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Set Finals on Stun

Finals week is finally upon us, and once again I turn my attention to my final exams.

There has been some debate in the past few years about whether final exams are still an important part of teaching pedagogy.   Despite the stress it causes both instructors and students, I still think they are an important part of a class (my classes at least).    Final exams give a sense of closure and completion to a class.  People tend to value things that they work hard for, both students and instructors.   Plus it makes the students review material that they probably haven’t looked at in weeks and helps to reinforce some of your previous teaching.

One thing that sets a final exam apart from other exams is how it will reveal the long term study habits of the students.   For students who have been working consistently throughout the term, the final exam will be a very straightforward exercise requiring only a minor review to help them recall their lessons.   It will also reveal which students cram before exams or who try to “game” your grading systems.

I also use any number of tricks to help keep me sane… ish… while grading finals.   I have my playlist of somewhat angry, somewhat snarky music, and I also have a few disaster movies that I like to watch.    It helps on those pages that are painful to grade.   Imagine me huddled over a stack of papers, more and more red ink going onto a page.   “What?  Really?   I must be talking to myself in there….  Oh wait, the world is exploding.”   Everything needs a little bit of perspective.

Happy finals, everyone.

 

Finals Week Playlist 4

Well, another quarter is almost done.   Which begs the question:   what am I going to listen to as I traipse through grading hell.     My students are always so impatient, I sometimes need to remind them that while have to go through the final once, I have to go through it 35 times per class.    If I grade fast, then I will have  about 3 hours of continuous grading  for one class (35 students, 8 pages per final, and 30-45 seconds per page… well, lets say that 3 hours is being generous).

So, here are my new tracks for my forthcoming grading marathon.   I have my next finals week playlist!

 

So… yeah.   I seem to be leaning more to madness than murder and dismemberment in this time.   I wonder if that portends anything for my classes?   I don’t seem to be mellowing very much…   Ah well…. summer is coming…

 

 

 

The cracks of doom

As an instructor, I frequently get to see the best and the worst in people.     I see students trying heroically to learn, to change their lives, and to better themselves.   The reasons for this vary from simple curiosity all the way to trying to perform complete transformations.    Whatever the reasons, school put people in a position where they will either become confident with the idea of their new self, or nervous and scared about trying something unfamiliar.

Some folks miss the point of school… in very big ways.   These students are the ones who seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are supposed to be learning.   I’ve had a couple of students tell me that they absolutely need to pass, and then demonstrate that they really shouldn’t.  It is a rare term when one of my students doesn’t ask me why they didn’t pass the class.    They seem genuinely surprised when I tell them that they didn’t do their homework, or didn’t attend class enough… of that they miserably failed each test.

Every once in a while though, I will get one of those students who will just barely pass, even though they really shouldn’t.   I know there is talk about “students who slip through the cracks,” but I will say that sometimes you can’t hold them back.   These are the students who have an extraordinary talent, that of being able to scrape by the absolute minimum points even though they have little to no comprehension of the subject matter.

One day, I fear I will end up in the emergency room and I recognize one of these students… performing medicine.  Mind you for every one of these students, I have 10 more who demonstrate genuine talent and dedication.   But those who slip through the cracks… we know who they are.   They do not go unnoticed.   And they are the reason why I will never stop tweaking my classes and grading scale.

Ah well, maybe they will bomb their final.

Here’s hoping!

Evil Teaching Method: Cognitive Dissonance

I really do believe that being a good teacher involves not only knowing your subject matter, but also understanding human nature.

By nature people will do things that are bad for themselves.   People seek out the easiest, most self-destructive pursuits:  convenience food, passive entertainment (television or internet), and spending too much money on things they don’t need.   The type of experiences that people remember are very different,  people will remember things that took a great deal of effort or challenged their conception of the world.

This brings us to some basic cognitive theory.   Most people will seek to get some consistency in their thoughts – and conflicting information will need to get resolved.    Had a hard day at work for no apparent reason?   Your brain will try to supply reasons, telling you anything from “I must really be working hard,”  to the opposite “this job sucks, they don’t deserve me”.   Once you have rejected one position, you will hang on to the other position more.

