Hm-mmm.
Or at least that was what I was informed of yesterday by a student.
He had an issue with his last exam. I should say he had multiple issues with the exam (mainly stemming from the fact that he got a 62% on it), but I will spare you the details. Instead I will focus on the fact that apparently I expect my students to read my mind. Heaven forbid that the information asked about was not only in the book but was also in my lecture powerpoint and was extensively covered in class.
However, this particular student, when asked a short answer question to provide all the major differences between Topic A and Topic B, thought that providing just one difference should have been enough to get him full credit on the question. He didn't understand why he got less than partial credit on the question and he argued and argued with me. He kept coming back to the same statement, "I didn't know I was expected to read your mind."
How does fully and completely answering the question require any mind-reading? I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that it simply requires actually reading the material, paying attention in class, and studying.
But apparently that is too much to ask, and I should just give everyone full credit if they throw the words DNA, RNA or protein into their answer.
How rude of your student! (I'd like to say I'm surprised, but alas, I cannot.) This is the point in the conversation with Undergrad where I would point out that his/her attitude is veering into disrespectful.
ReplyDelete