Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.
Official Bitch about daily life in NUIG!
Options
Comments
-
-
-
Along these lines; the other day I went in to the library at 8:30 because I needed to talk to someone at the front desk about something and wanted to avoid the queues. After that was sorted I took a desk to check something.
Around me were a few very enterprising early birds. Probably got out of bed at seven or half seven, made it in to the library just as it opens. 8:45 in the morning and there's some young one sitting with her laptop, books and pad beside her, checking facebook and shopping for clothes online.
Who exactly do you think you're fooling here?JohnCleary wrote: »In fairness I take 5 minute breaks every half hour or so just to ease my mind. Same as above, when I go in first thing, I tend to get my e-mails etc. out of the way (granted not facebook/shopping online) because it'll be at the back of my mind otherwise. Just get the playtime out of the way and then flat out for an hour or so.
I'm sure if someone passed me in the library at the 'wrong time' and saw me e-mailing they'd have the same assumption as you... so don't be so quick to judge!
(PS. My method of breaks works for me... I know i've nailed the 3 exams i've had so far... 3 more to go!)
I'd be the same as John here, have to take breaks, just check emails, check FB (quickly) and check Boards, maybe the news too. With what I'm studying at the moment I'm also watching tutorial videos, if people pass by it might seem like I'm doing nothing but I actually am
!
Yesterday though, the same people I mentioned earlier in the thread were across from me again. Heard them talking about getting a taxi to Salthill for an exam they had at half two, (I was trying to study and they were talking loudly). Anyway, they obviously had come in early for some late cramming for the exam... Spent the WHOLE time pissing themselves, like not even trying to keep it down. Kept talking, generally doing nothing!
I went to lunch and when I came back, they were gone. Happy days for all around me! About half 5 or 6 they arrive back in, noticably less chirpy, and started "studying" again. Something really shut them up though, possibly the fact they knew nothing that came up in their exam? Here's hopin, Karma's a bitch:D!0 -
JohnCleary wrote: »In fairness I take 5 minute breaks every half hour or so just to ease my mind. Same as above, when I go in first thing, I tend to get my e-mails etc. out of the way (granted not facebook/shopping online) because it'll be at the back of my mind otherwise. Just get the playtime out of the way and then flat out for an hour or so.
I'm sure if someone passed me in the library at the 'wrong time' and saw me e-mailing they'd have the same assumption as you... so don't be so quick to judge!
(PS. My method of breaks works for me... I know i've nailed the 3 exams i've had so far... 3 more to go!)
She was at it for the full forty minutes I was in the library 0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
reap-a-rat wrote: »My point was that they are CLEARLY not only disturbing me, but also evryone else around me. I already stated earlier in the thread that I have no problem with someone sitting at their laptop all day doing nothing as long as they aren't being loud, disruptive and annoying. Please read all my comments before telling me what is and is not my business in future, sir.
"As long as they're not disturbing you or taking a computer you need to use..."
Your advice is good, you'd do well to take it
0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
I'm afraid that's a perennial and age-old problem in every university, and a very difficult one to balance.I think the three big problems with lecturers at Galway are:
1) "Prestige" lecturers - People who are accomplished in their field and make the university look good, but can't teach a course worth sh*t.
Academic staff have two roles (at least) ... as researchers and as teachers. Unfortunately, the best researchers are not always the good teachers or vice versa.
And the standard of research and researchers in departments / the university IS important to you, though it may not appear so at first glance.
It is on that standard to a great extent that the the standard of the university, the department and therefore your degree is judged by the outside world.
Most universities in the last decade have made a concerted effort to improve the standard of actual teaching by providing professional development courses in teaching for existing and incoming lecturers. It's a slow process, though, not helped by the fact that 90% of lecturers seem to believe that they're naturally wonderful teachers, even when they aren't! :rolleyes:
I know the type, and you have my sympathy. The only advice I can give is to look carefully at the module outline and reading list from Day 1 ... it will probably give you a better indication of what will come up in the exam. Remember that you are adult, and are expected to be able to study independently at university level. That said, you should be at least getting an overview from your lecturer, and I do sympathise with those confronted with the extreme cases such as you mention.2) Incompetent keeners - Young pups with Ph.Ds who like to spend every lecture ranting about their favourite topic, and then giving you completely unrelated exams.
And here we come to my personal ulcer! No, just no ... unfortunately the Leaving Cert in the last 20 years has become more and more about memorisation, and therefore the current generation believe as you do that "a large part of preparing for exams involves memorising answers to past exams". That's not what education, and especially what education at University, is supposed to be about.3) The international mix - Foreign lecturers are fine if they understand the Irish education system (where a large part of preparing for exams involves memorising answers to past exams).
Which is a perfectly reasonable attitude!I find that too many of them expect you to actually know what you have learned ...
Is this really true though?... which would be fine except there isn't enough time to actually study enough for their classes
Ask yourself (I really don't want to know the answer, 'tis none of my business) have you been putting in 20-25 hours per week of solid study every week since the beginning of term (not 20-25 hours of sitting in the Library, or with books open on your desk, now, but that amount of time actually *studying*). If you can honestly say "yes", then you may have some modules which are genuinely content-heavy.
Remember that you are no longer in secondary school, no-one is going to baby-sit you or check your homework, it is up to you as an adult responsible for your own actions to knuckle down and study the material.
A perennial argument, and there's much to be said on both sides.... and the exams are only 2 hours.
Seriously, what's with the clock? With some of these papers it's like trying answer math questions while people are throwing bowling balls at you.
