Annoying "Instructors" Frustrate Me Greatly

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by StefanM, Sep 6, 2011.

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  1. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    You know what is very, very annoying?

    Being docked a letter grade for an APA issue (which is very debatable) on a single citation for a discussion board post of a whopping 200 words introducing yourself to the class. ( Did I mention that the class is a quantitative class? ) After exchanging several emails, no progress has been made.

    It wouldn't anger me so much if the discussion forum were relevant to the topic or were worth fewer points. The post, however, was worth 50 points, which is equivalent to 5 quizzes, and is nearly as valuable as a much more involved assignment the following week. I'd still be annoyed over the APA issue, but I could live with it if it weren't worth so much.

    Furthermore, the course is very poorly designed (not the instructor's fault, I know) as the first week has almost no work of significance (only a non-graded quiz about policy and the forum post), and the 2nd week requires 6 quizzes as well as an assignment in manipulating data, generating visuals, and preparing a report.

    Beyond this, why on earth are discussion board posts about issues not relevant to statistics worth much of anything? I'm not taking this class to learn how to introduce myself. I'm taking it to increase my knowledge of statistics. If I fail to earn the grade based on my statistical work, then so be it. I just am horribly frustrated at the idea of taking significant hits due to very minor, very debatable issues related to APA formatting. After all, this isn't an undergraduate course. A B in a doctoral level course might as well be a D in an undergraduate one.

    Of course, the instructor didn't grade the first week's post until the third week of an eight week class. At this point, I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop on some random bit of minutiae over which I stand to take a significant hit.

    I might change my mind later, but I'm pretty much at the point of decision to withdraw from the program after this class. I see no point in paying tuition to do unrelated assignments over which I will be nit-picked. If I wanted to blow money to get criticized, I'd take a trip to see my mother-in-law.

    /rant
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 6, 2011
  2. dl_mba

    dl_mba Member

    School name please. or u can PM me.

     
  3. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    This instructor might should be reported because I'm pretty sure the rule there is that they grade and return assignments in one week or less. Almost all of the instructors I have had operate on about a 4 day turnaround. 3 weeks is ridiculous.
     
  4. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    Well, the instructor seems to be less nit-picky, based on the most recent round of graded assignments.

    I suppose I will stick things out.

    My only question now is whether or not to finish the EdD or bail at the EdS, but I have several months before I have to make that decision.
     
  5. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I thought you had already decided to bail out. That same point of decision will arrive for me in a few months too. I think I'm going to stick it out, aside from the bugs we have talked about, the program is pretty good and the intensive classes are great.
     
  6. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    I've gone back and forth over the issue, so I've just decided to go with the flow until I have to make the decision.
     
  7. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I'm a stickler for APA, but requiring it for an introduction message is ridiculous. I make it clear what assignments require APA, but anything else like introductions, questions, etc., I couldn't care less.
     
  8. graymatter

    graymatter Member

    We're talking about LU, right? The oversight of adjuncts there is faaar less than other online programs. And if the faculty member is an on-campus professor (or their TA), then they pretty much have carte-blanche.
     
  9. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    I just got dinged again for not double spacing in Blackboard. Seriously? The only way you can double space reliably in Blackboard is to type the post in a separate program first, and you must copy and paste it into Blackboard. It is absolutely stupid to dock points for formatting that doesn't work well with your LMS.

    Even so, had we only been TOLD that we were supposed to go through this extra effort, I could have done so without too much trouble. It would have been annoying, but I would have done it. In this case, however, I have yet another discussion board post docked a letter grade. Nevermind the fact that the double spacing was NEVER MENTIONED after the first discussion board grading.

    Beyond this, at what point do we get into the ridiculous?

    Should I put a title page on my posts? An abstract? How will I format the running header?

    Keep in mind---this is a statistics class. I have no problem with requiring APA citation format, but this is nit-picking to the extreme.

    I will say this---this instructor is the worst instructor I have had in an online environment, by far.
     
  10. jts

    jts New Member

    I have had professors try to "push" me to work harder by nitpicking. In those cases, I would say that it was beneficial--I ended up working harder and learning more. Your professor, on the other hand, kind of sounds like a jerk.
     
  11. StefanM

    StefanM New Member


    I don't mind nit-picking content as much...or even APA formatting in a formal paper. I understand that it is important to correct errors.

    I just completely reject nit-picking over irrelevant issues driven mostly by the limitations of an LMS.
     
  12. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    So far, I've taken 2 graduate-level statistics courses at RA schools (one of which is also APA-accredited), and didn't have to use APA for either one.

    Sounds like it....I usually hate it when students complain about getting docked points, but it sounds like you have a 100% legitimate complaint.
     
  13. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    I tend to agree with you here. While no one likes to lose points, I can accept the consequences of my mistakes. If I run a t test when the assignment calls for an ANOVA, I expect to lose points. If I incorrectly assess significance, I should be held accountable for it.

    What I do not accept is that I should lose an entire letter grade over irrelevant, unreasonable minutiae. It is incredibly disheartening and frustrating. I will now be forced to spend more time on the discussion board posts to meet the ever-changing formatting requirements than to address the content.

    Here is the kicker: not once has the instructor said anything about the content of the posts--the only issues have been her formatting whims.
     

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