Your TA Hates You

Animals Disappointed in Your College Performance is excellent.

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:38:49 -0700

Animals Disappointed in Your College Performance is excellent.

Nope!

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:29:09 -0700

Hi
may i see you in your office on monday between 8:30 to 9:30 in the morning to have a look at my paper?
thank you
******

came across this old student email… “Hi [TA], …Dr. ** didn’t mention that...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:29:53 -0800

came across this old student email…

“Hi [TA],

…Dr. ** didn’t mention that Glutamate is the most abundant - that question wasn’t very nice along with the amino acid transmitters. Yes, it was on your slides, but those weren’t uploaded at 9:30pm yesterday. Why are we tested on things you talk about after the quiz?
I understand that its really hard to be working on your degree and working as TA , but it’s not cool to test us on things Dr. ** doesn’t mention in lectures where the quiz material should come from. Sorry.

Best Regards,
[student]”

so, i’m not “very cool” or “nice”. whatever. i’m not the one failing the quizzes. so there.

So, I was editing a draft of a student’s paper, and saw that this student had left...

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:53:00 -0800

So, I was editing a draft of a student’s paper, and saw that this student had left “(cite)” in the paper in place of filling in the proper citation - it happens to all of us occasionally, right? So I highlighted the (cite) and wrote the following track changes comment:

“Do this! :)”

Meaning, clearly, that the student should cite the source. I received the following email from my student:

“First, for the citation for the old literature about [topic], you put the note ‘Do this :)’ Does it mean i should add a smiley face???”

I like this student a lot, but oh, honey, no. No it does not mean that.

A group of students literally put this in the introduction to...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:35:11 -0800

A group of students literally put this in the introduction to their final report write-up. If only a lit review was as easy to write as copying the titles of each article into one long paragraph…

“Dear [TA],Thanks for your response. But I guess you missed my second questions about slide...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:05:05 -0800

“Dear [TA],

Thanks for your response. But I guess you missed my second questions about slide 59. I appreciate if you can also answer that as well.

Best,
[v]”

Me: “Have you taken the time to read the posted review article? All of the material from the slides is from that article, including detailed descriptions of the circuitry you’re asking about. It might save us both some time if you look over the article. If after you’ve read through it, you still don’t understand, then I’d be happy to try to explain further.”

“Dear [TA],

I actually read the article. But the article goes way beyond the extent of detail that was discussed in the class and that makes it very difccult to pin point answers.”

Me: “Just pin point the best you know how.”

End of Quarter Eval

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:47:34 -0800

TA’s at my university are evaluated at the end of the quarter with a standardized survey. But there is an opened ended section on the other side of this survey with “free space” for students to write comments and suggestions meant to improve our TA’s “skills.” One of my students used to the space to write the following, “I love your clothes! Where do you buy them?” Clearly, a job well done. :/

Description of an interaction in a student paper: “We predicted an interaction, such that...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:24:09 -0800

Description of an interaction in a student paper:

“We predicted an interaction, such that females will be rated higher than males”. I corrected him/her by writing: “That’s not a description of an interaction. That’s a description of a main effect of gender.”

Revised paper:

“We predicted an interaction, such that there will be a main effect of gender such that females will be rated higher than males.”

“Thus, when looking back at the research provided, there seems to be a gaping hole in...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:33:31 -0800

“Thus, when looking back at the research provided, there seems to be a gaping hole in science.”

“The surveys were passed out to the participants. The experimenter collected the papers when...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:06:40 -0800

“The surveys were passed out to the participants. The experimenter collected the papers when all the participants flipped the paper over just as they started.”

Umm… so the participants weren’t even allowed to respond?

This is why free response questions are awesome.

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:02:59 -0800

This is why free response questions are awesome.

In response to a question about what conclusions could be drawn from a confidence interval: Meaning...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:02:47 -0800

In response to a question about what conclusions could be drawn from a confidence interval:

Meaning that the effect on endurance of the herbs is somewhere in between that interval, especially if the null hypothesis is true and there is an effect, which clearly, according to the test or situation there is an effect, the question now is what the effect is and where in the interval it lies, and how large the interval is.

