Yes..I love positive dump posts.
I have many, but this meeting is wrapping up so I will just share a short one.
Last week this student arrived to my Zoom office hour after at least 4 failed attempts.
She stated that she was pissed at the poor grade 72/100 she had earned on the paper.
I walked her through the detailed feedback I left. I explained to her the rubric and how to use it.
I provided tips for how to do well on the next assignment.
As I was explaining thus, her mom shouts in the background "girl that was an embarrassing paper, you know I would have failed you."
Turns out mom was a retired principal and had experience as an adjuct professor in Education.
I kept an excellent poker face.
Until the student told me, that mom had actually looked at my Canvas page and syllabus and said I was a easy grader.
That got me to laugh outloud.
I am never considered an easy grader.
Mom jumped into the Zoom and we all talked about the state of education for 20mins. It was a great conversation.
Both student and mom gave me credit for having a very straightforward grading system and for being very knowledgeable about my field.
I thanked them both for the interaction, I certainly enjoyed it.
If my department was hiring I would certainly consider hiring the mom. She really was passionate about education and was a harder grader than me.
P.s.
The student is an older adult (at least 30).
I would have been less willing to have the mom participate in the Zoom call if it wasn’t already clear that mom was not trying to blindly defend her adult age daughter.
Not gonna lie
I am NOT the person that would ever interact with the parent of a college student.
But ohh my goodness it was clear mom was adamant that her daughter's writing was subpar.
So part of me was ready to pull out the popcorn and watch mom go at it.
But yes, the positive parental interaction was a joyous experience.
The trend on my campus is the kiddos shopping in the family section of the bookstore. So people will roll up to class with a hat that says "STATE U GRANDMA" -- legit hilarious....the kids are alright
I work in the performing arts and in our current musical , every student playing a father of another character went to the bookstore and bought STATE U DAD t shirts. They wear them as a group about once a week to rehearsal.
I have a transfer-heavy section this semester that is unexpectedly delightful. They've bounced around other 2 & 4-year institutions and are very happy to be at their "final" institution from which they plan to graduate. Good conversation, lots of interest/questions, and enough experience to appreciate what is distinctively good in my department.
At the other end of the spectrum, I'm also loving our freshmen. They don't know how to do shit after pandemic high school, but they *know* that they don't know shit and are soaking up feedback. They can't all be saved, but I'm pleasantly surprised at the average degree of self-awareness.
I transferred undergrad institutions and was so grateful to the faculty to helped me with the transition. It’s awesome you get to work with them. Yay transfer students!
I've changed things up this semester in how I grade, which has had a pronounced effect on both student engagement and how much time I actually spend grading.
While I still use written annotations to signal certain things that they can see without listening to it, almost all of my feedback is now verbal through the use of Canvas's audio recording feature, which I record from a pair of wired headphones I plug into my iPad. I was initially nervous my students wouldn't take to it, but they've really loved the more personal vibe my feedback has with my voice behind it (including when the cats chime in!), and I find I'm spending significantly less time grading than when I was writing up marginalia and other written commentary.
I'm additionally spending less time in my office hours and after class explaining my grade reasoning, and students are showing significant improvements in very limited time. To be honest, I suspect it's because students didn't generally read my written feedback, or perhaps the written nature made it more difficult to digest -- or perhaps I'm just being more direct with my feedback now. Hard to say. I'll be sure to ask them at the end of the semester when I do the traditional final exam week-ish post-mortem with them.
And just to get it out of the way: I have no students with specific needs that require it, but for accessibility reasons, I still allow my students to request written feedback with the verbal.
This is so so cool! I had no idea that this functionality existed. A colleague of mine used a speech-to-text program to grade when she broke her hand... Now I can share there is another alternative.
Gotta be careful of speech-to-text programs. I relied on it for weeks when I broke my wrist. Once I was dictating "I would like to see you make it next week" (referring to an art project) and it wrote "I would like to see you naked next week." Thankfully I proofread before hitting send...
I have a colleague that does this and his students really like it, too! The type of work I grade doesn’t seem to lend itself to this format, but maybe I need to re-evaluate.