Exams generally used to be 3 hours, but there was little or no continuous assessment involved in modules. When CA became more prevalent, the time for exams were generally reduced accordingly, rather than CA simply becoming an extra layer of assessment on top of the existing exams.
But when they were 3 hours, people still complained they did not have time for the (longer) papers, and weren't able to demonstrate all that they knew. Which was one of the main reasons CA was introduced in the first place ...
My advice would be exactly what I would say to someone in LC ... hone your exam skills, practise writing answers to past questions in the time allotted, etc. etc.
(By the way, if you just wanted to let off steam, and didn't really want an answer, my apologies!) 0 -
-
-
I'm not going to endanger myself (:pac:) by tackling this one except to say that I pay very little attention to the various rankings ... they're based on so many factors (and some which I would argue) that I tend to ignore them. Let's just say that there are ways to manipulate them that have nothing to do with the core functions of the university, and a lot to do with having a bigger budget and being prepared to prioritise publicity and pander to the rankings.Yup. People like to go on about how Galway is worse than Trinity, but better than Maynooth (Sez so in the Irish Times rankings!!!). Funny thing is, Maynooth is actually a better university because their degrees are less respected. Is that a paradox?
A good mix / balance is actually ideal ... assuming ofc that your lecturers are good.I try to study as independently as possible, but they drag you back in. People like to debate this, but I prefer textbooks to lecturers. (Cue some retard quoting the university charter regarding attendance).
Maths is not my area, so I can't answer that. Certainly, for any area I might teach, the problem is that there is usually no one textbook (or even two or three) that cover all the material in sufficient detail. Plus most of the areas would be strongly contested between different schools of thought, and most textbooks approach a subject from one theoretical perspective ... immediate problem!Some lecturers like to recommend 10+ textbooks, and then go on to add "any textbook on the subject will do." They then use exotic notation that differs wildly from the recommended textbooks (and the textbooks themselves have wildly differing notation). This is a bit of a problem once you get past basic calculus. Why not choose one textbook, and build the course around it?
I would have thought it would be easier to do so for maths or the sciences, but as I say, they're not my field.
There are widely differing (usually strong!) views on this one, and I can understand and sympathise with most of them.Second problem is much worse: if it occurs to a randomly selected crap lecturer that any student can do well without their help, they will invariably boycott Blackboard. As in, "there is only one way through this course, and it goes through me." We're coming up on 2011, and educators at this institution are choosing to not use the internet.
Personally, I think Blackboard / Moodle, Powerpoint, etc. are great teaching support tools. They're not necessarily great teachers though (ofc, your point is, neither are some lecturers, and I take that point).
Some lecturers love them, and upload everything. The problem then though can be that students say "oh, sure everything will be online, I don't need to go to the lectures!". Now I have no real problem with that, personally, IF people take responsibility for themselves and do the work independently ... I'm aware that my face is no delight, and I actually don't feel the need to impose it on students' nightmares!
The problem, though, is that the majority won't / don't ... they do SFA for most of the semester, relying on the fact that they "have all the notes", then cram / panic / cram / memorise / cram / regurgitate over the last couple of weeks.
We seem to be in agreement that that is not education. The reality is that they won't even remember it, despite having memorised it, two weeks later, let alone having understood it, and as for critical analysis / reflection ... pffft! :rolleyes:
Hell, it's not even good for their health!
... which *should* be based not only on what you know / have memorised, but far more importantly your ability to think critically / analyse / make relevant connections between material.That's exactly my point, and that's why foreign lecturers get confused. Personally I'd rather be learning the material, but you'd be a fool to not spend your time studying previous exams. At the end of it all, success at university is judged by what kind of honours you get.
Funnily enough, the emphasis on critical thinking probably survives better in arts degrees (and it should ... that's what they are all about!!) though even there it is under severe threat from the effects of massification. When you have 500 students lined up in front of you in a lecture hall, it's very hard to do anything but lecture at them, and hope to encourage them in other ways to think for themselves outside that milieu. Tutorials can help, but gone forever are the old days where, for example, in universities like Oxford and Cambridge every student had an hour's one-to-one tutorial with a member of faculty (not a post-grad!) where the week's lectures and the student's supplementary reading would be discussed in detail and analysed. On top of that, each student prepared a weekly essay for his tutor, which would be discussed and feedback given. Unfortunately, those kind of systems will never be seen again; they simply aren't viable with the numbers to-day.I know that, ideally, university is supposed to be about education, but in reality it's about finding ways to get funding and students are regarded as "money batteries." Have a look at the constantly expanding arts degree options.
Again, not a Maths buff, so can't really comment. However, if you're regurgitating stuff you don't understand or can't apply, yes, there is a problem.Pure maths at this university is learned by rote. Think about it. You write down proofs (to theorems that you don't even understand) on the exams, and you're awarded with an A. Course looks good on paper, grades are fine... everything's fine.
It's an example of it, yes.I tutored some leaving cert kid over the summer and he had to use his calculator to calculate 10 squared. If this is your ulcer, I feel sorry for you.
You've lost me a bit here as to your exact point. What type of systems exactly are you arguing for? All continuous assessment? ... leads to problems with reliability / plagiarism unless you have some way of cross-checking, which terminal exams are *supposed* to do, though I'll admit I'm not their greatest fan myself.It's really not that big of a problem. They actually have efficient grading systems at other universities on this planet so there's no need for NUIG to invent their own. And, honestly, they shouldn't be trying to do anything on their own because their previous attempts at everything set the international standard for Epic Fail.0 -
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Advertisement