Astronomy, you were my friend
May. 6th, 2005 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katekatJust when it was getting fun, we had to leave. That's always the case with me and school - can't get enough of it.
Of course, my brain would probably explode if I had to take certain classes for more than a semester. Exhibit 1, my "The Search for Extra Terrestrial Life" class. I've bitched and moaned about this thing before, so I won't go into all the gory details. However, I will say that I'm glad it's over, and that I wish the professor had been a little less ... 'astronomy guy' and a little more ... 'professorial guy', because the subject matter was fairly interesting. And no, we didn't just study Roswell and watch Aliens over and over. We did, however, study the Drake Equation in microscopic detail. And the prognosis for life out there? Not so great. Not unless we're not unique at all, and not unless civilizations manage to stay around a lot longer than we've been around (by, like, a factor of 10 or so). But I'm still going to keep hope. I'm optimistic that way.
Anyway, despite the relatively cool material, the class blew chunks. The best part is that the professor didn't even give us course evaluations so that I could express my eloquent opinion via official university scantron. Instead he said we could email him with our suggestions. Or drop something off at the department office. Since I've never been able to pass up the opportunity to speak my mind when I feel strongly about something, I'm going to send him a few helpful comments.
___________________________________
Dear Professor:
Since we weren’t able to provide you feedback via course evaluations, I’d like to take you up on your offer of emailing you with suggestions for future classes.
Although I’ve admired the way you’ve attempted to teach a very complex course, I would like to suggest several modifications to you:
First – consider adding homework and/or extra credit components to the course, so that students who do not do well on the tests, but who do make an effort to understand the course materials, can prove this understanding and perhaps raise their grades.
Second – It seemed as if your enthusiasm and excitement about materials taught in the last two weeks of the course was much greater than it was for the foundational materials at the beginning. I heard comments from many students (and felt the same way myself) about how much they felt they had finally gotten to the “meat” of the course, and believe their enthusiasm matched yours. Consider expanding the time you spend on these items, instead of packing them into the last 4-5 lectures. Your absences notwithstanding, these materials deserved far more time than they got. I also don’t believe you needed to build such a sturdy foundation of fundamentals that these more interesting topics received such short shrift.
Third – If students continually have trouble answering a specific question that you’ve presented on exams multiple times over the years, consider that it may perhaps require you teach the subject matter in a different manner. I watched a number of students in this class become more and more frustrated with their grades on the tests, especially those who made a real effort to understand the materials, attend the study sessions, discuss questions with you after class, and who still performed poorly. These are not students who failed because they weren’t trying. They were making quite reasonable efforts, and were genuinely discouraged when those efforts made no difference (or, sometimes, lowered their grades further).
I believe some of this confusion stems from the fact that you often presented theories and the flaws in theories at the same time during lecture, then posed questions on the test that asked students to extrapolate logical outcomes if those theories were correct, without ever addressing *how* to extrapolate those outcomes. Often students in the study sessions could explain theory as well as the primary and secondary objections to said theory, but had no means to understand how to apply a theory that might be false in a given situation.
I know that you feel you have taken the relative inexperience of non-science students into consideration when you lecture or create test questions. Unfortunately, I do not believe that you have. A proof of this was your response when the study group asked you about the answer to one of the study questions you’d provided, and you said, “Well, the grad student TA for this course had no problem answering this question and he hasn’t even done the assigned reading.” Please consider this statement for a moment. You asked a grad student, who, I assume, is also well versed in the field of astronomy to answer a question on a test. I would certainly hope that he’d get it right. It is his field and, even if he is not versed in the specific course reading, he is presumably trained in the same manner you are to look at problems and is familiar with the material as a whole (since he is TAing the course). That does not mean that a freshman student, taking their first science class since high school, will automatically be able to develop the same sophisticated understanding on their own. I am a senior who has taken her fair share of science classes (even though it is not my major), and I had an extremely difficult time as well. The confusion and frustration was often daunting.