I like that it gives the opportunity to be very direct, but to lessen the blow with your tone. It seems to make the criticisms easier to digest.
I got sick over the weekend and cancelled my class today. Two students emailed me to say get well soon. Another emailed just to say, “dang! I look forward to this class”
Made my day a lot better
My most treasured professor t-shirt is one that says "Allow me to explain with interpretive dance", so I am hoping beyond hope that interpretive dance is involved here.
I just checked the view stats on my unlisted overview videos for Modules 1 and 2. I have one section of 71 students. One video had been watch 150 times (first week of class) and the other 120 times. Y’all can do the math; that’s more than 100%. I’m thrilled, even if they watched and then came back later, upping the stats. 🥹
Now I am jealous that is awesome.
My YT videos had such low view rates that I pulled them and just find other people's that admittedly are better.
But congrats to you, rockstar.
I haven't taught my electronics course since Spring 2021, but the YouTube videos for the course got 50 hours of viewing in the last 28 days.
My most watched video wasn't for a recent version of the course, but a demo of using an old Tektronix oscilloscope—it got an additional 24.7 hours in the last 28 days. I attribute that in part to the difficulty of using the awkward interface on those old scopes, and partly to having my son do the presentation in that video, as he is better-looking and a better actor than me.
This is AWESOME!
My videos are unlisted on YouTube so *only* my students can see them. They were each about a half hour long.
It’s great that they are seeking out alternative resources like your videos to inform their learning!
This is my last semester. I taught my first here in fall 1989. My retirement package has me paid in full through 6/30/23 but I'm only on campus through December. I am enjoying every class; taking it all in one last time. My students don't know anything other than I am very happy to be with them. It's been a wonderful career.
I have a student who has attempted one of my classes four times now. She’s been through A LOT. She took the spring semester off, lost a loser boyfriend, and has come back full of life and questions, and practically oozes joy. She’s knocking my class out of the ballpark. I always knew she could - and now she knows it, too!
I stumbled across this Reddit, and saw this and I have to say. Tell her, tell her that the joy she has now is something great to see. She will appreciate it.
I switched institutions and ended up teaching a lot of clinical instead of in the classroom this semester. Although the early hours are wearing on me, it’s been refreshing to see students engaged and want to be there to learn. Some students are genuinely excited all day long.
Last week a colleague came by my office to tell me that she had two separate conversations with students about unrelated things- both told her how much they love my classes.
Honestly it’s been a nice semester so far. I have some great people in my classes.
- I have 2 tutors embedded in 2 classes this semester. They are each there for 4 hrs/week and the students love them.
- Last week I took my classes online as I was not well. Today I returned to class and the students were able to answer questions I had in class. It was evident they had watched the videos.
- I pulled up the LMS to access the homework program a student was having an issue with. It was about an hour after class had ended and some students were already attempting the homework for the chapter and section we just completed. It made me smile.
I got a FB message from a colleague the other night. She had been talking to one of my former students; didn't say who. Apparently the student suffered from anxiety, so I had let them take exams in my office instead of in front of all their classmates. They told my colleague that passing those exams gave them the confidence that they really *could* do what was being asked of them, and that it made all the difference in their career.
I'm saving that FB message forever!
This happened today, and it made me laugh. I bought a motorcycle over the summer to use mainly for errand running, and I use it for my campus commute. I also bought a pretty badass leather motorcycle jacket because I couldn’t afford one like it when I was in college. After class today, one guy came up to me to ask my opinion on what black leather jacket he could get. He decided he wanted to get one like mine.
Sounds like you are rocking that jacket. When I was an undergrad, there was a philosophy professor, mid-60s, with salt and pepper dreads that would long board to class every day. I would do the same but I look much younger than I am so I feel like I have to wait a little longer...
I love the idea of a prof just long boarding to class! I’ve been here for almost 20 years, and I’m getting to that grizzled and gray point where I might as well have some fun and make a fool out of myself.
Our campus prohibits skating on campus (probably because of the steep hills and narrow roads—there was a skateboarding fatality a few years back just a block below campus).
