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

[apl68]

Just got an email from a student in my Calculus-based Physics II course...

This is the first line:

"Please teach me how to do these integral things."

I'm guessing even Stu's algebra is nothing to write home about........

I once had to fail a student in an optics class becuase he couldn't do algebra. (Specific example: the thin lens equation 1/i +1/o = 1/f for people unfamiliar with it.) How he got through high school I'll never know.

I don't know about the situation in Canada, but in the U.S. it's not at all unusual for students to graduate high school without ever having taken anything other than elementary arithmetic.  Innumeracy is an even greater problem here than illiteracy.  This is no doubt a big part of what polly has in mind when she speaks of the disgraceful state of American K-12 education.

That's horrible. Here (as far as I know in all provinces) students have to take math until about Grade 9 or so, which includes 2 or 3 years of algebra. Functions* and Trig are optional, but everyone (in principle) has completed algebra.

*Functions is typically required for certain STEM programs though.

Getting through algebra is supposed to be the norm here too.  In practice, a lot of students never get past year after year of arithmetic and remedial arithmetic.  We have millions of high school graduates who've never mastered the three Rs.  MOST graduates nationwide aren't that dire, but the debasement of the high school diploma is so widespread as to throw doubt upon anybody who has only that to show on a resume.  Speaking as an employer, all a high school diploma tells me for certain about a job candidate is that the candidate has a high school diploma.

This is part of the reason why any job position that requires a modicum of skill at reading and writing is likely to require a college degree.  Which in turn helps to explain the idea that one "must" have a college diploma to get anything beyond entry-level work...which in turn explains why so many unprepared and unmotivated students are being pushed into college.  College is the new high school for much of the American workforce. 

[fishbrains]

Stu Dent: "Professor, I just arrived in Europe and I forgot my textbook. Can you send my a copy of the chapters that we are covering this week?"

Me: "Emergency replacement chapters are no longer available after the first two weeks of the term."

St Dent: "So am I just going to have to get a 0?"

Wow.

They could always buy another copy of the book.  It's cheaper than failing!

And one would think that if traveling to and from Europe is a possibility for this student, then buying another textbook would be financially feasible.

Hmmmm . . .

Pre-COVID, I started having a minor problem with students going on cruises in the middle of the semester and saying they won't have internet access because it costs extra on a cruise. I finally put a blurb in the syllabus stating that I can't help people who don't plan for internet access during trips after having this conversation with a student (edited for brevity):

Stu: "So I won't have internet access for about two weeks. What should I do?"
Me: "Get two weeks ahead in the class. What else can you do?"
Stu: "I don't have time for that."
Me: "Why do you think you will have time to catch up on two-weeks of work after the cruise?"
Stu: [Grunt and eye-roll]
Me: [Shoulder shrug] "I'm not sure what you want me to say . . ."

To their credit (I guess), the student pulled out a low C. I'm finding that parents are putting the squeeze on their community college kids with vacation plans--especially when the College's Spring/Fall Break dates don't match with those of the local high schools.

Sorry if I'm side-tracking here.

[teach_write_research]

Teaching despair, but perhaps managed? second course with student who avoids all the work until they are clearly failing.

Dear Student, I will re-open the quiz for you. But, let's make a deal in your best interests. First you need to solve how to manage the assignments and deadlines.

There is a solution - sync your Canvas calendar feed to your Outlook calendar. You will also see that in your Teams calendar. Follow the instructions linked below. Take a photo or screen grab showing me that you have your Canvas calendar showing in your Outlook/Teams calendar. Message back with that photo attached. Then I will open the Quiz with us both having the reassurance that you will be on track for the rest of the term.

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-subscribe-to-the-Calendar-feed-using-Outlook-as-a/ta-p/531

[mamselle]

That belongs on the Jedi tricks thread!!

M.

[mythbuster]

This half belongs here and half in the Things you wish you say thread.

Dear students, you are all college seniors or graduate students. Therefore, you all sound really stupid when you get pentagon, pentagram, pentane, and pentahex (?!?) confused. If you don't knw the terms, just say it had 5 identical units.  A much better approach than making up words.

I really wish I could mark off for this, but I know my institution and what's tolerated. So I won't. But it's frustrating.

[Caracal]

Just got an email from a student in my Calculus-based Physics II course...

This is the first line:

"Please teach me how to do these integral things."

I'm guessing even Stu's algebra is nothing to write home about........

I once had to fail a student in an optics class becuase he couldn't do algebra. (Specific example: the thin lens equation 1/i +1/o = 1/f for people unfamiliar with it.) How he got through high school I'll never know.

I took Algebra in 9th grade and I'm sure there was a time when I learned how to do that, but I had certainly forgotten that by college and couldn't do it now. Of course, I wasn't taking optics courses, so there wasn't much need for me to remember. I can solve a simple equation for x, but after that, I've lost it all.

[Charlotte]

Just got an email from a student in my Calculus-based Physics II course...

This is the first line:

"Please teach me how to do these integral things."

I'm guessing even Stu's algebra is nothing to write home about........

I once had to fail a student in an optics class becuase he couldn't do algebra. (Specific example: the thin lens equation 1/i +1/o = 1/f for people unfamiliar with it.) How he got through high school I'll never know.

I took Algebra in 9th grade and I'm sure there was a time when I learned how to do that, but I had certainly forgotten that by college and couldn't do it now. Of course, I wasn't taking optics courses, so there wasn't much need for me to remember. I can solve a simple equation for x, but after that, I've lost it all.

I'm genuinely concerned about how much I've forgotten from school. I've been trying to figure out ways to relearn some of it. I just discovered Khan Academy and spend some time each morning studying before I start my day.