Also, consider why the median grade of the class for tests was generally around 75%. You provide detailed study guides and even study questions that are actually on the tests. It seemed that you offered, on average, a 10 point curve on every test. That means that the majority of students in your class were receiving 65% on every test, even with these incredible study materials. I’m not proposing that you stop providing review sheets or discontinue curving the test scores, but I’ve never heard of a class where the professor provides so much leeway in the grading and offers so much direction on the study guide where students were getting 75% on tests. I think those numbers are staggering.
I respect the fact that you are trying to encourage students to think outside the box, to go beyond a memorization of dates and a recitation of facts. However, I believe that you may want to reconsider whether your teaching methods enable them to do so.
I’d like to thank you for suggesting we could email you, and for taking the time to read this. It is very much appreciated.
Best regards,
Me
_____________________________
So here's my question: I know the entire thing is pretty blunt. Partially that's because I watched a lot of students struggle painfully in his class. Partially because I struggled painfully in his class, and I wanted to learn. Partially because I don't think he'll actually listen unless I come right out and say what I'm going to say. But Neil says the text in italics is harsh enough it would make him, as a professor, stop reading. And I'm curious what y'all think. Since I've never made a poll, here's a poll for your thoughts (better than a cyberspace penny, right?)
[Poll #489338]
I'm going to catch up on some sleep, and hopefully rebound bouncy and cheery eyed tomorrow for the paper writing extravaganza that will fill the next five days. Woot. Back to theory. Theory I can understand!
Of course, my brain would probably explode if I had to take certain classes for more than a semester. Exhibit 1, my "The Search for Extra Terrestrial Life" class. I've bitched and moaned about this thing before, so I won't go into all the gory details. However, I will say that I'm glad it's over, and that I wish the professor had been a little less ... 'astronomy guy' and a little more ... 'professorial guy', because the subject matter was fairly interesting. And no, we didn't just study Roswell and watch Aliens over and over. We did, however, study the Drake Equation in microscopic detail. And the prognosis for life out there? Not so great. Not unless we're not unique at all, and not unless civilizations manage to stay around a lot longer than we've been around (by, like, a factor of 10 or so). But I'm still going to keep hope. I'm optimistic that way.
Anyway, despite the relatively cool material, the class blew chunks. The best part is that the professor didn't even give us course evaluations so that I could express my eloquent opinion via official university scantron. Instead he said we could email him with our suggestions. Or drop something off at the department office. Since I've never been able to pass up the opportunity to speak my mind when I feel strongly about something, I'm going to send him a few helpful comments.
___________________________________
Dear Professor:
Since we weren’t able to provide you feedback via course evaluations, I’d like to take you up on your offer of emailing you with suggestions for future classes.
Although I’ve admired the way you’ve attempted to teach a very complex course, I would like to suggest several modifications to you:
First – consider adding homework and/or extra credit components to the course, so that students who do not do well on the tests, but who do make an effort to understand the course materials, can prove this understanding and perhaps raise their grades.
Second – It seemed as if your enthusiasm and excitement about materials taught in the last two weeks of the course was much greater than it was for the foundational materials at the beginning. I heard comments from many students (and felt the same way myself) about how much they felt they had finally gotten to the “meat” of the course, and believe their enthusiasm matched yours. Consider expanding the time you spend on these items, instead of packing them into the last 4-5 lectures. Your absences notwithstanding, these materials deserved far more time than they got. I also don’t believe you needed to build such a sturdy foundation of fundamentals that these more interesting topics received such short shrift.
Third – If students continually have trouble answering a specific question that you’ve presented on exams multiple times over the years, consider that it may perhaps require you teach the subject matter in a different manner. I watched a number of students in this class become more and more frustrated with their grades on the tests, especially those who made a real effort to understand the materials, attend the study sessions, discuss questions with you after class, and who still performed poorly. These are not students who failed because they weren’t trying. They were making quite reasonable efforts, and were genuinely discouraged when those efforts made no difference (or, sometimes, lowered their grades further).
I believe some of this confusion stems from the fact that you often presented theories and the flaws in theories at the same time during lecture, then posed questions on the test that asked students to extrapolate logical outcomes if those theories were correct, without ever addressing *how* to extrapolate those outcomes. Often students in the study sessions could explain theory as well as the primary and secondary objections to said theory, but had no means to understand how to apply a theory that might be false in a given situation.