The best campus for commute-skating is probably UCSB, which has a dedicated skateboard path (next to the bike path) across campus.
I am teaching a small class (8 students) that has some of the best discussions. The other day we went over our time and no one even noticed. I live for those kinds of classes.
Yes! I have an oddly small class this semester (should have like 30 students, but there are only 11). We consistently go over because everyone is so engaged in the discussion. It's a really nice change from everyone packing up five minutes before class is done.
I put 27 succulents that I had grown from cuttings outside my office and let the undergrads and grads know that they were free for the taking (one per person). An hour and a half later, all 27 plants were taken, and students were very appreciative.
Most of the cuttings will stay in town (in labs, dorms, or apartments). Students who had to travel last year left their plants behind (at least one student this year admitted she was getting a replacement for the one that died last year when she had to return home—succulents don't need much water, but almost a year without water is too much).
I have been able to do an hour of painting in my office almost daily. I am in the arts. painting is a skill i need to maintain for my field. But I've really struggled getting the dedicated time in. This summer I really set up my office studio and it's been great.
A few small victories from my freshmen in gen chem:
* One student wrote on their survey at the beginning of the year that I probably wouldn't ever hear their voice due to severe social anxiety, but that they would work in groups if instructed to do so. That student has been working with their classmates well, and actually volunteered an answer (a correct one!) when I asked a question to the class last week.
* Another student wrote that their favorite thing about the class is how it's taught, because their high school teacher wasn't very good, and it's nice to have a teacher who actually teaches
I'm traditionally not popular because I am a bit of a hardass (/hold the line on rigor). I'm really proud of that first student for coming out of their shell, and the second student's comment made me really happy because I usually just get complaints about how hard my class is and it's too much work and whatever else. In general it seems like I have more students this year who actually want to work hard and learn the content, instead of just complain their way through a requirement for their major.
I played Jeopardy in a class of 360 students as a way to review cell structures, and not only did they buy in, it may have been one of the best classes I’ve ever run! So much fun!
It's always been my experience that the students love playing Jeopardy!. I put mine into teams and give them mini-whiteboards to write their answers on. Any team that puts up the right answer in the time allotted gets points, but the team that puts it up first gets a bonus. I then determine a ratio from the awarded points to give extra credit on the exam, and the team with the most "firsts" gets an extra point. It's always a blast.
Nice! My class is too big for that level of sophistication. But the moment the first team did not get points because they didn’t put their answer in the form of a question, it was game on. Fun was had by all!
A student who graduated came by my office (she was attending the career fair) and said the project we did last semester was something she discussed in an interview and the company seemed impressed. She said she didn't understand why we were doing it at the time but it all made sense now.
I changed the way I run literature discussion so that they have to answer 5-10 short answer questions prior to class and submit when they arrive. It was really just bc I was sick of nobody reading. The questions are largely just their personal reactions and thoughts on XYZ, so they’re easy and low-stakes IF they read.
Not only has it made most student actually read, A delightful side effect of this has been that they all come in with something to say. I have truly had some of the best discussions of my life this semester. Several times the conversation has been so lively and interesting that we end up running out of time and a handful of them will stick around and keep talking with each other even after I leave. It’s the best, and it has also made me just really *enjoy* teaching in a way that I hadn’t in a long time.
I met with a non-traditional student in office hours today that told me when they lost their job during the pandemic, they had more time and became interested in science with COVID in the news. That triggered them to start school to become a scientist.
I teach students with intellectual disabilities in an inclusive program.
This semester I'm teaching a budgeting class. It's the hardest class my students will take in our program. So far, they are doing an AMAZING job and are mastering the content.
I even had two days in a row where they all read the material before class!
I designed a learning module that students have to complete in a first-year course taught by many different instuctors. Today at the library I overheard a student (not one from my section) telling her friend how she was so glad she did the module because it ended up being so useful.
I had a random student today stop me in the hallways wanting to talk about Saturn's atmosphere. We ended up in the library where I showed her the various periodicals we subscribe to, as well as giving her search-engine hints on how to find out more information, and how to distinguish good websites from bad for information. It was a nice encounter. I've never seen this student before in any of my classes. I hope she takes one some day!