[mamselle]

Start tutoring inner-city kids on your off-hours, the basics come back quickly!

This is one non-profit student tutoring site:

   https://www.evkids.org/our-impact/programs/tutoring.html

They list on-site tutoring but I'm pretty sure that right now they're doing it virtually.

If that's not directly of interest (it's a faith-based group), the founders are well-connected and can refer prospective tutors to other places.

Just an idea...

M.

[Charlotte]

Start tutoring inner-city kids on your off-hours, the basics come back quickly!

This is one non-profit student tutoring site:

   https://www.evkids.org/our-impact/programs/tutoring.html

They list on-site tutoring but I'm pretty sure that right now they're doing it virtually.

If that's not directly of interest (it's a faith-based group), the founders are well-connected and can refer prospective tutors to other places.

Just an idea...

M.

This is a great idea! I hadn't thought about that. I've been wanting to become more involved in volunteer work and this sounds perfect. Thank you for suggesting it!

[mamselle]

I worked for a Saturday program once, had great fun creating competitions between, for example, small triadic groups to graph y = mx + b equations, etc.

Three persons to a team, two or three teams spaced around the whiteboard, and they each took turns doing a) putting the equation into standard form; b) setting up a quick table to get the coordinates needed, and c) plotting the points and graphing the line (yardsticks provided).

...and I still remember how to graph those equations, at least....

;--}

M.

   

[teach_write_research]

I added this to Jedi Mind tricks but the update shows that you shouldn't get your hopes up too high :-)

Dear Student met with me after class (virtually) and we uncovered that they were only using their phone and looks like you can only snag the calendar feed on a computer. Which *are* available on campus if Student doesn't want to deal with their old slow computer; Student is living on campus. They did not actually go and do that and I understand it's not simple - COVID protocols mean planning ahead, making an appt., and student is struggling with time management... as evidenced by the stack of incomplete small assignments and the missed quiz. The Student also didn't follow up with me until I asked them to meet after class. Sigh. I opened the quiz answers because I wasn't going to hold up everyone else. Next up - will I offer an all-essay makeup quiz or change the weight of the later quizzes or leave Dear Student to cope with the 0?

Teaching despair, but perhaps managed? second course with student who avoids all the work until they are clearly failing.

Dear Student, I will re-open the quiz for you. But, let's make a deal in your best interests. First you need to solve how to manage the assignments and deadlines.

There is a solution - sync your Canvas calendar feed to your Outlook calendar. You will also see that in your Teams calendar. Follow the instructions linked below. Take a photo or screen grab showing me that you have your Canvas calendar showing in your Outlook/Teams calendar. Message back with that photo attached. Then I will open the Quiz with us both having the reassurance that you will be on track for the rest of the term.

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-subscribe-to-the-Calendar-feed-using-Outlook-as-a/ta-p/531

[lightning]

I spent my entire summer of 2020, modifying all of my Fall 2020 courses , for effective online delivery. A lot of students b*tched, and said they learn better in-person, and want the college experience that they are paying for.

So, I agreed to teach both of my Spring 2021 courses as socially distanced, low-enrollment courses, putting my own health at risk. As the semester goes on, more and more students are requesting Zoom links, citing anything from actually having COVID-19, to being near someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19, to being generally sick, to cars not starting, to slipping on the ice and hurting their back so they can't come in-person, to some excuse tangentially related to COVID-19 . . . you get the idea. Halfway through February, the majority of the students in these in-person classes are voting with their feet and revealing that they really wanted online instruction.

From this flip-flop experience, I gather that my online classes in Fall 2020 were not easy enough for them, so they wanted to blame their general dumbness on the online delivery mode, but when time came to give them the in-person experience they were asking for, they revealed in their actions that they wanted Zoom so they could zone out.

[dismalist]

I once had to fail a student in an optics class because he couldn't do algebra. (Specific example: the thin lens equation 1/i +1/o = 1/f for people unfamiliar with it.) How he got through high school I'll never know.

Well, if i = square root of minus one, and o = zero, I'd be really stumped, too. :-)

[Zeus Bird]

From this flip-flop experience, I gather that my online classes in Fall 2020 were not easy enough for them, so they wanted to blame their general dumbness on the online delivery mode, but when time came to give them the in-person experience they were asking for, they revealed in their actions that they wanted Zoom so they could zone out.

Sadly I suspect administrators will start catering to this type of student demand mid-semester in the future.  Call it "CryptoFlex."

[RatGuy]

From this flip-flop experience, I gather that my online classes in Fall 2020 were not easy enough for them, so they wanted to blame their general dumbness on the online delivery mode, but when time came to give them the in-person experience they were asking for, they revealed in their actions that they wanted Zoom so they could zone out.

Sadly I suspect administrators will start catering to this type of student demand mid-semester in the future.  Call it "CryptoFlex."

In my case, administration at the departmental and college level have had my back. My situation is similar to Lightning; Fall '20 I had gen-ed courses that were synchronous online, and I had one (honors) course in which 10 students met in person one day, and the other 10 zoomed in. By the midterm, 4 of the 20 had started attending every day (there was space in the classroom), and maybe 6 or 7 only attended via zoom. Students were allowed an online-only option for health or other reasons. ALL the students who chose zoom-only scored 75 or lower on the final (take home) exam.

The department saw many such grade distributions across the board, and as the university pushed for more in-person courses, the department leadership told us "If you don't want to use a zoom component, don't. There are online sections for students who want to choose that. Maintain social distancing in classrooms, but you are free to organize your courses to eliminate a zoom component." That means as the struggling students start to request online-only access, I'm allowed to tell them "this class is not set up for zoom, and we covered this extensively on the syllabus and before the drop window closed." So far there's been no pushback from above.