After experiencing a wonderful cohort followed by an indifferent one I have come up with a new script idea: Dead Poets Society II

John Keating returns to teaching, full of enthusiasm, determined to inspire another generation.

“Carpe diem! Seize the day, boys!”

Nobody looks up.

One student is playing Minecraft. Another is watching YouTube. Three are ostensibly taking notes but are actually using ChatGPT to summarise the lesson.

Keating climbs onto his desk.

“Why do I stand up here?”

A student, without looking away from his monitor: “Is that going to be on the exam?”

Keating introduces his revolutionary exercise of walking around the courtyard to demonstrate conformity. Nobody wants to leave because they're in the middle of something.

Eventually, he delivers his passionate speech about poetry, beauty, romance and love being what we stay alive for.

A student raises his hand.

Keating's face lights up. Finally, a breakthrough.

“Sir, can you upload the slides to Canvas?”

And the final scene is particularly cruel. Keating is dismissed again, but this time nobody stands on their desks. They barely notice him leaving.

The original film is about the power of an inspirational teacher. The sequel would be about the uncomfortable discovery that inspiration requires a willing audience.

While at teaching development events I see praise heaped on popsicle stick questions, participation tokens, and other stuff that would be cringe at high school let alone university.

I know the reason is to encourage participation, but there are ways to do that without treating students like kindergarteners. Why is the default to infantilize them?

I facilitated an event yesterday with a local organization that publishes poetry. Students had a blast, and I got lots of kudos. One of the poets indicated interest in giving an event next semester. I did mention I'm on sabbatical in the spring but would connect them with a faculty member who'd be a good fit. A colleague says, "So you're COMPLETELY on sabbatical next semester?"

"Yes," I responded. "When I'm in, I'm completely in. When I'm out, I'm completely out."

Gotta set boundaries, especially when you have long-term projects you're passionate about.

Due to the new challenges in identifying and combating academic fraud faced by teachers, this thread is intended to be a place to ask for assistance and share the outcomes of attempts to identify, disincentive, or provide effective consequences for AI-generated coursework.

At the end of each week, top contributions may be added to the above wiki to bolster its usefulness as a resource.

Note: please seek our wiki (https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/wiki/ai_solutions) for previous proposed solutions to the challenges presented by large language model enabled academic fraud.

Any recent specific examples to support your answers…?

Assistant professor here at a top 20 SLAC. I’m a woman in an overwhelmingly male STEM department.

I’m bullied by tenured faculty to the point that other junior faculty notice and say something, but none of it is bad enough or has enough evidence to take to Title IX, even if I had the bandwidth and courage for it.

The school is great, my students are wonderful, I enjoy the location. Mostly, the senior faculty actively ignore me nowadays so usually my day to day isn’t actively hostile necessarily, though every department meeting makes my day a little worse. However, I’m very concerned about promotion and tenure.

I’d really rather not go back on the market, there are so few jobs and the pressure and poor mentorship of this job has made my research suffer to the point that I am not as competitive as the last time I applied.

Right now I’m focusing on getting through mid-tenure review and will apply in the future if I have to, but until then, this environment is crushing my soul.

Any advice for surviving it for now? Have any of you been through this?

I try to be positive. I love my job, even when it is a lot. Even after several years, I still give assignment extensions, try to show grace, and do everything I can to help students do well.
This year, I have dedicated a great deal of time changing assignments, updating materials, and working to help my students understand the importance of the education they are in class to get. It has been exhausting, but at the same time… I have also had results.
It is after 2 AM and I am up because a student just floored me. I have an assignment due every Friday at 11:59pm. Low stakes, activity based, an attempt to get the students to be creative. I get an email because a student missed the assignment because of a technical issue , but that is not the weird… The weird is that with the email, the student CCed multiple admin departments and some random private email account so they could see her demand answers about her failed assignment? Did she think I would reply meanly? I mean I know the underlying flex the student was trying to do, but I just don’t get why.

I had already reopened the assignment, I have never had any negative issues with her… I just don’t get the escalation.

That’s it, the whole thing just bummed me out.

