@e38e83a6 I don’t know. If cheat prevention due to a non-negligible number of students taking your class “not actually trying to learn things” is a primary concern which requires specific measures instead of a relaxed, participatory learning (and testing) environment, it sounds like there are larger, systemic problems here.
Of course I’m not suggesting there’s a problem with your teaching system. I’m talking about a larger system where students who don’t necessarily want to learn things are somehow compelled to take classes they don’t want to actively participate in.
Then, I’ve always been critical of the tendency to position students as bad faith actors in the design of teaching and evaluation methods which feels ever-present in academia, so there’s that.
As I said. I don’t know, and I don’t want to assume too much. It’s just that this whole post left a bad taste in my mouth.
@33df3aef Yeah, the whole system is rather screwed up. I know a large fraction of the students in my class just need a "science credit with a lab" and don't particularly want to be there. And if I don't have something like a quiz or a homework assignment, most of my students won't actually do any of the learning, so this is what I'm stuck doing. There definitely has to be a better way, but this is the system I'm in, and I shared all these tips for other profs who might be in a similar position.
@e38e83a6 thanks for the answer, and I apologize if I sounded accusatory in my comment.
I left academia before I handed in my PhD dissertation which was three quarters written already because of burnout and systems I couldn’t exist in with a clear conscience were the culprit.
I’m neurodivergent and the way my brain is wired makes me extra sensitive to perceived injustices, dysfunctional rule sets such as the science credit requirement you mention etc.
I didn’t know I was wired differently at the time, and whenever these anti cheat measures and such practices put unnecessary stress on top of the expected amount from the assignment or exam itself, I blamed myself for not being smart enough or not studying enough. In reality, I was just having autistic meltdown after autistic meltdown during tests but I didn’t know that.
I guess I’m just venting here now but if I somehow managed to at least bring up a certain perspective as to how potential neurodivergent students might be affected from the additional stress, I’ll feel like I’ve done something useful.
Thanks again for the reply :)
@33df3aef Thank you for sharing that! I do really appreciate hearing how lots of different people's brains work. And I'm sorry you felt pushed out. Academia is a really weird place. Slowly trying to make it less toxic, but wow there's so much to fight against...
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