I know that you feel you have taken the relative inexperience of non-science students into consideration when you lecture or create test questions. Unfortunately, I do not believe that you have. A proof of this was your response when the study group asked you about the answer to one of the study questions you’d provided, and you said, “Well, the grad student TA for this course had no problem answering this question and he hasn’t even done the assigned reading.” Please consider this statement for a moment. You asked a grad student, who, I assume, is also well versed in the field of astronomy to answer a question on a test. I would certainly hope that he’d get it right. It is his field and, even if he is not versed in the specific course reading, he is presumably trained in the same manner you are to look at problems and is familiar with the material as a whole (since he is TAing the course). That does not mean that a freshman student, taking their first science class since high school, will automatically be able to develop the same sophisticated understanding on their own. I am a senior who has taken her fair share of science classes (even though it is not my major), and I had an extremely difficult time as well. The confusion and frustration was often daunting.
Also, consider why the median grade of the class for tests was generally around 75%. You provide detailed study guides and even study questions that are actually on the tests. It seemed that you offered, on average, a 10 point curve on every test. That means that the majority of students in your class were receiving 65% on every test, even with these incredible study materials. I’m not proposing that you stop providing review sheets or discontinue curving the test scores, but I’ve never heard of a class where the professor provides so much leeway in the grading and offers so much direction on the study guide where students were getting 75% on tests. I think those numbers are staggering.
I respect the fact that you are trying to encourage students to think outside the box, to go beyond a memorization of dates and a recitation of facts. However, I believe that you may want to reconsider whether your teaching methods enable them to do so.
I’d like to thank you for suggesting we could email you, and for taking the time to read this. It is very much appreciated.
Best regards,
Me
_____________________________
So here's my question: I know the entire thing is pretty blunt. Partially that's because I watched a lot of students struggle painfully in his class. Partially because I struggled painfully in his class, and I wanted to learn. Partially because I don't think he'll actually listen unless I come right out and say what I'm going to say. But Neil says the text in italics is harsh enough it would make him, as a professor, stop reading. And I'm curious what y'all think. Since I've never made a poll, here's a poll for your thoughts (better than a cyberspace penny, right?)
[Poll #489338]
I'm going to catch up on some sleep, and hopefully rebound bouncy and cheery eyed tomorrow for the paper writing extravaganza that will fill the next five days. Woot. Back to theory. Theory I can understand!
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:10 am (UTC)"Do not change a single word, and send a copy not only to the instructor, but to the Head of the Department. I have never heard of a college course that provided study materials, graded on a curve, with a median grade that low." (I'm paraphrasing; she said it a lot more elegantly. Used bigger words too.)
From my camp, I agree. From what I gather, this class seems geared towards making students fail.
-BJ
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:20 am (UTC)"You're welcome." :-)
-BJ
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:19 am (UTC)But, that's just me. I could be wrong. Teacher deserves a reality check, in any event. If he's got a brain in his skull -- not likely -- he will appreciate the constructive criticism.
-BJ
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:25 am (UTC)I also get the feeling he'd rather be teaching the course on a graduate level but they won't let him, so he's stuck teaching it to undergrads.
Brain? Definitely. Brain that will listen? Who knows.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:41 am (UTC)The object is to guide your mind into working in new directions, not to drive it into a kill sack and wipe it out with Claymore mines. If he's dealing with a group of students who don't have the context to understand the concepts he's driving at, then he needs to readjust his cirriculum. Period.
(pets your head) Well it's done now. And hopefully venting your spleen (what exactly is produced by a spleen vent? Splent?) will produce positive results.
-BJ
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:45 am (UTC)And yeah, explains much. Excuses nothing (which, I think, is what you were saying too).
It is. *Big Sigh* So glad. And yeah, I don't know what's produced... I think, for some reason, spleen makes bile? Does that sound right? Another ewww. *grin*
I will have hope. And I will copy the head of the department and see if something gets stirred up. Of course, I will do all of these things after final grades are registered in a couple of weeks, just in case he feels a might spleeny back.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:56 am (UTC)Like it?