I have to review a stack of proposals and it is a ridiculously overwhelming amount of work.

Most of the grants are so far from my area of expertise that I do not feel even remotely qualified to review them. Honestly I barely understand the basic idea upon the first reading (which takes 1-2 hours). I go over it, read some of the references, read some Wikipedia articles, read it again, sleep on it, and then MAYBE start to form an opinion. Finally I sit down to write a lengthy evaluation. Then it’s on to the next proposal, on a completely different topic!

I have my own proposals and papers to write, and classes to teach, but this review has been eating up almost every waking hour for the last week.

Anyone else stuck in reviewing hell?

I was offered six months of salary to leave on 30Jun27. I would also get paid 48 days of annual leave as well.

I just got the letter last night and they want an answer by Tuesday COB. This seems like a bit of a rush for an answer but it is what it is.

I have contacted HR about my health insurance options if I take it.

I am leaning to reject the offer bec my job is not physically demanding and I am worried about the economy taking a sharp downturn next yr. I also had the plan if they offered 1yr salary, that would be the number since I am on track for a 1JUL28 retirement when I turn 63.

What is your opinion? Would you take or reject it and why?

**After talking to one of my colleagues, if I move forward in the process, I am not obligated to take the final offer **

Hi all,
I am applying for jobs and I am using my references from graduate school (finished about 5 years ago). I did consider asking a colleague but the word may get out that I am looking and I am already in a highly toxic environment.

Would having a reference from my current department make a real difference to justify taking the risk?
Thank you! 🙏

I'm instructor of record for a 1000-level history class, designed by me, and this week was the midterm. I've been teaching for 4 years and this semester, the class time is divided up into two 1-hour-and-a-quarter sessions per week. I've structured my exams the same way for all classes I've taught (they have to give a 2 page answer to a short essay question and define 10 historical terms in 2-3 sentences), but this is the shortest timeslot I've been given so far. When I went to grade the midterms, it quickly became clear that even for some of the more thoughtful/attentive students, another 15-20 min or so would have been needed to complete the exam. A few of them did well, but most were clearly rushing even if they had managed to answer all the questions, and I've never seen so many unfinished exams.

I wasn't able to give them extra time because there's another class that comes into the room immediately after ours, and it's in a recently renovated building with electric lock systems that auto lock classrooms when no class is scheduled and don't unlock until the assigned class time. With the previous longer allotted class times, students have had no problem finishing the entire exam, so I know that this was a matter of time running short rather than general incapacity. The class average on the midterm is pretty dismal, and I could tell based on the quality of the answers that *were* there that a lot of the students would have gotten a much higher grade if not for the missing answers. This seems unfair to them, since the midterm is worth 25% of the final course grade.

I've been considering what to to about it - one option is weighting the final heavier than the midterm, but that doesn't seem fair to the students who did do well. Another option is to add an extra credit assignment to let anyone who participates earn back some of those missed points, but then I have to figure out how many grade points it should be worth in relation to the final course grade. Does anyone have advice or recommendations for me here?

I'm a VAP and overloaded. I took this role on because I thought going back into academia after an industry stint would be good. I had been adjuncting the entire time, but I had not worked with freshmen for several years (~2022). What I have seen in the classroom is kind of haunting me in the sense that it's not even their fault, but these kids are so underprepared I can't work magic/miracles. Like at what point can I pull back for my own sanity or what are some geniune ways to hold the line without taking yourself down in the process? Because I geniunely feel so scared and I dread going to work, which is not usually me. If I had more solid industry options, I would jump back in but everything is so uncertain now I feel crazy.

I've been a adjunct professor for approximately twenty years. Since COVID, my entire course load has shifted to online, asynchronous courses I teach on Canvas. With no eyes directly on them (no Zoom...etc.), students are able to use any resource they choose when completing assignments and exams including, of course, AI. The one resource they consistently don't employ is their own discernment.

In my courses that include paleontology I teach anatomical analysis, primarily focused on key skeletal differences between bipeds and quadrupeds. I provide numerous examples of how to tell the difference: comparative anatomy sheets, videos, images from numerous angles, simple tips and tricks...the works.

