Cause and Effect?

The first time I taught a particular physics course, the class schedule was three days per week, 50 minute class meetings. I designed my exams for that length of time. The students did well and most students finished comfortably within the 50 minute period. The next time I taught the same course, the class met two days per week, 75 minute class meetings. Another difference was that the previous class was a small class at a community college, and the second class was approaching 200 students at a university. Anyways, I gave the same exams, so I could contrast performance. What surprised me was how many students took the whole time and the class as a whole did worse. The next time I taught the course was the same setup - large class, two days at 75 minutes each, at the university. This class also thought the exams were too long, but did really well overall. I'm currently teaching this same course to a small class at a community college, which meets two days per week, 2 hours each time. These students find the exams too long, although these are the same design, and in some cases the same questions, as the very first time I taught the course. In fact, the reason why I'm posting this now is that I had two students this week need MORE than the two hours to finish the exam.

So, what's going on here? I've come up with some possible issues:

• First time through, I graded everything. Homeworks, exams, etc... The other times, TAs and/or online homeworks were incorporated.
• The most recent section is made up of slightly different majors.
• Test-taking expands to fill the available time.
• Some classes are just better than others.

I've eliminated some possibilities:

• Small class vs. large class - I've had both do well.
• Community college vs. university - I've had both do well.

Any thoughts?

The Deal

I have made a deal with an astronomy student: if he can manage to bring both a pencil and a Scantron to the next quiz, I will bring cookies to the final quiz. This deal was made publicly, in front of his classmates. I'll know the results in two weeks.

The things I do...

I am SO me sometimes

Did laundry earlier today. As I was hanging my four newly clean shirts, I realized three were gray and one was black. Typical.

Just got back from Extraordinary Desserts. I had a hot chocolate (made with Valrhona) and a piece of Viking cake (chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache...). I may well be drunk.

Changing Times

One of the things I appreciated most about my time in Arizona was that it didn't observe Daylight Savings Time. (Trust me, nobody wants the Sun to set later in the summer there.) I despise changing the time, falling back or springing forward. Nowadays, it's easier. Our cell phones, computers, cable boxes... they all change automatically. But my inner fourth-grader will always remember walking to school, across a vacant playground and then having all eyes turn to her as she walked into class an hour late. Feh.

Today - watched Pats-Colts. It was fun to watch such a good game without rooting for either team, sort of an "NFL Appreciation" class. During half-time, I put together a loaf of pumpkin bread and a dozen pumpkin muffins. Tasty breakfasts await us this week!

Spoiled

Today started off with breakfast prepared for me by Greg. He even brought it to me where I was sitting on the couch still in my robe. I'm a spoiled brat. Later, we went to our favorite pizza place and walked along the beach. I took another walk tonight by the mist-shrouded bay. Not such a bad day, hmm? Hope you're all well!

Do you agree?

I think the peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio in Reese's Miniatures has improved. The balance seems to reflect more the perfection of the regular Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Perhaps I shall continue testing this hypothesis.

Happy Halloween!

An observation

In the past couple of weeks, I've baked banana nut bread and brownies. There is a coffee cake in the oven as I type. Methinks I've moved back to a cooler climate, and it's baking season! Mmm...

Not Complaining

My college has canceled classes through next Monday due to the fires in the surrounding areas. As much as it's annoying to lose a week in the second half of the semester, I won't complain... so far, class time is all I've lost, and so many others aren't as lucky.

Fire

My college closed early today and will be closed tomorrow because of the fires in the San Diego region. Several of my colleagues and students were evacuated from their homes. The air quality is bad, the car is covered with ashes, and we are miles away from the fires. As I sit here on the couch in our apartment, I can see ashes in the air outside, and the color of the light coming in through the window is just plain wrong. Although all the windows and doors are closed, I can still smell smoke.

Here's to hoping that the fires are contained soon and to being safe and well.

Back in MY Day

Last week I did a calculation on the board in my physics class. The physics was simple (just two lines), but the algebra to solve the problem involved most of the board. Must to my dismay (horror? surprise?), instead of writing down the derivation, several of the students took out their camera phones and snapped pics of it. "If I copy it down, I might make a mistake," was the response to my, well, sarcastic questioning. The art of note-taking is fading, fading... gone.

About half of my physics students are architecture majors. If you aren't aware, architecture students get worked hard in their classes. I understand that, truly, but there's a level of work that you need to put into physics to understand it. Problem-solving is a skill learned through practice, not just by watching someone else perform calculations. I approached a few of my students about their (non-existant) homework scores, and they sheepishly admitted they needed to put in more work. But they also said, "At least when you were a physics major, you could just concentrate on the physics, without having all this other work to do." Yes, I remember, back in the day, when I was required to take only one class each semester so I could give my attention solely to learning physics.... Everybody's own major is the hardest, isn't it?

Missing Arizona

I'm sick. I wanted spicy food. So we drove to a place where we knew we could get really spicy food, but we couldn't find parking. For blocks around. In Phoenix, there would have been multiple choices to get really spicy food, all with ample parking. I usually don't miss Arizona, but today, I miss some of the conveniences.

On the other hand, after we gave up and came home, Greg heated up some chicken noodle soup, which I dosed with hot sauce. He's always a sweetie, especially when I'm not feeling well. In a little while, I will look at him beseechingly, and he'll make me cocoa. Mmmm...curative cocoa...