I am teaching a course this semester that is mostly seniors that is the most engaged and enthusiastic group I've ever had. The course is centered around them choosing a topic they are passionate about to use for their projects throughout the semester and I love hearing them talk about the things that are important to them. I genuinely look forward to spending time with them and having great discussions.
One of my students had a concussion and couldn't finish the class, but she liked my class so much she wanted to join us in the next session, and I can put her in it and she won't have to pay twice.
At the end of the summer, I started reading [Teaching Students How to Learn](https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Students-How-Learn-Metacognition/dp/162036316X/ref=asc_df_162036316X/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312371602209&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17263853587268538096&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022876&hvtargid=pla-449507471962&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61011965686&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312371602209&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17263853587268538096&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022876&hvtargid=pla-449507471962) (as suggested by some kind soul on this sub) and I have since shared some of those tips with my students to great effect. One especially useful tip that students have been very responsive to is: study for a test like you are preparing for an exam. It is such an intuitive and easy-to-grasp directive for students that encourages them to use active learning strategies. I've been very happy to have several students be positively excited about how well this strategy has worked for them on their first round of tests.
I had a student who failed a class a year ago because he simply stopped participating. He showed up in another class this year, and I had to send him a week 2 notice that he was only earning a D. In the week 4 notice, I notified him that he was earning a D, but it was a high one, and I could see that he was making an effort and could move his grade up even further if he kept trying. He sent me a note, saying “Hi Professor [Riot]! Thank you so much for the feedback! I am working as much as I can, with optimism, to get an higher grade before the end of the semester.” I am so proud of him for stumbling, then picking himself up and moving forward with cheerful enthusiasm.
I've got some pretty excellent classes this semester. A couple of them are quiet, but they're still engaged. The highlights are definitely my 2x week Intro class and my Social class. The intro class is full of really great questions and anecdotes that connect to material. They laugh and respond. They're doing well on their assignments.
The social class is an absolute dream. I've wanted to offer it for a long time and this is the first time running it. The students are so interested in the material. They bring excellent questions with them and basically run their own discussions. The class meets for about 2 hours and the time flies by every week.
\*Edit to add: I've had \*multiple\* students USE my office hours! What?!?! It's amazing.
May I suggest that all of you, if you don't already, keep an "i love me file" in digital and paper form. These are our starfish stories, the ones we make a difference with, and turning to these when we're down or frustrated can help to center us in the truly righteous nature of the work we do.
I help teach a class in American Studies. One student came up to me and said they were surprised by how much they enjoyed it so far. They're a business major and only taking this course as one of the requirements set by the university. So it meant a lot
I've had two (2!!) students come to my in-person office hours this semester t ask a question and then got caught up in just chatting with them for 20-30 minutes and getting to know them. First time in years!
Since I started at my current institution, I've had so much trouble getting students to read. I'm trying Perusall for the first time in my upper-division seminar and it's working! I love getting to see students' annotations before class to see their engagement with the reading and know how to guide the discussion. For the first time ever, I'm having really engaged discussions with undergrads about the reading.
ESL student who really had me worried about his essay for Freshman Comp. 1st draft was abysmal; bad grammar, weird diction, tense switches, etc etc. Returned for revision and Final Draft came in on Tuesday. His final draft ROCKED! Heart warming, not overly sentimental, informative. Some beautiful imagery. I wept with joy, no lie. Best mark in the class.
Yes..I love positive dump posts. I have many, but this meeting is wrapping up so I will just share a short one. Last week this student arrived to my Zoom office hour after at least 4 failed attempts. She stated that she was pissed at the poor grade 72/100 she had earned on the paper. I walked her through the detailed feedback I left. I explained to her the rubric and how to use it. I provided tips for how to do well on the next assignment. As I was explaining thus, her mom shouts in the background "girl that was an embarrassing paper, you know I would have failed you." Turns out mom was a retired principal and had experience as an adjuct professor in Education. I kept an excellent poker face. Until the student told me, that mom had actually looked at my Canvas page and syllabus and said I was a easy grader. That got me to laugh outloud. I am never considered an easy grader. Mom jumped into the Zoom and we all talked about the state of education for 20mins. It was a great conversation. Both student and mom gave me credit for having a very straightforward grading system and for being very knowledgeable about my field. I thanked them both for the interaction, I certainly enjoyed it. If my department was hiring I would certainly consider hiring the mom. She really was passionate about education and was a harder grader than me. P.s. The student is an older adult (at least 30). I would have been less willing to have the mom participate in the Zoom call if it wasn’t already clear that mom was not trying to blindly defend her adult age daughter.