There is a dark side to this:  cults use this as a form of mind control.   “Reject your ideas about _____ and believe in _______”.    People who go through hazing or even just simple abuse will convince themselves that it was somehow worthwhile.   Go figure.

Using Cognitive Dissonance:   people value hard lessons more than easy ones

So when it comes to using cognitive dissonance, remember you are dealing with some very potent stuff.   I make sure I lay some groundwork before I do any of this.   I start out by letting them know that I value hard work and effort.  I even outline what reenforces lessons:   read first, listen to lectures and take notes, immediately do some questions.

  1.  Create an ordeal, because students will place more value on hard lessons than on easy ones.    For me I have a daily quiz, and I like to put some tough tests at the beginning of important sections.   This is a signal that “oh, I didn’t get this, I should spend more time on it.”   It also emphasizes what is important to study.
  2. Place a high value on work and asking questions.   One of the things that I will occasionally say in class is that “which is harder:  learning or ignorance?”     Lending value to taking things slow rather than rushing things means that students will place more value on their process than on rushing to get the answer.
  3. Give them a new identity.   One thing that I do is include extra credit and bonus questions.   The upshot is that they get used to doing more, and start to see themselves in the role of achievers.   I know I enjoy telling my students they have “leveled up”.

 

So don’t feel bad about giving your students a hard time.    They will value your lessons more for doing it.

It’s good to be evil.

Rules for Teaching Success

One thing that I see in a lot of blogs is a “List of Rules”, so I’ll go ahead and pitch my 7 rules for teaching success.   I won’t try to contort or stretch the list to try and get to 10… I think the only real reason that people try to get 10 rules is because we have 10 fingers.    Besides, I prefer the “short and sweet” lists – they’re easier to remember anyway.

I think that the reasons for most of these rules are pretty self evident, and I know I’ve talked about most of these before (with the possible exception of number 5).     So much of actual teaching is simply in imbuing your class with an an attitude about learning,  that the subject matter is almost incidental.     Teaching facts and methods almost have to be secondary to promoting the idea of learning… because, lets face it, no amount of force will make a student learn something.    If all the students needed was a simple recitation of facts, then learning would be no more difficult than picking up a textbook.      But what an instructor brings to a classroom is an enthusiasm for their subject, and the ability to demonstrate not just how something works, but why it is useful or fun.     And watching students try is what makes the job worthwhile.     (That and lots of vacation days).

So here we go:

7 Rules for teaching success

  1. Don’t cripple your students by going easy on them.
  2. Patience isn’t a virtue, it is an utter necessity.
  3. Have a plan for your class.   If you don’t, they will.
  4. Make it fun.   “Learning while asleep” is science fiction.
  5. Don’t waste your time trying to convince a student that they need to learn.   Let them convince themselves that they need to learn.
  6. When the time comes, give your students the grade they’ve earned.
  7. Never give up on a student.   If you do, then they will too.

 

I hope you feel inspired.   Does anyone want to add to the list?   Feel free to post a comment.

 

 

Misanthropy, and evil teaching fantasies

There are times during the quarter where I must control my snark monster.      Being impatient in a class is counterproductive… and while many of the meetings, and surveys, and seminars that teachers are invited to are informative, they invariably take a great deal of time.   So I’m going to take a few moments to indulge in some harmless teaching misanthropy  (Actually, I think Miss Anthropy would be a fantastic name for a Dominatrix).    Please note that no students were harmed in the making of this post.

Evil teaching fantasies…

  • I would love to burst into maniacal laughter and pointing the next time a student promised that they would get their homework done.     Anytime I hear this, I hear “I haven’t done my homework yet, but I’VE THOUGHT ABOUT DOING IT!”      Muahahaha!   I haven’t flunked you yet, but I’ve thought about doing it!
  • Then there are some old standbys – like locking the classroom door so latecomers have to stand outside.   On test days.    Now THAT would be educational.
  • Hmm… perhaps a birdcage and a flogging bench in class might be a nice addition.   I’m sure I can find a riding crop somewhere.   Pain is motivational, right?
  • Or create some jigsaw-esque torture machines that involve solving complex algebraic equations… in their heads.
  • … I will not kill my students and wear their skin.   I will not kill my students and wear their skin.   I will not kill my students and wear their skin…

 

Ah well, I still get  a little endorphin rush every time I break out a new red pen.   The stories that I actually am using student blood for grading have been grossly blown out of proportion.

