Easy instructors vs. difficult instructors

[tfleuter, BSN, RN]

I'm having a mini pity party here, so bear with me

I'm in my last weeks of microbiology, and all I can say is I'm glad it will be over soon! The class has been difficult to say the least. I knew this would be a hard course, so referred to ratemyprofessor.com to see which instructor I should take it from. There were only 2 instructors who taught the class and both recieved bad ratings. So I picked the professor who had (slightly) better comments and prepared myself for a busy semester.

Flashforward and I currently have a B+; still hoping to raise it to an A. About half the class is either failing or on the verge of failing, but still a few who have A's. So anyways, I'm feeling pretty good about the situation until I hear from another student that there was a 3rd instructor added right before the semester started and supposively has a very easy class. He only tests students on what he lectures and most are doing really well in the class; few are failing.

Now, I know I shouldn't let it bother me since there's nothing I can do about it. I tell myself that I will benefit in the end b/c we have been forced to know the material more in depth and not just spew out memorized info from an overhead. Truth is, I have no idea if that is true. Maybe the other teacher is more efficient and knows how to convey the same info in half as many words/questions than the one I have. Either way doesn't matter. In the end the transcripts will be the only thing other schools care about. All I can do is keep studying and working for that A. But I can't help wishing I had taken the course from the "easy" instructor and gotten more sleep these past several months.

[HyperSaurus, RN, BSN]

I can relate. Just keep pulling through. All of the extra work you did will helpin the long run.

[liteskin_qtee]

I can totally relate..I'm in my last weeks of chemistry..with the chemistry teacher from H$&^..She speeds thru the lectures..her exams are extremely difficult and confusing..I am a A student and I have a high C hoping to pull out a B in the end..we started with 30 students we are down to 5 and counting...we still have 1 more exam and the final...I am so ready for this class to be over...

[wishNhopeNdreamN]

I can relate too. In my nursing class there are 6 of us taking advanced physio, 5 icluding me in one class, the other girl is in a different class.

What she has told us is that her class is so easy, they have take home tests!!! The same powerpoint presentation counts for 20% of our grade, in her class...it's extra credit. Our instructor is a nice guy but he expects a lot. Just the homework alone is a hardship. The other class of course has no homework.

I just try to concentrate on the fact in 5 weeks it will be over, and I won't have to think about the differences anymore. However , in the meantime, I can say it peeves me off more than a little.

[libnat]

where can i find these easier science professors, i must be chronically unlucky. pick a prof doesn't help when only 1 is teaching the class. give me some 70% as class.

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

Sounds like you are doing great, so I would just focus on that =) Be proud for doing so well in a tough course.

At this point in my nursing program, everyone gets the same theory instructors. Easy or hard, we are all in the same boat!

Good luck getting that A.

[tfleuter, BSN, RN]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Sometimes I wish all courses were set up like the math department at my school. Each teacher is allowed to leacture, assign HW, set up tests, ect. however the wish (within reason) but everyone takes the same final which is written by the department heads. Those who have teachers who are too easy are not doing the students any favors and it will reflect with the final scores. Those with more thorough, challenging teachers will benefit (usually) and have a better grasp of the material. This would be more reflective of what a student has learned, but not everything in life can be fair so I guess just have to suck it up and deal with it.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

I'd be more worried about getting a mean or unfair instructor. I've had those.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

I never placed much value in student evaluations of instructors because they have no idea what the instructor is REQUIRED to accomplish. Is it the instructor that is hard, or the material?

[libnat]

when two professor are teaching the same class the requirements should be similar, no?

[libnat]

one great review i read was, "if you are contemplating suicide taking this professor will give you solid proof life is not worth living." i’m taking the guy for college algebra this summer so lets hope he’s not quite that bad.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Yes it should. But the "easy" instructor may not have the same expectations. In other words, it might be easy now, but later you find out you missed some important points. Good luck in your career.