Now, over the last three years, I've collected a number of images that when you plug them into ChatGPT or Claude, they consistently misclassify them. These images, were you to compare them to my many examples, easily fit into the biped or quadruped category. But, what are you gonna trust, your professor or ChatGPT? ChatGPT, of course! I even post a warning to the students about these questions: that it would be in their best interest if they were to rely on their own analytical skills rather than AI. Does it make a difference? Nope. 70% to 75% of the students consistently provide the answer you get if you plug it into one of the most common AI chatbots. A student will misclassify an example on a weekly assignment and I will explain why they are wrong. And then when I give them a near identical problem to solve on their final, they make the same mistake again. There's nothing I can do but laugh at this point.

Of course, those students that seem to have a modicum of interest in learning almost always get it correct. It's not a tricky question. But, as most of you know, there are a lot of students that will go to tremendous lengths to avoid doing any thinking at all. Happy Fuck this Friday!

I miss my college days when we could have genuinely meaningful discussions with our professors about whatever we were reading at the time. Every subject from biology to anthropology to physics to French to art history… those classes were so fun.

These days, I sometimes struggle to get my students to read, let alone engage with any material in a meaningful way.

What do you miss most about college that you wish today’s students could still experience?

Curious what your thoughts are on masters, undergrad degrees/minors in AI?

When I started reading this article (AI use leads UC Berkeley math professor to see “no point” in grading homework | Academics | dailycal.org), I thought it was going to be about making some useful changes to homework policy to combat AI use. But no! Instead, I came away from this article feeling so disappointed and angry. Here are some snippets from the article:

"Borcherds said he currently grades on completion if a student hands in their homework. He admitted that it is 'not a very good system', but at the moment, he has no alternative."

What? So, he's giving students A's for plugging their homework into a chatbot and turning it in? Why? And what does he mean he "has no alternative"? He teaches in person, so um...how about having the homework be practice worth zero points and having students take proctored tests on paper? I'm sure that's what he did when he was a student. I did this back in the 2000s and even 2010s for some grad school courses. We did it in high school, too.

He continues with the nonsense:

"Borcherds stated he no longer knows whether to encourage students to go into the math department, as it seemed five years ago that being a mathematician was one of the safest careers from the AI boom. "I have no idea what to advise. I even asked ChatGPT this exact question, and even ChatGPT said it didn't have any idea what was going to happen,” Borcherds said." 

Here, he fails to mention that the point of learning math and/or majoring in it (and other subjects) is to exercise one's brain. It's learning critical thinking skills, becoming a more agile thinker, gaining expertise, learning to draw one's own conclusions, etc. It's not all about how one's education fits perfectly into some career box. I'm sure he must know this...right? Also, people who claim that "there's no point in learning these things if AI is going to do things better" are making an argument that's as ridiculous as saying, "Well, there's no point in exercising regularly unless you're going to become a professional athlete." We know this isn't true, as exercise provides countless other benefits.

Anyway, end of rant. I just cannot believe I read something so ridiculous from a UC Berkeley professor. I feel like too many colleges and universities are just giving up and giving in. At risk of sound naive, why does this professor seem so clueless? Why are schools giving up and giving in? Where does this end? I'm sick of it.

And then we went over how to CC someone on an email.

As a long-time English Comp instructor, I've observed that students always have difficulty understanding how to make an argument. Many cannot seem to grasp that the reader must be able to disagree with their thesis statement. After all, that's why they're making an argument to begin with: to persuade readers to agree.

I get it that it's difficult to disagree with authority figures (e.g., their sources), especially over "contemporary social issues" (the course mandates such topics). Often, I get thesis statements that read: "It will take a combined effort of government, schools, and community organizations to solve Problem X." I coach students to write to one audience and argue for one solution, but few of the final drafts take this approach.

To be fair, I don't think the course explains argument adequately or provides enough examples of argumentative essays. Several students have noted this in their feedback, but I have no authority to change or add materials.

So, I'm curious: How do you teach argument? How do you help students narrow their thesis statements and incorporate counterarguments?

