooms and a student in flip flops asked "Do you know where I could get, like, a covering to put over my flip flops?"

At least they didn't ask you if socks would be sufficient...  Or, maybe I should say that I hope they weren't just looking for a pair of socks?

[the_geneticist]

I was walking in the hall by the lab classrooms and a student in flip flops asked "Do you know where I could get, like, a covering to put over my flip flops?"

At least they didn't ask you if socks would be sufficient...  Or, maybe I should say that I hope they weren't just looking for a pair of socks?

I think they were hoping for a disposable bootie or similar. Or permission to put gloves on their feet

[sinenomine]

I have a student who faithfully comes to class but who never turns in work. By mid-semester, his grade was 32%. I've reached out repeatedly, as have advisors and coaches, to no avail. I called him out of class yesterday to talk about it and pointed out that he needs to respond to outreach. He replied, "Yeah, I have a problem with that."

I think I should start calling him Bartleby.

[Puget]

Student in Developmental Psych wants to know if I expect them to know the ages of major developmental events for the exam. Uh, yes, that would be pretty central to the topic of the course. . .

He also wants to know if the grades will be curved (which it says on the syllabus they will not), and I have to explain that since several students end up with above 100% with extra credit and there are more As than low grades, he really does not want me to curve the grades (I do wonder what they think curving means?).

[apl68]

(I do wonder what they think curving means?).

Presumably free extra points.  In K-12 they may have been given free extra points in some class and told it was due to "grading on a curve," and that was all they ever knew about it. 

When I was in high school students had heard rumors of the existence of something called "grading on a curve" that could get you additional points if nobody got a hundred percent on an assignment.  If you got 100% on the assignment, other students might be upset with you for insuring that there would be no curve grading.

[the_geneticist]

Student in Developmental Psych wants to know if I expect them to know the ages of major developmental events for the exam. Uh, yes, that would be pretty central to the topic of the course. . .

He also wants to know if the grades will be curved (which it says on the syllabus they will not), and I have to explain that since several students end up with above 100% with extra credit and there are more As than low grades, he really does not want me to curve the grades (I do wonder what they think curving means?).

They think it means that you lower the cutoffs for what counts as earning a particular letter grade (e.g. 50% = C, 70% = B, 80% = A).  Ok, that's a bit of an extreme example, but I have colleagues that have to do that to avoid failing more than half the students.  I fundamentally disagree with their methods - huge disconnect in expectations. 
Students see that grade scale & think it's easier to pass, when what it means is that instructor gives brutally hard exams.  No formative assessment, no participation points either.

[Sea_Ice]

Student in Developmental Psych wants to know if I expect them to know the ages of major developmental events for the exam. Uh, yes, that would be pretty central to the topic of the course. . .

He also wants to know if the grades will be curved (which it says on the syllabus they will not), and I have to explain that since several students end up with above 100% with extra credit and there are more As than low grades, he really does not want me to curve the grades (I do wonder what they think curving means?).

They have confused it with a "grade bump", which can be any of several methods of improving the letter grade earned by low scores.

These include:  dropping the minimum score required for a letter grade; adding points to everyone's score based on the highest grade(s); adding points based on the average or mean; tossing out (giving the points back to everyone) questions that everyone (or most) got wrong; etc.

What they don't realize is that a true grade curve can actually reduce their grades, b/c it has precise numbers or percentages of the class who can earn each grade.

[the_geneticist]

A "classic" curve assumes a normal distribution of scores, which we know isn't always observed.  And it creates a false competition for grades!  It's like you have a basket of exactly [number of] As and once you're done handing those out, the next student gets a B. 
If you tell students that's what is meant by a curve, then they won't ask for a grade boost using that exact term.  But they will still ask for some sort of leniency/bonus/miracle if they are in danger of not earning the grade they want

[Puget]

A "classic" curve assumes a normal distribution of scores, which we know isn't always observed.  And it creates a false competition for grades!  It's like you have a basket of exactly [number of] As and once you're done handing those out, the next student gets a B. 
If you tell students that's what is meant by a curve, then they won't ask for a grade boost using that exact term.  But they will still ask for some sort of leniency/bonus/miracle if they are in danger of not earning the grade they want

Yeah, it's whack-a-mole.

When I explain what a curve actually is they are shocked and agree they don't want that.

They then usually revert to asking if I'll take the grade out of the highest score, so then I get to explain that with extra credit someone always has above 100% so they don't want me to do that either.

Then they ask if I will round grades up (no, see syllabus).

Then they ask if they can do extra credit and I point out that they DO get to do extra credit on every exam. But can they have extra extra credit? (No.)

Can they "do anything" to improve their grade? (Before the end of the semester- yes, do the assignments and study better for the exams -- maybe try using the study strategy materials I've provided you?, After the end of the semester-- invent a time machine).

[kaysixteen]

There is probably a diff between grading on a curve, which has been well-explained above, and 'scaling' the scores...

[the_geneticist]

It's whack-a-mole alright.
And it is *hard* to fail my labs.  As in, you have to stop coming to class & not finish most of it.  So many formative assessments & partial credit opportunities because I want them to succeed.  Tell me what you learned, even if the experiment "failed", you will earn full points.
That being said: incomplete, logically inconsistent or missing answers don't = 100%