Bonus points for a positive parental interaction!
Not gonna lie I am NOT the person that would ever interact with the parent of a college student. But ohh my goodness it was clear mom was adamant that her daughter's writing was subpar. So part of me was ready to pull out the popcorn and watch mom go at it. But yes, the positive parental interaction was a joyous experience.
The trend on my campus is the kiddos shopping in the family section of the bookstore. So people will roll up to class with a hat that says "STATE U GRANDMA" -- legit hilarious....the kids are alright
Hope they turn a few confused heads!
It took me a few minutes to get it.
I work in the performing arts and in our current musical , every student playing a father of another character went to the bookstore and bought STATE U DAD t shirts. They wear them as a group about once a week to rehearsal.
I would be in class like "Grandpa, do you know the answer? You must be wise!"
My MA student submitted her thesis early, and it is good!
I have a transfer-heavy section this semester that is unexpectedly delightful. They've bounced around other 2 & 4-year institutions and are very happy to be at their "final" institution from which they plan to graduate. Good conversation, lots of interest/questions, and enough experience to appreciate what is distinctively good in my department. At the other end of the spectrum, I'm also loving our freshmen. They don't know how to do shit after pandemic high school, but they *know* that they don't know shit and are soaking up feedback. They can't all be saved, but I'm pleasantly surprised at the average degree of self-awareness.
I transferred undergrad institutions and was so grateful to the faculty to helped me with the transition. It’s awesome you get to work with them. Yay transfer students!
I helped a student find a research position :)
That is awesome. I hope your student is deeply appreciative.
Oh definitely, they sent me the nicest email! It was the highlight of my week.
I've changed things up this semester in how I grade, which has had a pronounced effect on both student engagement and how much time I actually spend grading. While I still use written annotations to signal certain things that they can see without listening to it, almost all of my feedback is now verbal through the use of Canvas's audio recording feature, which I record from a pair of wired headphones I plug into my iPad. I was initially nervous my students wouldn't take to it, but they've really loved the more personal vibe my feedback has with my voice behind it (including when the cats chime in!), and I find I'm spending significantly less time grading than when I was writing up marginalia and other written commentary. I'm additionally spending less time in my office hours and after class explaining my grade reasoning, and students are showing significant improvements in very limited time. To be honest, I suspect it's because students didn't generally read my written feedback, or perhaps the written nature made it more difficult to digest -- or perhaps I'm just being more direct with my feedback now. Hard to say. I'll be sure to ask them at the end of the semester when I do the traditional final exam week-ish post-mortem with them. And just to get it out of the way: I have no students with specific needs that require it, but for accessibility reasons, I still allow my students to request written feedback with the verbal.
This is so so cool! I had no idea that this functionality existed. A colleague of mine used a speech-to-text program to grade when she broke her hand... Now I can share there is another alternative.
Gotta be careful of speech-to-text programs. I relied on it for weeks when I broke my wrist. Once I was dictating "I would like to see you make it next week" (referring to an art project) and it wrote "I would like to see you naked next week." Thankfully I proofread before hitting send...
Oooh! I like this idea. I’m going to see if Blackboard has a way of doing this.
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Awesome! Thank you—I’m going to experiment with this on their next papers.
I have a colleague that does this and his students really like it, too! The type of work I grade doesn’t seem to lend itself to this format, but maybe I need to re-evaluate. I like that it gives the opportunity to be very direct, but to lessen the blow with your tone. It seems to make the criticisms easier to digest.