Blur

The week goes by so quickly. The class schedule at my new college is concentrated Mon-Thurs, so I have three day weekends. Yay! But that also means I have four really hectic workdays. It is all a blur, they go by so fast. In fact, I'm writing this during "free time" - my students are taking an exam. Just thought I take some time to jot some thoughts on my blog:

• I forgot my watch today. I feel naked and disoriented.
• Car insurance in CA is waaaaaay more expensive than in AZ.
• Facebook is very, very weird.
• I get stranger questions in my astronomy classes here than I did in AZ. I don't know if it's a difference in background, or if my previous students were more shy and didn't pipe up.
• I'm hungry.
• It's that time in the semester where the students are infecting us with their germs. Two lab techs and a faculty member taken down so far. Wish me luck.
• My new students didn't appreciate the Mimas vs. Death Star comparison. I feel old.
• Since work started, I no longer see the sea as often, but there are some new pics at my Picasa space.

Test is done. Back to work!

Sputnik

Sputnik was launched 50 years ago today. NPR has thorough coverage, including Daniel Schorr's memories of being in Moscow that day. All the talk of Sputnik reminded me that I hadn't yet mentioned that y'all should go see In the Shadow of the Moon, which features Apollo astronauts discussing their missions. I, of course, wept during he whole movie. How we've failed those courageous, risk-taking, intelligent, driven men. We used to know how to dream.

Unseemly

When the students ask me what would happen to somebody without a spacesuit on the surface of the Moon, I always blame them for the grim discussion that follows while I smile maniacally. Students seem to find my proclivities for impacts and other cosmic catastrophes to be somewhat unseemly.

After class today, I was paid a high compliment: "This is my only class where all the students pay attention." Think there's a correlation? ;)

Just so pretty...

... I almost can't stand it - Saturn's Tethys, Rhea, Pandora, and F ring, from Cassini

Sighs Fits All

I woke up with morning with a horrible neckache and migraine. I only had a 13-hour workday ahead of me, so no problem, right? Greg was very nice to me, rubbing my neck and driving me to and from work, but it was still not how I wanted to start my day. Sigh.

My physics exam seemed to promote more frustration than work. I can't seem to break some of their bad habits, no matter how hard I reinforce some of the concepts. Don't plug in numbers right away. If you have two unknowns, you need two equations (an idea they can recite, but do not comprehend). Sigh..

After my astronomy class tonight, two students came up to me to complain about another student who asks somewhat, um, well, ...let's just say she annoys them with the questions she asks in class. This is actually my least favorite problem to deal with; how do I tend to an individual student's needs without alienating the rest of the class? It's a fine line, and I need to figure out how to deal with this student in a positive way. Sigh.

Tonight Greg picked me up from work and took me to walk along the beach on the way home. D'aww... We saw a seal on the beach. First we noticed that a man was taking photos of something and then we realized it was a seal. We kept our distance, but we a bit alarmed how close the man was to the seal. Then he started bothering the seal, getting too close, making the seal move away. When we realized that we were rooting for the seal and carnage, we decided it was time to leave. Sigh.

My calculator is dying

I've purchased new batteries. Didn't help. I've tried resetting the calculator. Nope. The bottom row of buttons are only functioning some of the time. I'm sure you're thinking that I should just get a new calculator, but you don't understand. This calculator and I have been together a long time. How long? I'll be turning 37 in December, and this calculator was a gift from my sister for my 18th birthday. Yup. Half my life. A B.S in astrophysics... a Ph.D. in physics... all with my trusty little HP 20S. :(

Is that the neighbors?

My streak of fourteen years without an earthquake came to an end this morning. I must admit, I enjoyed the earthquake-free aspect of living in Phoenix. I guess it's balanced out by the natural disaster known as the months of May-October there, though.

A Few Musings

• San Diego has two alternative radio stations. They both play a lot of Nine Inch Nails. Happy, happy...
• The NPR station, however, sucks.
• I've heard criticism of San Diego's food scene, but we're dining quite well.
• I miss Four Peaks, though - at the end of my first week of work, I really wanted to celebrate there.
• I should have done more work the past few days, but I'm a member of a union... working on Labor Day would have violated its spirit, right? Sigh.
• This weekend makes me glad we picked an apartment with an A/C.
• I just finished reading The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, andThe King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. Read them. They were excellent.
• It's bizarre living in such a touristy area. We peeked out at the beach this morning after breakfast (yummy Belgian waffles) and decided to not brave the hordes, but rather return later. We have the option to return later! Every day is a day at the beach. ;)
• As a corollary, despite judicious usage of suncreen, I have the worst farmer tan ever.

First Month

We've now spent a full month in our new home. I've started my new job. I still feel somewhat out of place - not quite settled in the apartment, not quite settled in the office. The new students are good, though - eager, respectful, hard-working, responsive... I like them quite a bit so far. I don't know that they'll see the best of me this semester, as I figure out all the ins and outs of the new workplace. I'll try my best, though.

I continue to enjoy the beachy vibe. We've spent part of every day by the water. I guess that's what happens when you spend over a decade in the desert - you learn to treasure water. I especially like wading in the ocean. During my time at UCLA I was too busy to spend much time at the beach; I can only recall a handful of visits. I think I'm making up for it now. Not that I'm not busy, but I am scheduling in beach time. Very important.

I hope y'all are having a great holiday weekend!