So, finally this semester is over. I gotta say it was no easy ride but things seem to have gone good.
Some time ago I posted about teaching at a ranked university and I had high expectations about it. Although I expected more, I have to admit things went much better here. Students seemed more interested (not totally, but more) and one thing that really surprised me was that they were grateful to me for teaching them. I got a lot of thank you's for doing such a good job and for making it fun. This is a first, no student had thanked or congratulated me for the way I thought them. It feels good, and I think that is the main difference between the students here and the students at my old university: they appreciate their education and don't necessarily take it for granted.
I found, however, a problem with the grading. There is a lot of subjectivity when transforming a number into a letter. I feel all the grades I gave are appropriate to the student's work/abilities but they don't always feel that way. Two or three people told me they think they deserve a better grade because their lab partner got a letter higher than them. That makes no sense to me: Give me a better grade because he/she worked harder or knows more than me. But then again, who's right? I guess I'll never find out.
Anyways... let's wait for next semester. Will it be even better? Happy Holidays!
5 days ago
