I understand the feelings of being mislead by our instructor and how this can cause anger because we do bust our booty's to get things done. When the assignment is not clear or the expectations are unclear, then assumptions are made as to what is expected. What we experienced was a severe lack of communication. The professor wanted to win us over and give us "the keys to the farm", so to speak. As the previous course went on, he started seeing some things he didn't expect to see like; cheating, demands, constant talking among some of the students and a lack of motivation which was essentially created by the instructor. I think of it like this, when you are training a dog you can't allow any bad behavior or else the dog pushes the boundary to "get away" with what he/she wants to get away with. Unless the leader, the owner or class instructor, defines what is expected, then chaos may erupt and disrespect begins on both ends.
I hope this doesn't happen again because it ended badly today. Regardless, I think those who were upset were offered a chance to talk with him behind closed doors. I for one believe I earned my grade which was an 83%. However, if there were better instructions in the beginning and a consistent level of professional communication I think I could have earned that A.
Now that he has heard what people think, I honestly think we'll go into this second quarter with more motivation to learn the material versus waiting for the review to study the answers to his exam questions. Studying for answers will not make us competent even though we do have to do this at times. I wish there was a perfect way to learn this material but as we are finding out there isn't one and it is entirely up to us as to how well we learn the material.
All for now.
my curiosity is aroused, you'll have to let me know what went down over a workhorse soon
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it is worth a workhorse.
ReplyDeleteNate,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting day that was!! I feel the same as you -- expectations were not laid out. Your analogy was good about the dog/owner relationship. In my mind I likened it to the parent who tries to be the best friend and when it comes down to discipline the level of authority the parent should have from the childs eyes is not there.
Tyler said something along the lines of this: Professors need to have control of the class first and if he can also have a good rapport with the class that is a bonus. Kaminski is a good example, not many people care for the guy, but he does not put up with crap and his expectations are well known.
Borman has been drug into this mess, but hopefully things will change for the better.
because of it.
Rouhani can remain to be a little out there, he is comical, but he needs to give clear expectations and have command of the class and then things will (should) be fine. I just want to learn.
Good points Megan. The only ones held responsible for anything are the students. It seems like the course evaluations are worthless and the cycle continues. Although, in the context you elaborated on in regards to Kaminski, I too think he's a good instructor. I was impressed with DeLapp and have heard good things about Gerber. As we get further into the coursework I think a lot of this stuff will vanish because we'll be forced to focus on our work there at way higher levels than what we are currently experiencing.
ReplyDeleteI promised myself I wouldn't get caught up in any drama or let the stuff that used to bug me get to me this quarter. Keeping a balanced view is what I am trying to achieve from here on out.
Good comment by the way.