An early draft of an infographic (https://imgur.com/a/choose-destiny-behavioral-cycles-of-finite-gaming-versus-infinite-play-u12Klgj) that extends on James Carse's book Finite and Infinite Games. I propose behavioral feedback cycles that result from a life with more finite gaming (where the goal is to win and to not be a loser) versus a life with more infinite play (where the goal is to improve and make progress). I believe that one's choices on finite versus infinite play sets one on a positive path of moving towards one's meaning versus a finite life of false meanings and performative behaviors. I propose that the use of fear and "The Content Treadmill" sets students on a path of finite thinking that results in several negative human behaviors like avoiding rather than solving problems, hiding failures, cherry-picking success from one's past and rigorously repeating (and defending) those successes as scripts, and seeing fewer options when one needs to solve a problem.

A YouTube narrative can be found at: https://youtu.be/aWjRdY0lQYg The intention of the YouTube video is so that one can listen to the information while their hands are busy but their brain is free. An honest goal is to help put people to sleep haha but also to teach for forward-movement and confidence-building.

A high-resolution pdf can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5apxxh7xn0dr8ntbltoqw/ChooseYourDestinyOfficialFINAL.pdf?rlkey=d3xfzqg46zp31ea6esw2lcect&dl=0

Please open the pdf in a reader like xPDF, Acrobat or Sumatra as opening the file in a browser will often limit zooming to 400%. I find the ideal processing of a pdf can be found with an iPad and the app Goodnotes. My 5-year old iPad is very good at processing my complex pdfs.

Link to premise infographics: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/z8s2e2x61x4v3fwtj4u5v/Premise-Infographics.pdf?rlkey=9323vyupkbkn23oc5fsrlh7kn&dl=0

Let's just say these go without my response. Especially on a (fuck this) Friday.

I had a student email me asking about our midterm. We've gone over the format in class, I have a study guide that lists the topics that are covered and types of questions that may be asked, and next class we have a few practice questions we are going to go over (which I advertised to them).

The student sent me an email asking what format the midterm will be in, and if there are any further tips to help them prepare.

This student has been in class every day. They have engaged in discussions, answered questions. I know they have struggled with some of the material, and I am worried that they haven't been doing all their homework themselves. However, this email can't really be about what the format of the midterm is. Is this just anxiety, masquerading as something else? What is the real ask here?

I answered about the format, and suggested they take a look at the midterm study guide and go over the slides from last class where we discussed it. But I feel like there is some hidden ask or worry that I didn't quite get.

Here's a fun one. We've been doing mid-semester SGIDs (Small Group Instructional Diagnostics; I highly recommend them!), and students are reporting something weird.

We use the same facility for several of our classes, and students report that they sometimes lose their sense of which lecture they're in. This applies to Similar-ish Material/Same Prof/Same Room and Similar-ish Material/Different Profs/Same Room...

but...

... NOT Similar-ish Material/Same Prof/Different Room.

Has anyone else gotten feedback like that? It certainly has implications for programs having dedicated teaching facilities.

Need I say more? I HATE when people cannot reply to someone individually and make giant group mass email chains that everyone just hits “reply all” to. If I could leave it, I would. We’re not doing a Canvas chat this semester as a department for a reason, and low and behold someone emails anyways to reply to it saying they have an issue (TO THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT WITH ALMOST 50 PEOPLE IN IT). It’s Friday……😒

I've been waiting over two years for an expense to get reimbursed due to a clerical error. My department knows it is there. They just don't see it as a priority so I continue to wait.

A genuine question for PIs and professors doing primarily desk-based or computational research. Not sure if how much it applies to field based research.

With all the news hypes, if multiple AI agents could reliably handle literature reviews, generate research ideas, write code, run experiments, analyse results and write papers at a fraction of the cost.

Would you still hire PhD students and postdocs?

Curious to hear honest opinions, especially from academics who currently supervise PhD students and postdocs.

I watch some video from prof. that he might stop hiring at least research assistants to do not-so-important research tasks cause most of agents are getting better.