(I still can’t decide if saying “just kidding” would sound disingenuous or sincere.)

Evil Teaching Method: Using Confirmation Bias

I like messing with peoples’ minds.     Even before I became an instructor, it was one of my very favorite pastimes.    While I will say that I am a lifelong student of human nature (who isn’t, really?), I think ultimately it comes down to one thing:   I like pushing buttons.     The most interesting questions often begin with a “what if….”     Like what if I answer a phone with “Hi, is Bob there?”   Or what if I teach little kids the tongue-twister:   “I’m not a pheasant-plucker, I’m a pheasant-plucker’s mate. I’m only plucking pheasants, `cause the pheasant-plucker’s late.”   Or read Dr. Seuss books in the most sultry and suggestive way imaginable.   Or what if I stare at the ceiling as if there is something scary there. Or…

Messing with people is a public service.   Shaking up people’s expectations helps to break them out of a rut, it keeps people sharp… and it’s just  funny.

Most of the fun buttons to press in people stem from very common cognitive distortions or common logical fallacies.   These can be anything from in-group bias,  minimizing, or (one of my favorites) cognitive dissonance.    Knowing the kinds of thinking errors that people tend to make can help you stay ahead of behavior problems,  help to keep people motivated, or keep people from getting discouraged.

Using confirmation bias:   Convincing people that they’re actually good at math

Confirmation bias is the mother of biases.  Many different cognitive distortions can be linked back to it, including black and white thinking,  “should” guilt,  and both catastrophising and minimizing.    It is huge…. and you can let it work for you, or against you.     Especially when teaching a developmental class, students may already be in the mindset of “I can’t do this”   or “I’m bad at math”.    If students get used to telling themselves this, no amount of accomplishment will be enough to overcome this feeling, and pointing out their accomplishments won’t help because “they don’t count”.    But if they feel “I can do this”, or “I’m good at math”, then they will persevere.   Even if they have difficulties, they can discount failures and keep trying.    Here is what to do:

1)   Lay a foundation and start undoing past damage.   I put a great deal of thought into how I frame the class during the couple of class sessions, and I try to revisit these things later on.     First, I like to get people to thinking about their own expectations from a class.    One thing I ask frequently is “Do you feel like you should be able to get math just by looking at it?    How about…  German?    Do you also feel like you should be able to read German by looking at it?”   Disarming their negative expectations are crucial during the early stages of a class.

2)   Feed their image of being good at math.   If they don’t have an image of being good at math, then build one for them.   I like to take time to chat with my students before class, and one of the things I like to point out is how good people are at __________.   It doesn’t really matter what, but I can usually link it back to math.   Then I point out that they are good at math, and the basic math skills, but they just need the practice with formal math.    If nothing else, I point out that they can easily figure out how fast they can get away with speeding…

3)   Reinforce the positive, even if it isn’t about math.   I give a lot of praise in my classes.   I praise questions, I praise hard work, and I praise honest mistakes.     Also, I like to pitch out some easy questions from time to time.   Once they get in the habit of hearing encouragement, then they are more likely to give themselves encouragement, and to minimize the mistakes they make.

The good news is that once a student starts to believe that they are good at math and a good student, then it rapidly becomes a a self-fulfilling prophecy.    Just remember, you are pushing your students buttons for a greater good.

Don’t think of it as manipulation.    That just makes you seem like an evil teacher or something.

 

The road to hell…

We judge ourselves by our intentions.   We judge others on their actions.

One thing that I hear a lot of as an instructor is a lot of promises.   I am usually polite enough not to laugh at someone who is very sincerely promising that they will study hard and do well on their work.   Everyone feels like they can do more, if they study.   Sadly “my heart was in the right place” isn’t particularly a good defense.   After monitoring how much students actually work, versus the amount they report they work…. lets just say that I have developed an appreciation of hyperbole.