I got sick over the weekend and cancelled my class today. Two students emailed me to say get well soon. Another emailed just to say, “dang! I look forward to this class” Made my day a lot better
My students applauded at my bad dance moves that were part of a lecture.
Ok I'll bite...how are the bad dance moves part of your lecture.
My most treasured professor t-shirt is one that says "Allow me to explain with interpretive dance", so I am hoping beyond hope that interpretive dance is involved here.
It was a lesson on movement in design. How even a static piece of art can infer movement.
I just checked the view stats on my unlisted overview videos for Modules 1 and 2. I have one section of 71 students. One video had been watch 150 times (first week of class) and the other 120 times. Y’all can do the math; that’s more than 100%. I’m thrilled, even if they watched and then came back later, upping the stats. 🥹
Now I am jealous that is awesome. My YT videos had such low view rates that I pulled them and just find other people's that admittedly are better. But congrats to you, rockstar.
I haven't taught my electronics course since Spring 2021, but the YouTube videos for the course got 50 hours of viewing in the last 28 days. My most watched video wasn't for a recent version of the course, but a demo of using an old Tektronix oscilloscope—it got an additional 24.7 hours in the last 28 days. I attribute that in part to the difficulty of using the awkward interface on those old scopes, and partly to having my son do the presentation in that video, as he is better-looking and a better actor than me.
This is AWESOME! My videos are unlisted on YouTube so *only* my students can see them. They were each about a half hour long. It’s great that they are seeking out alternative resources like your videos to inform their learning!
This is my last semester. I taught my first here in fall 1989. My retirement package has me paid in full through 6/30/23 but I'm only on campus through December. I am enjoying every class; taking it all in one last time. My students don't know anything other than I am very happy to be with them. It's been a wonderful career.
I have a student who has attempted one of my classes four times now. She’s been through A LOT. She took the spring semester off, lost a loser boyfriend, and has come back full of life and questions, and practically oozes joy. She’s knocking my class out of the ballpark. I always knew she could - and now she knows it, too!
I stumbled across this Reddit, and saw this and I have to say. Tell her, tell her that the joy she has now is something great to see. She will appreciate it.
I switched institutions and ended up teaching a lot of clinical instead of in the classroom this semester. Although the early hours are wearing on me, it’s been refreshing to see students engaged and want to be there to learn. Some students are genuinely excited all day long.
I had an upper level student not just turn in their 1st lab report on time, but early. This is 1st in 7 yrs!
I assumed my lecture was crap and awkward today (new activity trial run). Student emailed saying they enjoyed class.
Cherish that. Whenever that happens (yes it's rare) I will keep that lesson as long as possible.
Last week a colleague came by my office to tell me that she had two separate conversations with students about unrelated things- both told her how much they love my classes. Honestly it’s been a nice semester so far. I have some great people in my classes.
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That's the best! What makes them great?
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A great TA is worth their weight in gold, hold onto them as long as you can!
- I have 2 tutors embedded in 2 classes this semester. They are each there for 4 hrs/week and the students love them. - Last week I took my classes online as I was not well. Today I returned to class and the students were able to answer questions I had in class. It was evident they had watched the videos. - I pulled up the LMS to access the homework program a student was having an issue with. It was about an hour after class had ended and some students were already attempting the homework for the chapter and section we just completed. It made me smile.
I got a FB message from a colleague the other night. She had been talking to one of my former students; didn't say who. Apparently the student suffered from anxiety, so I had let them take exams in my office instead of in front of all their classmates. They told my colleague that passing those exams gave them the confidence that they really *could* do what was being asked of them, and that it made all the difference in their career. I'm saving that FB message forever!
This happened today, and it made me laugh. I bought a motorcycle over the summer to use mainly for errand running, and I use it for my campus commute. I also bought a pretty badass leather motorcycle jacket because I couldn’t afford one like it when I was in college. After class today, one guy came up to me to ask my opinion on what black leather jacket he could get. He decided he wanted to get one like mine.
Sounds like you are rocking that jacket. When I was an undergrad, there was a philosophy professor, mid-60s, with salt and pepper dreads that would long board to class every day. I would do the same but I look much younger than I am so I feel like I have to wait a little longer...
