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

[smallcleanrat]

Multiple students who took incompletes for a class in the Spring term were emailing within 1-2 days of the due date for their incomplete work (which included a final term paper). Between the end of Spring and the due date they have had roughly six months to finish their work.

-"What were the requirements for the paper again? I forget what we're supposed to write about."
-"I can't find the outline I made in the Spring. Do you have any notes on what I was going to write about?"
-"So, it's like an essay or something right?"
[I remind them they're supposed to write a literature review]
-"Could you explain again what a literature review is supposed to look like?"

I was getting stressed just reading their questions. I get waiting until the last minute to finish the writing, but not for 1) getting familiar with the assignment's requirements and 2) extracting and synthesizing information from a couple dozen research articles.

Are these the students who were told by a TA that they did not have to complete a term paper? I think I remember something about that and was curious the outcome.

About half of them were. The other half were students in my sections, who knew about the paper but filed for Incompletes before end of Spring term. The students who were told they didn't have to complete the term paper got surprise, retroactive Incompletes.

I think only one student failed to get their paper in this time. And the Prof. seemed to be considering capping the lowest possible grade at a C (even though, technically, no final paper would lead to an F).

I suspect a paper written that last minute has a higher chance of containing plagiarism, but I doubt the professor will spend much time following up with something like that. I think everyone involved just wants everything related to this course to be concluded.

[the_geneticist]

Multiple students who took incompletes for a class in the Spring term were emailing within 1-2 days of the due date for their incomplete work (which included a final term paper). Between the end of Spring and the due date they have had roughly six months to finish their work.

-"What were the requirements for the paper again? I forget what we're supposed to write about."
-"I can't find the outline I made in the Spring. Do you have any notes on what I was going to write about?"
-"So, it's like an essay or something right?"
[I remind them they're supposed to write a literature review]
-"Could you explain again what a literature review is supposed to look like?"

I was getting stressed just reading their questions. I get waiting until the last minute to finish the writing, but not for 1) getting familiar with the assignment's requirements and 2) extracting and synthesizing information from a couple dozen research articles.

Are these the students who were told by a TA that they did not have to complete a term paper? I think I remember something about that and was curious the outcome.

About half of them were. The other half were students in my sections, who knew about the paper but filed for Incompletes before end of Spring term. The students who were told they didn't have to complete the term paper got surprise, retroactive Incompletes.

I think only one student failed to get their paper in this time. And the Prof. seemed to be considering capping the lowest possible grade at a C (even though, technically, no final paper would lead to an F).

I suspect a paper written that last minute has a higher chance of containing plagiarism, but I doubt the professor will spend much time following up with something like that. I think everyone involved just wants everything related to this course to be concluded.

The professor made this problem, it's his job to deal with it.  Just forward all emails directly to him.  You can always cc him in a reply:
Dear student,
Thank you for your email.  I have forwarded your questions about how to resolve your Incomplete to Dr. [Whatever].
Best of luck with your exams.
Smallcleanrat

[sinenomine]

One of my students, whose grades on the major assignments this semester were: B, C+, C-, D+, and D+, emailed me today to ask if she could rewrite the final paper because she "really wants an A- for the class." My fantasy reply would include a mention of a flux capacitor....

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Well, a student finally did it. This person got over 1 MILLION percent error on a lab report. Didn't email me about it, just reported it.

Gotta' wonder what they're thinking...

[OneMoreYear]

Well, a student finally did it. This person got over 1 MILLION percent error on a lab report. Didn't email me about it, just reported it.

Gotta' wonder what they're thinking...

That is Hall of Fame worthy right there. Do you know how the student managed to do that?

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Well, a student finally did it. This person got over 1 MILLION percent error on a lab report. Didn't email me about it, just reported it.

Gotta' wonder what they're thinking...

That is Hall of Fame worthy right there. Do you know how the student managed to do that?

I didn't look into it since I was speed grading. I may go back and investigate more. At first glance it appeared to be an error with logarithms.

Edit: I went back and looked because I was curious and I knew that the student totally beefed this report. Student didn't convert units correctly and plotted the wrong things. The slope was used to calculate a linear mass density and that didn't really happen.

[spork]

Final exam requires students to evaluate documents and produce a recommendation. Directions for the exam include statements to cite sources and "Your work will be assessed by the rubric below." Rubric shows that 40% of exam grade is based on how well cited course readings are used.

Six of the seven exams submitted so far contain zero references to course readings. The seventh has a few random, out-of-context quotations from readings.  So, at this point, the highest grade on the exam is a 60.

One student has already sent an email to complain -- literally within seconds of me posting his final exam grade on the LMS.

[polly_mer]

Well, a student finally did it. This person got over 1 MILLION percent error on a lab report. Didn't email me about it, just reported it.

Gotta' wonder what they're thinking...

