Lecture Writing

I subbed for a professor last week. It was a topic I know but hadn't written a lecture on before. I had really forgotten how long it takes to write up a lecture, especially if you add PowerPoint to it. I think the lecture went okay. It was a smaller class than I'm used to, and in a smaller classroom too. There will be a test question from my lecture, so hopefully most of the class was actually there. Most of the students seemed to pay attention, and a few asked questions, but I did notice the usual sleeper in the back. A friend of mine mentioned that he'd kind of gone off on his class last semester when a lot of people weren't paying attention. He rather loudly explained how many hours it takes to prepare each lecture and how the least they could do is pay attention.

I don't think most students realize how much time it takes to prepare for a class. Especially as a teaching assistant, I work my ass off. I'm taking classes and teaching classes and it's a lot of work. I agree with my friend that at least the students could pay attention. In an interesting side note, I read an AAUP article that mentioned a study showing that there was higher student attrition when freshmen classes were taught by part-time adjuncts professors. But it was "normal" when full-time professors OR graduate students taught the class.

I'm Back!

And ready to begin my rantings. As you may remember, I'm not teaching this semester, but I am taking my comprehensive exams. Don't worry, I have enough friends teaching that I'll have some good stories for y'all.

School's Out For Summer!!!!!

I'll be in and out this summer. I'm not teaching but I am taking an intensive language course overseas, so I may not be blogging again till late August. It depends upon how much time I have. I seem to have at least one or two readers ;) so I'd suggest subscribing to the RSS feed instead of checking back all the time.

The Semester is Over!!!

I gave my last exams and inputted grades and I am through! It feels wonderful! This semester had it's own drama, of course. I finally decided to give a graduating senior a D, instead of an F, in exchange for an extra credit paper. Generally, I don't have trouble flunking people who have an F in my class, even if they will lose a scholarship. But actual graduation? She was close, so I made an exception. I did have a new e-mail this time though - the "I'm a single mother can't I get a higher grade." That was new for me.

Now that it's over, I am going to take a week off and read some non-school books before I start studying for comps. Yes - I'm taking comps in the fall and I'm already freaking out! I can't study all summer because I have a summer program that I'll be at for 2 months. I'm not teaching in the fall, so most of my posts then will be about comps and research. Wish me luck!!!

Yes, It's That Time of the Semester

Time to start worrying about your grade! I have several students coming in next week to discuss their grades. Which is generally obvious, as I post all their grades in Blackboard so they know exactly what they're getting. At least these students are being a little more proactive about it. It never fails that as soon as the final exam is over, and usually after I've given the final grades, someone e-mails me: "I know I made D's on all the tests, but I really need a C or I'll lose my ____ scholarship."

When I first started teaching I used to harp on grades and remind the students that if they weren't doing well they could come to me for help, remind them of drop dates, etc. And most of the time they didn't listen to me. So this semester I took a different tack. Just like I'm not taking attendance, I decided to treat the students like adults. The last day to drop is on my syllabus calendar, my syllabus quiz had a statement for them to sign about not whining when they get the grade they've earned (but in nicer language), etc. They are adults and they need to learn how to act like it. If I coddle them too much, they're in for a shock when they get to an upper level class. And I finally realized that no matter how much I may want to help my students, they have to be willing to help themselves first.

Grade Update

I did give my second test recently. And grades went down! Grades usually go down a bit on the second test (not sure if it's because the first was too easy?) and the average was about 72%. The study guide for this test was just a long list of terms. If you remember, for the first test I changed the study guide into a better format. Grades usually go back up for the final, and it's study guide has always been in a better format (broken down by topic, vocabulary, and people). I'll keep you posted.

Hot Library Smut

A friend sent this to me several years ago, and I felt it would be a perfect addition to an edumacational blog: Hot Library Smut! It's got pictures of beautiful libraries from around the world.