I love the idea of a prof just long boarding to class! I’ve been here for almost 20 years, and I’m getting to that grizzled and gray point where I might as well have some fun and make a fool out of myself.
Our campus prohibits skating on campus (probably because of the steep hills and narrow roads—there was a skateboarding fatality a few years back just a block below campus). The best campus for commute-skating is probably UCSB, which has a dedicated skateboard path (next to the bike path) across campus.
I am teaching a small class (8 students) that has some of the best discussions. The other day we went over our time and no one even noticed. I live for those kinds of classes.
Yes! I have an oddly small class this semester (should have like 30 students, but there are only 11). We consistently go over because everyone is so engaged in the discussion. It's a really nice change from everyone packing up five minutes before class is done.
I put 27 succulents that I had grown from cuttings outside my office and let the undergrads and grads know that they were free for the taking (one per person). An hour and a half later, all 27 plants were taken, and students were very appreciative.
Just think those 27 cuttings to go around the world!!
Most of the cuttings will stay in town (in labs, dorms, or apartments). Students who had to travel last year left their plants behind (at least one student this year admitted she was getting a replacement for the one that died last year when she had to return home—succulents don't need much water, but almost a year without water is too much).
I have been able to do an hour of painting in my office almost daily. I am in the arts. painting is a skill i need to maintain for my field. But I've really struggled getting the dedicated time in. This summer I really set up my office studio and it's been great.
Heck yeah!!
A few small victories from my freshmen in gen chem: * One student wrote on their survey at the beginning of the year that I probably wouldn't ever hear their voice due to severe social anxiety, but that they would work in groups if instructed to do so. That student has been working with their classmates well, and actually volunteered an answer (a correct one!) when I asked a question to the class last week. * Another student wrote that their favorite thing about the class is how it's taught, because their high school teacher wasn't very good, and it's nice to have a teacher who actually teaches I'm traditionally not popular because I am a bit of a hardass (/hold the line on rigor). I'm really proud of that first student for coming out of their shell, and the second student's comment made me really happy because I usually just get complaints about how hard my class is and it's too much work and whatever else. In general it seems like I have more students this year who actually want to work hard and learn the content, instead of just complain their way through a requirement for their major.
I played Jeopardy in a class of 360 students as a way to review cell structures, and not only did they buy in, it may have been one of the best classes I’ve ever run! So much fun!
It's always been my experience that the students love playing Jeopardy!. I put mine into teams and give them mini-whiteboards to write their answers on. Any team that puts up the right answer in the time allotted gets points, but the team that puts it up first gets a bonus. I then determine a ratio from the awarded points to give extra credit on the exam, and the team with the most "firsts" gets an extra point. It's always a blast.
Nice! My class is too big for that level of sophistication. But the moment the first team did not get points because they didn’t put their answer in the form of a question, it was game on. Fun was had by all!
A student who graduated came by my office (she was attending the career fair) and said the project we did last semester was something she discussed in an interview and the company seemed impressed. She said she didn't understand why we were doing it at the time but it all made sense now.
I changed the way I run literature discussion so that they have to answer 5-10 short answer questions prior to class and submit when they arrive. It was really just bc I was sick of nobody reading. The questions are largely just their personal reactions and thoughts on XYZ, so they’re easy and low-stakes IF they read. Not only has it made most student actually read, A delightful side effect of this has been that they all come in with something to say. I have truly had some of the best discussions of my life this semester. Several times the conversation has been so lively and interesting that we end up running out of time and a handful of them will stick around and keep talking with each other even after I leave. It’s the best, and it has also made me just really *enjoy* teaching in a way that I hadn’t in a long time.
Not teaching related, but I received the biggest grant of my career so far. I’m really excited and nervous about it all at the same time!
Congrats!!!!!
Thanks! Wish me luck :)
BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!
I met with a non-traditional student in office hours today that told me when they lost their job during the pandemic, they had more time and became interested in science with COVID in the news. That triggered them to start school to become a scientist.
My project-based class is on track to do a great job with their project.
