In general, class difficulty depends on the teacher, not the material, right?

[WombRaider]

For example, in my Intro to Astronomy class, which most agree is easier than a Chem/Physics class, the test average was 68%. Furthermore, the exact questions for the exam were on the professor's website for everyone to study.

So why such a low class average test score? Horrible Professor? The fact that 1/6 of the fresman will be on probation? What are your ideas?

 

[FoBoT]

lack of effort?

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
lack of effort?

That'd be a good place to start.
Lack of interest
Lack of ability

Any of those could be causes...

Too many blame the instructors/professors for bad grades, when if they'd have tried harder/done the homework instead of partying/used good study skills they'd have gotten much better grades...

 

[FoBoT]

yes, because you can learn almost anything on your own, no school or teacher, if you have access to something that has the info, like a book or the internet

it is just that most people don't have the motivation to do it that way, so they use a structured process, like school/teacher/class etc etc

 

[WombRaider]

I'm thinking intro classes usually have lower test scores in my experience as a sophmore thus far. This is because of those freshman drop outs who skew the average (although the standard deviation was only 12). For those who choose to continue their education and actually care about it, they'll receive better grades.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Lack of effort.

I took a Non-Western Music class as part of my BS Comp Sci years ago and was top of the class (~100 students) on all of the tests. I didn't put too much effort into the class beyond Reading The Friendly (textbook) and listening to the supplied music samples.

 

[effowe]

It's partially the professors because many of them grade differently (with/without curves) and some just plain can't teach the material well. I know that the teacher didn't matter when it came down to a hard math class for me, though. I retook calc II 2 or 3 times and it wasn't the professor that was holding me back, it was my understanding (or lack of) of the underlying concepts that led me to failure.

 

[djheater]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
lack of effort?

That's my take on it as well.

I'm an adult college student. I hold down a more than full time job and take night classes. I aced all the pre-req courses in the community college I was at, and put it down to it being "community college" I've just completed two 300 level courses (granted in psych, though one was statitistics) in which the instructors make a point of telling the students that the courses "have the same requirements as the regular classes" and "don't expect it to be easy, or to be given concessions for being adult students". I take notes, do the reading, and ask questions if I'm confused. I handle the assignments like I would a due project. I have not had an issues getting A's in these classes and, from what I can see, will probably get A's in the rest.

I would guess that many college lack the motivation and commitment to doing well that I have, In short, they're not willing to put forth the effort required to do well.

In business as well as school, you sometimes get crappy instructors\managers, you have to figure out what they're looking for and give that to them. If you're getting graded poorly that's your fault and you have to change it by providing what the client\instructor\manager wants from you.

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
yes, because you can learn almost anything on your own, no school or teacher, if you have access to something that has the info, like a book or the internet

it is just that most people don't have the motivation to do it that way, so they use a structured process, like school/teacher/class etc etc

Lack of motivation isn't always the reason for doing better within a structured environment. As is the case with many specialty areas, sometimes there's just too damn much information out there to sift through. It helps to have someone who's been in the field for a while, knows the general and prevailing trends of current work/research, and can help point you in the right direction.

Could you learn it all on your own eventually? Possibly, but it wouldn't be the most efficient way of going about it.

 

[MrPickins]

I think it's similar to my current Geology class.

Many people schedule it to fulfill a science requirement, and think it'll be a breeze. When they realize that there is actual material to learn, they all freak out.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: djheater

Originally posted by: FoBoT
lack of effort?

That's my take on it as well.

I'm an adult college student. I hold down a more than full time job and take night classes. I aced all the pre-req courses in the community college I was at, and put it down to it being "community college" I've just completed two 300 level courses (granted in psych, though one was statitistics) in which the instructors make a point of telling the students that the courses "have the same requirements as the regular classes" and "don't expect it to be easy, or to be given concessions for being adult students". I take notes, do the reading, and ask questions if I'm confused. I handle the assignments like I would a due project. I have not had an issues getting A's in these classes and, from what I can see, will probably get A's in the rest.

I would guess that many college lack the motivation and commitment to doing well that I have, In short, they're not willing to put forth the effort required to do well.

In business as well as school, you sometimes get crappy instructors\managers, you have to figure out what they're looking for and give that to them. If you're getting graded poorly that's your fault and you have to change it by providing what the client\instructor\manager wants from you.

bravo!

my wife just went back to college , she is 20 years older than the "kids"
she is amazed at their lack of interest. most don't participate, don't ask questions, give her dirty looks when she asks questions and of course, skip class a fair amount

she also wonders if the "who is paying for it" angle comes into play. as an old person/adult, her tuition is coming out of our normal household budget, so we are aware of the impact paying for it has on our lives, where if the "kids" are getting their tuition paid by parents or student loans, they may not have the same stake in the game as she does

 

[Anubis]

most of the time it is lack of effort on the students part, however in some cases poor teachers can be to blaim, its REALLY REALLY hard to learn calc from someone whos accent is so bad they might as well be speaking a foreign languadge at 8AM

 

[Alistar7]

In general, class difficulty depends on the teacher, not the material, right?

I had a former 2nd grade math teacher in her first year teaching analysis to high schoolers. Material itself was not that difficult, I am pretty sure we almost made her understand most of it by the end of the year.

You could have a motivated, engaging genuis teaching you quantum physics but that does not mean you will easily learn the subject, if at all. Effort and intellectual potential will determine the level of difficulty, IMO the teacher is the least determining factor.

 

[PrinceofWands]

The teacher is definitely the biggest part of it, but there are going to be classes of low grades every once in a while that are completely outside the control of anyone (except maybe the students).

 

[alkemyst]

my astronomy class had a similar grade...I thought it was just kids picking a class they thought was easy.

We did have a first day big drop out when the prof announced it wasn't astrology.

Many of the people that remained still failed.

I have found it's really the material that determines the class. A professor can make it impossible if they want, but they are usually handled.

 

[lyssword]

material I think biggest role

 

[novasatori]

both in my opinion

I've taken the hardest class in my major course plan and it was just hard because of the material covered, really hard, but the teacher was really good and knew his stuff. I did really well, but I've also had classes that should have been easier than the hardest class but I actually did worse.

Why? Because when I'd ask the teacher for help, she'd tell me to get together with my peers, and when I told her a group of 6 of us were already meeting to try and learn the material, she said she was sorry, and there was nothing further she could do to help me. She had no clue about the topic she was discussing, and all she did was read pre made power points out loud, that we already had access to with the book. However, due to the nature of the class it didn't really help any, since the course consisted of lots of actual problems and stuff that weren't covered in the PP only the theory was.

Wound up with a D, and when she left the room for teacher evaluations, everyone started talking about how she was a shitty teacher...

I retook it with a different professor and got an A, and I also don't think this teacher is at the school anymore.

So its a combination, a terrible teacher will certainly not help any, but there are just some classes that are really difficult.

 

[BigJ]

The teacher can play a huge part in it.

I've taken Computer Science courses at UMD (University of Maryland) and a SUNY (State University of New York) school. UMD is supposed to be a very good CS school, but because of the teachers here at my SUNY, I've actually come to understand the material far better than I ever did at UMD. It's one thing to just memorize a bunch of shit and pass the test. It's another thing for the material to "click" and for you to actually understand.

 

[DrPizza]

I'd have to estimate, the teacher is about 20% of it, the student is 80% of it, be it ability or effort.

 

[TecHNooB]

A little off topic... how many of you actually do the 40-50 hours/week for academics thing?

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
I'd have to estimate, the teacher is about 20% of it, the student is 80% of it, be it ability or effort.

Haha, you're only 20%