Good intentions are literally worth nothing.

If good intentions were all that were needed, then every aspiring student would turn out be a Nobel-Laureate.  By the same token, every penitent abuser would never again lash out against a spouse, or any philandering politician would never philander again, or every addict would stay clean… but intent is not the same as action.

Anyone who has studied a bit of neuropsychology could back this up!  The act of imagining an activity activates much of the same centers of the brain as real action does.   It is no wonder that people tend to judge themselves based on their intent.  As soon as a person starts to act on their intentions then any number of complications can get in the way, and that is a crucial difference.    When distractions, minor obstacles, or actual crises will arise to distract this becomes the real test:  whether a person will continue toward their goal or if they end up procrastinating.  Procrastination is just a manifested conflict of interest in ourselves, whether it means that a person’s actual goal is different from what they stated, or if someone just doesn’t feel they are capable (or even worse, not deserving).

If you want a good self-esteem:  do something.

Action is what is necessary.   Don’t talk about doing something, do it.   Do your soul-searching with your hands.

Incidentally, one of the phrases that just pisses me off is “communication is the key to good relationships.”   This upsets me because people take it as a complete statement, as if there is nothing else.    Communication is important, but commitment speaks louder than words.    Communication may show you a direction, but putting in the time, sweat and tears is what really counts.

It’s the so called ‘normal’ guys who let you down.  Sickos never scare me.   At least they’re committed.

Ah well, at least I get to fail students who consider thinking about doing homework is just as good as actually doing it.

… and that is education.

Witty banter, velociraptors, and classroom management

Every class has its own personality.    There are happy classes, lazy classes, hostile classes, and clever classes.    And a class’ personality will give you keys to how best to approach them.    I think my favorite personality for a class is a playful/clever class… like I have this quarter.   This of course presents it’s own challenges.

The difficulty of “clever” is that that witty banter can be a distraction for the class, as well as being a way for some students to try to deflect questions.     Of course, I have a long history of engaging with witty banter, as well as having adopted the persona of a diabolical math teacher early on.   So when they start joking about quitting early, I just laugh maniacally and ask them a harder question.   They cringe for a moment, then they start asking smart questions.

In the odd but true category:  when I was young, I had two potential career dreams.   Either a research astronomer, or a stand up comedian.   Now I guess I could say that I’m a stand up mathematician.

This quarter, I’m teaching with velociraptors and large amounts of witty banter.   Thank you, XKCD.

In other news, I wandered by one of my fellow math instructors grading to “Gangstas’ Paradise”.

I love my job.

Details, details, details…

Spring break.   That brief interlude between terms, when there is still a crapload of work to do… but we don’t get paid to do it.   (Admittedly, I also got to play GTA for a few days too.)   I do enjoy getting to look back at the previous quarter and figure out what worked well and what didn’t, and I also like getting to figure out what to do differently next quarter.

Details matter.    I can wing a classroom pretty well, but if you don’t make a plan for your classroom, then they will make a plan for you.   And you won’t like theirs.   Most often, their plan involve leaving early, and having you do their homework problems for them.   Ever notice that if you give a person a choice between doing something good, and doing something easy, people will inevitably choose easy?    This should be no surprise, it is simple human nature.

Here is an experiment:   tell yourself you are going to get up an hour early and go running (or whatever your preferred form of exercise is).   When the alarm goes off, you are faced with the choice of leaving a warm an comfy bed or getting up and working out.  Even though you know that working out will make you feel good,  you will likely go for the immediacy of extra sleep.

Everybody does this.    There are a few ways to short circuit this kind of behavior:   1) the shotgun method, and 2) incremental changes.   “Shotgunning” involves implementing a lot of small tasks/goals knowing that only a few of the goals will be completed.     This still leaves some things undone, but cumulatively this can have a big impact.   But when it comes to class building, I prefer the sneaky approach.     Start them out easy, get them used to doing the bonus problems.    After a while, it will be hard for them to remember what not doing extra work was like.   Increase the number, and difficulty of the homework.   Incremental changes have more impact than trying to implement anything large in scale, if you plan things right.

… Ah, twisting and torturing minds.   I love my job.