My professor was utterly cruel today

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We had our first test today in Biopsychology (undergraduate) and, aside that I know the material unusually well because I study it already and have other books outlining the brain and so have other sources from which to pull, the test was EVIL.

Don't get me wrong: I know I did extremely well. But it was an evil test and the only reason I did so well was because I spend so much time loving to study this stuff anyways and also have an excellent visual memory.

But I do not believe the other students did very well-- half of them actually told me so afterwards. It was an incredibly hard and totally unpredictable and sometimes even dirty test. Trick questions, extreme focus on memorization of ALL the material-- everything in the book. Reproduction of definitions and essay questions which focused on this as well as explaining brain functioning in a gestalt-- meaning how the different parts work TOGETHER, which we haven't really gone over yet.

If this weren't in an area I am so interested in, I would have failed. It was a horrible and tricky test. I feel very sorry for my fellow classmates.

I am going to be helping my friend, Janel, by doing a study group and I can explain a lot of the things she is having problems with. And we will be using my other books and the internet, too, and not just our textbook and workbook for the class.

With the information presented, there is no way to predict now what he will put on the test. So we must learn ALL of it, even the most minute of details.

Hmmm two aspies having an evil teacher on the same day. My was my lab teacher and its my first time doing this class and I was having a problem and insted of just telling me the solution (or where my mistake was in trying to get it more specifically) he just sorta let me dangle for like 10 minutes clearly enjoying every second of it, and I wasnt the only one he did this to I noticed a couple other groups that had solutions like mine were being left to dangle for even longer. Then knowing full well I know I made a mistake earlier on (and not telling me that) he has the nerve to critise me for saying I think I understand just to get away from him and try stuff over again. Oh also forgot to mention that I typed up my prelab report because my handwriting sucks (I can read it but when he tries to go through it later on he wont be able to, and as many teachers have done in the past grade me down for having a lab report I can't read) and he had the nerve to critise me for that... I wonder if I would have to get him to sign my slip saying I can use the computer for everything (technically because Im not dxed its the teachers choice though most dont care) or if my lecture teachers signing it is enough.

_________________
"we never get respect ... never a fair trial
[swearing removed by lau] ... as long as we smile"
Im tired of smiling.

Vote for me in 2020

Some teachers think they're proving something. Anyway, a student who's studying to become a neurosurgeon better know the brain backwards and forwards. I wouldn't trust a neurosurgeon who hasn't proven that he or she knows these things; but, then again, you did say this was an undergraduate class, which may not be exclusively for premed students.

I was uber-lucky and got a nice teacher for bio psychology. I think it should probably require rote memorization, realistically, but the professor should also recognize that this is HARD STUFF to learn, and not try to trick you out on top of everything else. I personally would advocate for a lot of little tests, which most peoiple would graon and whine about, but which are actually easier.

The final won't be cumulative, will it?

EDIT: BTW, my response on the poll was "preparing you for graduate school" but I don't think you should "thank him," I think he likely made it harder than it had to be, from your description. Plus, if the whole class does badly, it means the professor screwed up, IMO.

Sounds like the professor I had for psychology.

Tests were a pain. 70 questions of fill in the blanks, along with vauge descriptions of what she was looking for in each question. Total PITA if you ask me.

And when she did give multiple choice questions, she would do sneaky things like take the answer, reverse two letters in a term and put it as a second choice.

Now this reminds me of third grade back in January 1989. For my social studies class, we switched classes for an hour, and I was with a teacher who could best be described as a witch. We were studying metropolitan areas and we were focused on the west coast of the usa. For the test, one of the questions went something like this.

What city on the west coast of California has the largest population in the state?

A. Sacremento
B. Los Angeles
C. Los Anglees
D. San Francisco

I managed to pick out the right one, but many in my class did not.

MY GOD! When we got our tests back, my teacher screamed at our class for nearly 20 minutes about how dumb we were for not knowing simple rules of spelling. I sat there soaking it all up enjoying every minute of it becasue for once, her rath (which was usually directed at) was not directed at me.

Oh also last year in a class I had a test that nobody in the class got over an 83% on and he still wouldn't curve it (and I think like 2 people got Bs I myself got a D because its science and I hate science and never could study in it.)

_________________
"we never get respect ... never a fair trial
[swearing removed by lau] ... as long as we smile"
Im tired of smiling.

Vote for me in 2020

I've had tests like this in the past, and I agree that this isn't the right approach to take. Straight-up recalling and application of knowledge should do the trick.

Yeah, the main point is that this is an undergraduate class and while most of the students in this class are Psychology majors (it's a Psychology course) most of them are wanting to go into areas of clinical practice and application and not research like myself.

My friend, Janel, is actually in the Clinical Psych Masters Program at my uni but when she took her undergrad (she took some years off before going back) Biopsychology wasn't a requirement. So now she's having to take this 4000 level undergrad course.

Testing knowledge and even the ability to memorize information is one thing, but we had 3 chapters tested over this and he pulled from anywhere in the book without having even gone over it. That's about 70 pages to memorize.

I think it's a cruel cycle his professors did to him and theirs did to them and so on and now he's doing to us.

This was an incredibly difficult test to start out with, especially when no one knows what to expect.

I am very sure I got an A. But I have already studied this stuff. I don't believe any of the other students have. I hope that if I have done extremely well and everyone else not so well, that he will still offer a curve to the others and take me out.

I hope this doesn't sound like bragging. But that test was not fair to the student unfamiliar with this material previously.

Our chem teacher's test could have killed any of us... and it's a college level class, he has his PhD, so he's kind of a professor. It was 45 minutes of multiple choice then free response. I've never felt so dead after a test before in my entire life, not even after the APUSH exam or after SAT/ACT. I was at such a low level of functioning that I took a "mental health" day and did not go to swim practice, which was kind of nice.

Hmmm... I must admit that I would want to be pretty damn sure that my psychologist had passed all their tests...

When I was doing psych years ago, a couple of my professors made it as hard as possible for us under the principle that it was hard for them so why should be get it any easier.

I thought they were pullers, but still passed (though not with the marks I should have been capable of getting). Then there was the one whose girlfriend was in my honours class and he let her run rank and dominate all the discussions with her bigoted and self-important (not to mention usually, boring) opinions. Then he had the cheek to mark people like me down because we didn't speak up enough in class.

You get politics in Uni quite badly because the academic community is rife with petty jealousies and power plays.

Oh, I probably would have done well in the social studies test as I would have realised that the wrongly spelt alternatives were incorrect but that is due to my slightly unusual way of thinking. It probably wasn't a fair test for the class.

I notice in job interviews, they can ask unfair questions too. I won't apply for promotions any more as I don't think I'll get a fair go. Perhaps I could give it one try sometime to see if they really do take a person's disability into account but writing job applications is a pain.

what an asshat prof! it's no fair to put stuff in a test that hasn't been gone over in class or he hasn't told you to read about. grrrrrrr.

This kind of thing is the reason I don't want to go back to Uni again even though some people think I should get more qualifications. I'd rather just read on topics of interest myself.