Dear Diary,I always maintained that I would be "dangerous if I knew ACTUALLY what I was doing, in my professional life!"
Now I get a chance to prove it. I was asked to teach the Chemistry Database class when it is offered again in the fall. I was a wee bit stressed (challenged in a positive, motivational, and educational way.)
However, I now have a pretty good grasp of the databases and so the next time I teach I should be able to spend considerably less time "learning as I teach." Phew!
The only thing that I had to decide for myself was "my grading philosophy."
My manager challenges my "A" for Effort approach pointing out that there is a difference between "A" effort and "A" work. He asks if it is fair to students who do "A" work to give similar grades to those who do not.
I guess my problem is how does one judge "A" work in regards to searching a database. Sure there are those examples when draw a compound structure/reaction in CrossFire database and then you further limit the results by specifying a Melting Point range and Disassociation Exponent which will yield only 1 result, yes in that case it is easier to judge wheteher the student gets the correct answer or not.
But I guess I prefer to consider the progress made in comprehension. Basically if the student's performance improves from week to week. My counter argument to my manager is, "Well some students take me up on my offer of assistance during Office Hours. Those students who sit with me and review each assignment question, will inevitably get the correct answer. Ergo doing "A" work. But what about students who attempt it on their own and perhaps miss 1 step in a 5 step process but understood the overall process based on the outcomes, etc..."
But once again, this has been a shining example of my indomitable potential.
