College teaching suck

[Ironclad Alibi]

I don't understand why teachers feel that students MUST read the chapter before lecture. I mean yeah, sometimes I do read before hand, but is it really a necessity? I get this feeling that she thinks taking notes during her lecture is cheating somehow. Uh, no it's not. The lecture is just another tool to use to get information. Is that really such a bad thing?

I had an engineering professor during my senior year that read the textbook to us. And he read it slowly, repeating the passages as though we were writing it all down instead of just following along in the book. Not that it was a bad class. He assigned half the problems in the book for homework, the lab assistant would work out the other half for us in lab. The exam questions were selected from the unassigned text problems. And the exams were open book, open notes. But we did have to write a term paper for the class.

[PepperElf]

that's why i like most of my classes...

in my computer classes this year the book is pretty much optional, or not even a factor.

basic c++: we have a book, we use it sometimes. more often than not though the material we need is on the web page

advanced web servers: book what book? seriously, no book.

Linux: i got the book online for 20 bucks. we haven't used it yet.

[Primer]

What level is the class? Are you a Business major? Is this a class for Business majors?

And no, these aren't little quiz's at the beginning of each class. They are assignments that require knowing a lot about the subject. They are real case studies where you have to make decisions for companies.

This description makes it sound that this is at least a junior level course, and not an "intro for dummies." As a college student, you are expected to show a higher level of maturity and motivation than "normal."

I had the same problem with one of my senior level math classes. It made me realize that I don't care for theoretical mathematics all that much, but I still plowed on through. I just never took another class from that instructor, nor another class in that area of mathematics. The Dean of Sciences knew me personally by the time I graduated, as I was not afraid to make waves.

Now, I do expect my students to read the material before coming to class, but I do not expect them to do the homework before we've discussed it in class. --But damn, I've been tempted to give quizzes over the reading!

So, yeah, do what you can, but let the powers that be know what's going on. Your instructor may have high aspirations, but not be grounded in the realities of teaching.

[rageaholic]

that's why i like most of my classes...

in my computer classes this year the book is pretty much optional, or not even a factor.

basic c++: we have a book, we use it sometimes. more often than not though the material we need is on the web page

advanced web servers: book what book? seriously, no book.

Linux: i got the book online for 20 bucks. we haven't used it yet.

Textbooks suck. What's even worse is that in my community college (please, lets keep the discussions on universities vs CCs for fratching, K?), just about every class has textbooks. Web design? Two books. One on codes, and another horribly boring book with all this trivial crap. The tests are worth HALF your grade.

Speech is another. In addition to the speechs, we had textbook tests. There were only a few courses where I didn't have to bother with textbooks (god bless those teachers) and I always found those ones to be the most interesting. Why force boring textbooks in courses where they are obviously not needed?

[rageaholic]

What level is the class? Are you a Business major? Is this a class for Business majors?



This description makes it sound that this is at least a junior level course, and not an "intro for dummies." As a college student, you are expected to show a higher level of maturity and motivation than "normal."

I had the same problem with one of my senior level math classes. It made me realize that I don't care for theoretical mathematics all that much, but I still plowed on through. I just never took another class from that instructor, nor another class in that area of mathematics. The Dean of Sciences knew me personally by the time I graduated, as I was not afraid to make waves.

Now, I do expect my students to read the material before coming to class, but I do not expect them to do the homework before we've discussed it in class. --But damn, I've been tempted to give quizzes over the reading!

So, yeah, do what you can, but let the powers that be know what's going on. Your instructor may have high aspirations, but not be grounded in the realities of teaching.

It's intro to marketing. Very interesting subject, but epic due date fail on the instructors part.

[Ben_Who]

I had a professor who had a once-a-week class - every week, he'd assign a new book. The book had to be read in time for the next class, and he'd give a quiz, usually two or three questions long, on some obscure aspect chosen at random somewhere in the middle (or, more often, towards the end) to see if we'd read it. All well and good so far, but these books were 800-1200 pages long and all the quizzes were pass-fail.

Three-quarters or more of the students were failing, failing, failing every single quiz, and he was getting angrier and angrier about it ("Hasn't anyone in this class read the goddamn book?") One of the reasons he was getting so stressed out about it was because several of the students who had already complained to him were now going over his head about it to the advisors, and now his job was in jeopardy. However, the deeper in the hole he dug himself, the more he took it out on the class.

After a steady parade of D's and F's on these pointless quizzes, most of the class opened their report cards at the end of the semester to find A's and B's. People who had been told that there was no way they could get better than a D had had their grades elevated by twenty or thirty points. The best that I could figure based on the limited information that I had was that someone in the Dean's office had quietly taken him aside and had a word. He taught for one more sullen, grouchy semester and then disappeared - he didn't have tenure.

Love, Who?

[South Texan]

One of my professors had 80% of our grade based upon quizes given at the start of every class coming solely from the reading material for that day. He stated that this was due to his knowing we would not read the text and be prepared for class otherwise. We got to drop the lowest five grades (including those we missed if we missed a class). The other 20% of our grade was made up of 10% mid term and 10% final.

I walked into the final knowing I could score a zero and still pull a B. If I scored something like a 60, I would get an A.

The prof (my major's advisor) had a fit when he realized I basically had blown off the final and still had an A.

[Andara Bledin]

The prof (my major's advisor) had a fit when he realized I basically had blown off the final and still had an A.

Then maybe he should brush up on his math and fix his own scoring, hm?

^-.-^