I gave her a 0 but told her she should run for governor of Alaska.

An email from a rather notorious student during the Spring 2010 quarter: “The title of the...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:58:59 -0800

An email from a rather notorious student during the Spring 2010 quarter:

“The title of the syllabus says ‘Spring 2009’ instead of ‘Spring 2010’. Is that correct?”

Sure it’s correct - this course operates in a slightly different time zone than the real world. When you step into the classroom, it’s suddenly 1 year ago. Didn’t you know that?

my favorite student (email 1 of an endless number....)

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:58:56 -0800

Student email:

“I received an email from you about your office hours being changed to 12:30 to 1:30 on Tuesday. I am wondering is that going to be for everybody? Or can I still come to your regular office hours? I realy appreciate if you can respond as soon as possible, since the final is getting close.”

Oh, no, no- I changed office hours for everyone BUT you. Of course I’ll hold private office hours just for you!!

My first COMM paper already has a delightful gem: “All codes agreed on 95% of the...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:10:17 -0800

My first COMM paper already has a delightful gem:

“All codes agreed on 95% of the measures.”

She did the experiment by herself. I already emailed the professor asking if it’s ok to have 95% agreement with yourself.

From an undergrad’s neuroanatomy exam: Question: “A bump on the surface of the...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:07:26 -0800

From an undergrad’s neuroanatomy exam:

Question: “A bump on the surface of the cortex is called a _________.” Answer: “Gyro”.

Mmm, brains, the classic Greek delicacy!

From the “Methods” section of a student’s lab report: “For details on the ...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:00:00 -0800

From the “Methods” section of a student’s lab report: “For details on the methods, refer to the lab manual”. I wonder if he answers “For the answer, refer to the textbook or ask the professor” for every exam question.

“Even though the p-value was 0.62, the significant results indicate...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:49:11 -0800

“Even though the p-value was 0.62, the significant results indicate that…”

Your TA Hates You

Animals Disappointed in Your College Performance is excellent.

Nope!

came across this old student email… “Hi [TA], …Dr. ** didn’t mention that...

So, I was editing a draft of a student’s paper, and saw that this student had left...

A group of students literally put this in the introduction to...

“Dear [TA],Thanks for your response. But I guess you missed my second questions about slide...

End of Quarter Eval

Description of an interaction in a student paper: “We predicted an interaction, such that...

“Thus, when looking back at the research provided, there seems to be a gaping hole in...

“The surveys were passed out to the participants. The experimenter collected the papers when...

This is why free response questions are awesome.

In response to a question about what conclusions could be drawn from a confidence interval: Meaning...

An email from a rather notorious student during the Spring 2010 quarter: “The title of the...

my favorite student (email 1 of an endless number....)

My first COMM paper already has a delightful gem: “All codes agreed on 95% of the...

My first COMM paper already has a delightful gem:

“All codes agreed on 95% of the measures.”

She did the experiment by herself. I already emailed the professor asking if it’s ok to have 95% agreement with yourself.

From an undergrad’s neuroanatomy exam: Question: “A bump on the surface of the...

From an undergrad’s neuroanatomy exam:

Question: “A bump on the surface of the cortex is called a _________.” Answer: “Gyro”.

Mmm, brains, the classic Greek delicacy!

From the “Methods” section of a student’s lab report: “For details on the ...

From the “Methods” section of a student’s lab report: “For details on the methods, refer to the lab manual”. I wonder if he answers “For the answer, refer to the textbook or ask the professor” for every exam question.

“Even though the p-value was 0.62, the significant results indicate...

“Even though the p-value was 0.62, the significant results indicate that…”

It’s too early for vodka. It’s too early for vodka. It’s too early for vodka. It’s too early for vodka. It’s too early for vodka…