Anyway, you're absolutely right to feel pissed off and cheated by your teacher in this case, the head of the department will appreciate knowing the situation. Go hug your honey and go to bed happy. :-)
-BJ
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:13 am (UTC)Yes, this is strongly (and well) worded, but it sounds to me like he's received considerable feedback in various forms in the past and it has failed to make enough of an impression to persuade him to change his behavior. Therefore, pulling punches might only give him another excuse to shrug off feedback that he doesn't want to hear, while this more forceful approach might more effectively get through to him.
My only suggestion is that you balance concrit with positive feedback. For each point of criticism or suggestion for change, try to mention one thing that you liked and appreciated about the course and how he taught it. (Yes, I've been doing a lot of beta lately; does it show? *g*) It might make it easier for him to read and absorb your comments instead of reacting in a purely defensive manner.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:15 am (UTC)Good point. I'm not sure if I'm going to get through at all, because he does seem to have been impervious to others, but I felt I had to try.
*goes to think up some nice things to say*
Yes, I've been doing a lot of beta lately; does it show? *g*
lol. *so* been there. Hope it's all been fun to read.
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 08:33 am (UTC)Otherwise I think that it's well written. The only snark is the thing about notwithstanding your absences...unless you want to directly complain about his absences, I might just cut that phrase.
Now...about those absences. How many? And if he's not tenured, you might want to drop a little note to the dept chair about that, attaching a copy of your email. I'm also curious about no course eval. Too tired right now to check UT's policy, but due to pressure from the lege etc that has become almost a requirement, esp for a course big enough to have TAs. Just my .02.
Why am I am up 3:33? (Which won't be what shows up on LJ, it always screws with my posting time)
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 06:42 pm (UTC)It was only in italics because I needed some way to seperate it for y'all. It does make it look a little more strident though - funny how a switch in text does that.
And that was my though - he's a scientist, he won't react to anything that's not blunt.
Good point about the abscences - to explain, he was gone for probably 5 classes throughout the sememster, and so the schedule was constantly pushed back and pushed back. The last test was supposed to be over material we'd covered in the final 5 lectures, but he missed one of those days, so it was actually over stuff we'd covered in 4.
But he is tenured. And I'm not sure what UTs policy is - it seems like it's a requirement, but maybe it's a department by department requirement? He's certainly handed them out in classes he's taught prior to this.
And why are you up at 3:33? That's *LATE*!
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 09:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 09:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 04:09 pm (UTC)Personally, I see no problem with what you're trying to say. It is, however, harshly worded and I could definitely see someone taking offense at it.
The main problem with the text in italics is how the professor is going to react to them. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't take them harshly, and I know a lot of my professors who wouldn't get in a fit over them. On the flip side, I know of some profs who would take them deeply personally and would react in a vile manner. See the prof whose class I dropped and, because of this, no longer speaks to me.
I think it's best to ask yourself how much more you'll have to interact to him, how he'll react to a letter, etc.
All that being said, I think it's a fabulous letter and one that, if he actually listens and doesn't become indignant, has the potential to greatly improve his teaching. It sounds as tho' he has a great many problems with his methods and needs to know that he's not helping students.
~e!
no subject
Date: 2005-05-07 06:48 pm (UTC)Darn it! My first poll and I don't have the right choices!! grrr.
And yeah, you're totally right - it depends on *how* he reads them. If he thinks I'm being intentionally hurtful he might take it the wrong way. But I really do think he needs to change his teaching methods (or at least attempt to understand why people don't get what he wants them to get from his current ones).
Oh, and I'll never ever have to take another class from him, nor will I ever have to take another science class on the UT campus again. Otherwise I doubt I'd be quite as forthright. I'm also going to wait to send this to him until after final grades are posted -- just to be on the safe side. And I'm debating back and forth about using an anonomous email account I can create via gmail, just because... but the other part of me says that if I attach my name it lends authority - i'm not afraid to stand by what I'm saying.
And yeah, really. You've heard me vent and vent about this guy. And the sad thing is that, on paper, he looks so ... helpful. But he's got it all twisted around.
*sigh* thanks for the thoughts ladybug.