Sometimes the professor is learning too

So I gave my first physics exam today.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I want to be a good professor, and I want to be fair. I wanted to make sure my students were adequately prepared for the exam. I let them have a cheat sheet so they wouldn't have to worry about memorizing a zillion equations. I gave them a practice test so they'd know what the format of the test was like: 12 multiple choice, 3 problems to work (only 2 would be graded, their choice). It was in class, so a 50-minute time limit. (Could maybe push it to 55 or 57.)

The multiple choice questions for the two exams (practice and real) were taken from the same test bank. I was very, very careful to include the same number of problems from each chapter and the same number of conceptual vs. calculation questions. (Like, really careful. As in "Two calculation and 1 conceptual from chapter 2; 1 calculation and 2 conceptual from chapter 3..." etc.)

The three short answer questions were distributed as follows. Practice: (1) (stationary) block on a ramp; (2) projectile; (3) relative velocities. Exam: (1) (moving) block on a ramp; (2) projectile; (3) vector addition. Admittedly, the block on a ramp problem for the real exam was probably harder than on the practice, but the vector addition problem was way easier than the relative velocity problem. And they only had to do two short answer; I figured it evened out.

We started the exam.

Fifty-five minutes later, not one single student had finished.

Uh oh.

Soon I had to call time, the next class was beating down the door.

I had a collection of students follow me to my office, as they were totally freaking out. (Rightfully so. I probably would have too.) Including two of my best students who have consistently been scoring extremely high on the homework sets. We talked about things for a few minutes, and I told them that I would think about it and do something. But I assured them that I *would* do something, and I wouldn't fail them all.

I considered a few options as to what to do: give them more time Monday...just curve it very generously...let them redo short answer problems they missed for half credit.... I got some advice from the prof in the office next to mine (he is truly a seasoned professor and very experienced). I was leaning towards letting them redo the short answer problems that they missed, but he strongly recommended against that. And while I initially liked the option of giving them more time on Monday....that just doesn't seem feasible when I actually stopped to think about it. (For so many reasons.)

The test was just clearly too long. In the past I've heard and used the rule of thumb that I should give them at least twice as much time as it takes me to do it. The prof I talked to said that is not enough time for these types of tests....that I need to gauge about 5 times as long. Oh. Well...now we know.

I feel really terrible for putting my students through such torture. Teaching physics is such a different beast than I'm used to. I'm learning lots of things. But I am learning, and next time will be better.

Later in the afternoon I had the multiple choice section graded. The distribution, remarkably, was still roughly Gaussian (bell-curve shaped), peaking at 8/12 (67%). Obviously a bit lower than I'd like, but not horrible. (High score was 11/12.) I haven't graded the short answer (which is likely to be worse, since many of the students didn't have time to get to it), but it seems to me that a generous curve is definitely the way to go.

Although honestly, I'm a little scared to face my students Monday morning. I think they might all hate me right now.

Settling in

I survived my first three weeks of classes. It hasn't been easy!

I wasn't expecting it to be easy, but I figured since I've taught before (two semesters of adjunct stuff), that I'd be more prepared than I otherwise might be. Maybe that's true, but what I didn't realize was that the relationship between number of classes taught and the work required does not scale linearly. (That is, doubling the number of classes from one to two more than doubles the work and stress level.)

My schedule consists of teaching two classes and working twice a week in the walk-in homework lab (two 3-hour shifts). Tutoring counts as one course in my teaching load, but seriously -- a set 6 hours a week is way less time than I'd spend on another course, so I'm happy!! I'm teaching College Physics I (algebra-based/non-calculus) MWF at 8am and General Physical Science (GSci, like Physical Science 100 at BYU) for non-majors T/Th at 2pm. Teaching everyday means a new lecture to prep everyday. It's not great. And having an 8am class is really not great. (If you know me....you know I really don't love waking up early.) Also, I'd prefer to have both classes on one day and then do other things on the other days.*

Initially I figured teaching GSci wouldn't be so bad, as it's a similar audience that I've taught intro astronomy to before, and I really enjoy that. I was a little nervous about physics, mostly because I haven't thought about this stuff in longer than I care to admit. But the truth is, I'm enjoying teaching physics a lot more than I thought I would. In fact, I really like it! Maybe more than I like GSci. (It's possible that I've really, really missed doing math. I love math!**)

Initially when classes started I was really having trouble balancing everything. Okay, honestly, I still am, but it's getting better as I'm starting to settle into a routine. There's just so much work to do, and there is ALWAYS work to do. Though unlike research, which is also never done, the stuff I have to do MUST be done NOW. I have to give this lecture tomorrow; I have to grade this homework to return tomorrow; I have to have this test written by next Tuesday. I am LOVING the teaching; I love being with my students and talking about science. I want to do a really good job and doing a good job takes as much time as you let it. Since I have to prep a new lecture everyday, I feel like I'm doing almost nothing else but prepping lectures. Except now I also have homework assignments to create/grade and exams to write/grade. Some nights I stay up really late, some days I get up really early. (Or both.....a couple times I went to bed at 4am then went to campus at 6am.) I'm learning how to reach the point of "good enough." (I also finally got access to the instructor materials for the textbooks I use. Seriously, no one tells the new person anything! Wow, instructor materials sure help!)

Now that I'm 3 weeks in, things are starting to settle down a bit. When the semester started, everything just started happening at once and I felt like it was all that I could do to stay afloat. (Honestly, I'm not sure how well I did at even that.) The good news is, overall I feel like my classes are going well and my students are happy. (Well, as happy as can be expected.) Aside from almost sleeping through my 8am class two weeks ago (alarm didn't go off, and I woke up at 7:55am....was in class by 8:05), I haven't had any major foul ups yet. Thankfully.

I'm still working at getting my schedule back in balance. I'm trying to sleep more. (Got 12 hours on Wednesday because I had a free evening!) I've only gone to the gym once in the last 3 weeks, so I'm working on that too.

I like to put pictures in every post, so here are some. I love cooking, so I've spent some of my time on the weekends doing that. Some of the things I've cooked in the last 3 weeks or so:

Whole wheat bread; great recipe I've made before, but it didn't actually taste good because I think my flour was too old. :(

Chili, with a side of Physical Science reading.

Margherita pizza; good, but too much oregano in the sauce.

Butternut squash soup with homemade French bread, yum!!

Chicken Tikka Masala with Naan.

This looks fancy, but it's not really. It's just chicken sauteed with vegetables (yellow squash, zucchini, onions, and tomatoes) sprinkled with fresh shredded Parmesan cheese. I've decided that real Parmesan cheese makes everything look fancy AND taste better.

Oh, and one of the best! Homemade cookies and cream ice cream made without an ice cream machine! Amazing recipe (although a little sweet), what a great find. (My sister Sue found it on this website, if you're interested. The possibility for flavors are endless! I want to try more.)

I made chocolate chip cookies too, first thing made in my awesome kitchenaid! I don't have a picture of them, but here's a picture of my beautiful kitchenaid.

And basically I really need someone to come eat my food with me.

Anyway, I really need to get back to work. I have two homework assignments to grade and a physics exam for next week to write before the weekend is over and I want to get an early start. Oh, and I promise pictures of my apartment are coming soon. (I still have a lot of stuff all over my bedroom, so I'm waiting to take pictures of everything until that's taken care of.)



*Like prep my classes. Or, I don't know, like research. Someday I might do research again. Oh, and also start applying for jobs in the next few weeks, since my position here is only set to last a year.
** I realize that statement might make me sound incredibly nerdy, but....I have a PhD in astronomy. I'm a professional nerd with the degree(s) to prove it. And I'm okay with that.