Feeling like a number

Nursing Students General Students

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I went to college before Power Point & email, so maybe I'm behind the times & need your help. It seems at my school, the one-on-one individualized component to teaching is missing. Examples:

1) My 5-page personal essay on life history that led me to nursing was graded with a standardized form. I lost points on APA style, no big deal. Oddly there was not one comment on a paper that revealed some personal stuff.

2) Faculty communicate mostly by email. They don't have office hours. Faculty that don't use email are unreachable. I had an emergency funeral and left 4 frantic emails & phone calls for 4 faculty members. Two faculty were responsive and compassionate by email. One faculty member emailed me AFTER the funeral to say she got all my messages, but made no further comment. One faculty member didn't seem to care one way or another. When faculty have an emergency we find out by showing up to class and somebody tells us class is cancelled.

3) Faculty don't know our names. If they do, they only use them when taking roll & after 7 weeks, many still make the same errors with names.

4) We are graded mostly by computer. We live by the scantron.

5) We are taught mostly by Power Point. Instructors usually read the Power Point to us.

Please help me. Is standardization & computerization the wave of the future? I feel so much like a number at school always I address faculty I tell them my name & the class section I am in.

Our class is big (120) so maybe that is why we are treated like numbers.

Caroline

(Section III, Student #: xxx-xx-xxxx)

So, it seems like there are three main issues...

1) The teacher's response to your paper. IMO, it sucks that they did not take the time to write a personal note. However, to directly comment on any intimate details that you revealed could be seen as inappropriate by management - leaving the teacher open to disciplinary action. Both in my undergrad, and in my current school, teachers have been VERY careful to protect themselves from any accusations of favoritism/harassment.

2) Inability to contact teachers outside of class. How many of your professors are adjunct? A full-time prof has NO excuse for not answering calls or emails. If they are being lax, let the dean know about it. But, if your class is taught by an adjunct prof who is only on campus two days a week, it could explain some of the difficulty you've experienced.

3) Poor teaching. I think that it's awful when a teacher just reads outloud from the textbook or a powerpoint. My current chem class is like that. The teacher doesn't make any effort. It's a joke. But, all my other classes are great, exciting - and I feel like the profs really want to help us learn. Are ALL of your classes poorly taught? Or is it just one bad apple teacher who's sucking everyone down?

Hope this helps a little. Best of luck.

-t

I agree with talldo.

I also wanted to add that I imagine your exams are mostly multiple choice if you are using Scantron. If this is the case, your program is just preparing you for the NCLEX as it is the same format.

Specializes in CICu, ICU, med-surg.

Given the size of your class, I can hardly fault your instructor for not making personal comments regarding your paper. It sucks, but sadly the result of attending a large school. I've had this happen before and it's just something you have to deal with.

Faculty should ALWAYS have office hours. At my school, it is mandatory that faculty keep office hours and when they are in their office they are to keep their doors open. If you feel that the faculty is generally unavailable, perhaps you should explore your school's policies a little bit. They may have an office hour policy that just isn't being enforced. If they don't have one, perhaps it's time that one be put in place. Talk to your fellow classmates and see if they're having similar issues.

I hate power point and think that is completely overused. Most of my instructors use it, but the good ones use it as a tool and not as a crutch. There is no reason that a power point presentation can't just enhance a lecture without BECOMING the entire lecture.

I think that if you make an effort, than the faculty will get to know you. Don't just blend in with the masses. If you have a question, speak to them after or before class. Stand out and show them that you are taking your education seriously. I've been in large mass lectures with over 200 students and managed to "make friends" with the teacher. It takes some effort, but ultimately it's worth it.

Good luck!

faculty have become lazy and incompetent..

i suggest you address the dean

Specializes in Operating Room (and a bit of med/surg).

I just gotta say, I love powerpoint!! In many of my science courses my profs used it and it was SO helpful! But as someone mentioned, they used it more as a supplement to their lecture, not as the lecture itself.

As for contacting faculty, I find it really depends on the person. Some are more than willing to go out of their way to help students, while others seem to ignore students (you really wonder why they're teaching!) Other ones just seem really busy and respond when they can.

It really sucks when they don't seem to care who's who, or what's going on. Although I gotta say, there are people in my class whose names I don't even know, and this is my third year with most of these people!!! (My class is about 110 people)

I hope things get better for you soon!!

~ Mae

Specializes in ER.

I don't think the size of the class is an excuse for a complete absence of personalization. We have 140 in our class. Yeah, we have to deal with scan sheets for testing and being read to off power point a lot (ugh), but with papers the instructors split them up so that all students get feedback. One instructor isn't grading 140 papaers.

In addition, clinical and lab are small classes, so you always have at least a handful on instructors that know you personally. That helps.

Also, all of our instructors have office hours, and respond promptly to e-mail. I would definitely let someone know about that problem. You're pying too much money to not even be able to communicate with instructors!

P.S. always sit in the front row...it helps!

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