That is Hall of Fame worthy right there. Do you know how the student managed to do that?

I didn't look into it since I was speed grading. I may go back and investigate more. At first glance it appeared to be an error with logarithms.

Edit: I went back and looked because I was curious and I knew that the student totally beefed this report. Student didn't convert units correctly and plotted the wrong things. The slope was used to calculate a linear mass density and that didn't really happen.

And no comment at all on the million percent error?  As a terrible lab scientist during student times, nearly every lab report included an analysis of why my error was 50 to 100% (turns out I have poor enough color vision that I can't accurately titrate with an indicator; I have shaky hands so doing something in triplicate doesn't tighten the error bars at all especially that time I dropped the strain gauge and then glued its replacement to my finger). 

I passed those lab courses on excellent notebooks and error analysis.  I got nothing but a big ol' F for someone who plots the wrong things and didn't even ping that a million percent error is very unlikely.

[apl68]

One of my students, whose grades on the major assignments this semester were: B, C+, C-, D+, and D+, emailed me today to ask if she could rewrite the final paper because she "really wants an A- for the class." My fantasy reply would include a mention of a flux capacitor....

I wonder what went wrong with this student after what seemed like a good start.

[the_geneticist]

Well, a student finally did it. This person got over 1 MILLION percent error on a lab report. Didn't email me about it, just reported it.

Gotta' wonder what they're thinking...

That is Hall of Fame worthy right there. Do you know how the student managed to do that?

I didn't look into it since I was speed grading. I may go back and investigate more. At first glance it appeared to be an error with logarithms.

Edit: I went back and looked because I was curious and I knew that the student totally beefed this report. Student didn't convert units correctly and plotted the wrong things. The slope was used to calculate a linear mass density and that didn't really happen.

And no comment at all on the million percent error?  As a terrible lab scientist during student times, nearly every lab report included an analysis of why my error was 50 to 100% (turns out I have poor enough color vision that I can't accurately titrate with an indicator; I have shaky hands so doing something in triplicate doesn't tighten the error bars at all especially that time I dropped the strain gauge and then glued its replacement to my finger). 

I passed those lab courses on excellent notebooks and error analysis.  I got nothing but a big ol' F for someone who plots the wrong things and didn't even ping that a million percent error is very unlikely.

Yikes!  I have sympathy for students who are riding out the learning curve of how to have good "lab hands".  I was miserably bad at titrations, but I at least knew enough to estimate what the volume ought to be when setting up the assay.
If the student had at least written some sort of note to say "my answer seems really, really wrong since it ought to be more like X than Y" I'd give them some pity points.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Well, a student finally did it. This person got over 1 MILLION percent error on a lab report. Didn't email me about it, just reported it.

Gotta' wonder what they're thinking...

That is Hall of Fame worthy right there. Do you know how the student managed to do that?

I didn't look into it since I was speed grading. I may go back and investigate more. At first glance it appeared to be an error with logarithms.

Edit: I went back and looked because I was curious and I knew that the student totally beefed this report. Student didn't convert units correctly and plotted the wrong things. The slope was used to calculate a linear mass density and that didn't really happen.

And no comment at all on the million percent error? As a terrible lab scientist during student times, nearly every lab report included an analysis of why my error was 50 to 100% (turns out I have poor enough color vision that I can't accurately titrate with an indicator; I have shaky hands so doing something in triplicate doesn't tighten the error bars at all especially that time I dropped the strain gauge and then glued its replacement to my finger). 

I passed those lab courses on excellent notebooks and error analysis.  I got nothing but a big ol' F for someone who plots the wrong things and didn't even ping that a million percent error is very unlikely.

Are you referring to the student? Stu never emailed me about it. Again, I have to wonder what they're thinking when they record these things.

[downer]

I just wonder why the student whose total grade before the final is 4% bothers to submit the final. That work was an F too.

[cathwen]

I just wonder why the student whose total grade before the final is 4% bothers to submit the final. That work was an F too.

I had one like that, too.  He went into the final with a 36% average, but took it anyway. He did osss the final,  tu it wasn't nearly enough.

[marshwiggle]

I just wonder why the student whose total grade before the final is 4% bothers to submit the final. That work was an F too.

I had one like that, too.  He went into the final with a 36% average, but took it anyway. He did osss the final,  tu it wasn't nearly enough.

Maybe Dunning-Kruger effect? The inability to grasp the level of performance required to pass makes them think that it just requires a little more effort than in the past.

[Puget]

I just wonder why the student whose total grade before the final is 4% bothers to submit the final. That work was an F too.

I had one like that, too.  He went into the final with a 36% average, but took it anyway. He did osss the final,  tu it wasn't nearly enough.

Likewise. And I had told her, with advisor cc'ed, that there was no mathematical way for her to pass. A lot of magical thinking going on there. . .