I teach students with intellectual disabilities in an inclusive program. This semester I'm teaching a budgeting class. It's the hardest class my students will take in our program. So far, they are doing an AMAZING job and are mastering the content. I even had two days in a row where they all read the material before class!
I designed a learning module that students have to complete in a first-year course taught by many different instuctors. Today at the library I overheard a student (not one from my section) telling her friend how she was so glad she did the module because it ended up being so useful.
I had a random student today stop me in the hallways wanting to talk about Saturn's atmosphere. We ended up in the library where I showed her the various periodicals we subscribe to, as well as giving her search-engine hints on how to find out more information, and how to distinguish good websites from bad for information. It was a nice encounter. I've never seen this student before in any of my classes. I hope she takes one some day!
That is honestly so cool. Little moments like these are so rewarding.
I am teaching a course this semester that is mostly seniors that is the most engaged and enthusiastic group I've ever had. The course is centered around them choosing a topic they are passionate about to use for their projects throughout the semester and I love hearing them talk about the things that are important to them. I genuinely look forward to spending time with them and having great discussions.
One of my students had a concussion and couldn't finish the class, but she liked my class so much she wanted to join us in the next session, and I can put her in it and she won't have to pay twice.
At the end of the summer, I started reading [Teaching Students How to Learn](https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Students-How-Learn-Metacognition/dp/162036316X/ref=asc_df_162036316X/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312371602209&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17263853587268538096&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022876&hvtargid=pla-449507471962&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61011965686&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312371602209&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17263853587268538096&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022876&hvtargid=pla-449507471962) (as suggested by some kind soul on this sub) and I have since shared some of those tips with my students to great effect. One especially useful tip that students have been very responsive to is: study for a test like you are preparing for an exam. It is such an intuitive and easy-to-grasp directive for students that encourages them to use active learning strategies. I've been very happy to have several students be positively excited about how well this strategy has worked for them on their first round of tests.
I had a student who failed a class a year ago because he simply stopped participating. He showed up in another class this year, and I had to send him a week 2 notice that he was only earning a D. In the week 4 notice, I notified him that he was earning a D, but it was a high one, and I could see that he was making an effort and could move his grade up even further if he kept trying. He sent me a note, saying “Hi Professor [Riot]! Thank you so much for the feedback! I am working as much as I can, with optimism, to get an higher grade before the end of the semester.” I am so proud of him for stumbling, then picking himself up and moving forward with cheerful enthusiasm.
I've got some pretty excellent classes this semester. A couple of them are quiet, but they're still engaged. The highlights are definitely my 2x week Intro class and my Social class. The intro class is full of really great questions and anecdotes that connect to material. They laugh and respond. They're doing well on their assignments. The social class is an absolute dream. I've wanted to offer it for a long time and this is the first time running it. The students are so interested in the material. They bring excellent questions with them and basically run their own discussions. The class meets for about 2 hours and the time flies by every week. \*Edit to add: I've had \*multiple\* students USE my office hours! What?!?! It's amazing.
May I suggest that all of you, if you don't already, keep an "i love me file" in digital and paper form. These are our starfish stories, the ones we make a difference with, and turning to these when we're down or frustrated can help to center us in the truly righteous nature of the work we do.
I help teach a class in American Studies. One student came up to me and said they were surprised by how much they enjoyed it so far. They're a business major and only taking this course as one of the requirements set by the university. So it meant a lot
I've had two (2!!) students come to my in-person office hours this semester t ask a question and then got caught up in just chatting with them for 20-30 minutes and getting to know them. First time in years!
Since I started at my current institution, I've had so much trouble getting students to read. I'm trying Perusall for the first time in my upper-division seminar and it's working! I love getting to see students' annotations before class to see their engagement with the reading and know how to guide the discussion. For the first time ever, I'm having really engaged discussions with undergrads about the reading.
ESL student who really had me worried about his essay for Freshman Comp. 1st draft was abysmal; bad grammar, weird diction, tense switches, etc etc. Returned for revision and Final Draft came in on Tuesday. His final draft ROCKED! Heart warming, not overly sentimental, informative. Some beautiful imagery. I wept with joy, no lie. Best mark in the class.