Are math professors usually this difficult?

College Life
1

Okay. I am a dual-enrolled high school student that is currently taking Calc 3 as a senior.

Our teacher gives us a preparation assignment before each class and we get assigned a problem or two, which usually take 2-3 hours to write up in good form. We usually have to use a graphing tool (calcplot) to show vectors being parallel and such. If the work is 100 percent correct with no errors and explained sufficiently, then we can earn a 10 on an assignment. A score of 9 or 8 is given if the work isn’t clear enough. If there is a mistake in the work but the overall assignment is still correct, we get a 7. A 6 or below can be given if the solution is found the wrong way or it is incorrect.

Our tests consist of 30 percent take home. This is great, except that these 6-7 problems must be completely correct. If an error is made it is a 4/5, even for sign errors, if the answer is correct but the method is incorrect or not what is called for we may get 3/5, an incorrect method and wrong answer is a 1 or 0. The in-class tests themselves are quite difficult, so our teacher allows a partner test. It is rare for students to finish early at all in the 80 minute period. About 75% finished the first test on time. There is usually a difference of 5-6 points out of 100 (this includes sign errors) between partners, mostly due to how clear and thorough the answer is.

After our 4 tests, there was an entirely take-home test on Chap 16 of the Stewart Textbook. I correctly answered every single question in a well done fashion, and the work was very clear. All solutions were correct, but I forgot to restate a solution which was already there. I got a 90 on this exam for not explaining a transformation on this problem

“What simple closed curve C gives the maximal value of An inegral? What is
the maximal value?”

Because we needed to delve into why a circle could be this simple closed curve , and why this was correct, and why they were equal to another with another explanation.Just stating that they were equal because of dq/dx-dp/dy was not adequate. On two other problem I showed the correct answer and tried to explain them. Our teacher did not want an in depth explanation or proof for these problems, and I made an error in my explanation, even though this explanation was not needed.

Is this normal for a professor, or am I just not used to it?

2

Really? I highly doubt it should take that long.

My opinion is you are not used to it, since the amount of rigor can be new to many students. Have you taken any proof-based classes?

3

The grading scheme doesn’t seem unreasonable at all. Yes, your answer has to be completely correct and your work has to be clear in order to get full credit. If it is not completely correct (even if there’s a silly mistake), you lose points. That seems perfectly normal. I’ve had classes that have been a lot harsher concerning partial credit as well. Some classes give none (if your answer is wrong, it’s wrong and you get a 0), and I’ve had classes that give half-credit if your answer is wrong, but your work was, for the most part, correct. I’ve also had classes that docked points if they couldn’t read or understand your work. In many of my classes, if your answer is correct but your work is wrong (or unclear), you don’t get credit either because it is assumed you stumbled onto the wrong answer, rather than actually knowing what you are doing (and in some cases, it may be suspected that you cheated and copied the correct answer without copying the correct work). If this is a proof-based class, I would think that your work would be particularly important, as well, and am not surprised that it’s scrutinized. Also, in most of my classes, if you wrote something that was wrong in your answer (even if it was superfluous or unneeded, or if the rest was correct), you lost points.

It’s not unusual (in classes I took) for exams to take the full class period, and for some students, not to finish at all (in some classes, it was common to have many students not finish the exam). I’ve had classes where the professor wrote the exam with the intention of having an average of 50%. A 90 seems like a great grade on this exam, but if you feel like it was unfair, then you could discuss with your professor what you did wrong and what you can do to improve on future exams. I don’t think the exams seem particularly unreasonable, but I’m also not the one taking them. I think it’s unusual that they are partner exams, as well–I’ve never heard of that before in a college course. I also didn’t have any classes that had take home exams, but I know they are not unheard of (and at some schools, they are the norm).

There’s nothing that I find particularly striking about the class. I think it may be that you are not used to it (and of course, you are young to be taking a college-level Calculus 3 course) and are, perhaps, struggling with the higher expectations for the quality of your work and more stringent standards for grading than may have been the norm in your high school classes.

4

Yes. You are correct about the stringent grading, and not being used to it.

I thought It was unusual because the professor gives the same take home test, with the intention of people working on it together, and there being a huge grade difference between people who work together. I worked on a good portion of the problems with two classmates, and they finished it together. There was a 10 point grade difference, even though they did all of them together (they room together), which I found to be a little high.

There is no curve or grading difference between tests, and the 3.0 mark is 81, which I believe is quite generous. I just found it strange how she marks up our paper.

The class is nowhere near as proof based as calc 1 and 2 had been. DIfferent professor. I just find it strange that on my paper I had specifically answered the question given with the correct closed curve, but had not fully explained why it made sense. Granted this is important, but I was expecting to receive partial credit for that portion. It was split up by part a and b. I used the correct closed curve from A to solve B correctly. I also was told “you didn’t answer the first questiion(explain).” on my paper and that is all.

Thanks though. I am not used to the rigor of this professor. Our old calc professor was a genius, very old though, and had invoked a passion for mathematics that this professor has somewhat destroyed. I guess I had not realized that all math professors were not old sages who magically taught you how to use integration by parts and revolutions of solids.

BTW:
This professor is extremely difficult, especially workwise, for even the remedial classes at the community colleges. I was a little surprised by the course difficulty for a beginner math course, which by all means should challenge students, but not crush them at that level. A student in my english class got a 60 for not showing proper steps (correctly) on factoring in this remedial course , but did have all the answers correct with somewhat proper form. It was also self-paced

5

I’ve taken 57 hours of undergraduate mathematics and never heard of a grading scheme like that. I’ve also never had take home math exams. I can’t tell if that’s harder or not without being there but is is quite different.

6

Have you tried asking your professor about your exam? Not in the sense that you should get more points or that they graded it incorrectly, but just asking what you should do to do better next time. When you work with other students on your exam, have you both compared what you wrote? Presumably you didn’t both write the exact same thing on the exam, but if you both wrote very similar answers, you can ask the professor what caused the discrepancy in the grade. Don’t be accusatory or anything, but it’s not unreasonable to meet with your professor to discuss your grade and what you can do to do better next time.

But yeah, professors vary widely from one to the next; they are human after all. Some are fantastic, some are horrible, some are the nicest people in the world, and some are jerks. It can be a good experience to have a bad professor or at least a professor you don’t like. It can help you practice dealing with people who you don’t like but have to be nice and respectful to, and it also helps you learn the importance of trying to get good professors in future classes! You can’t always avoid them, but it’s always good to try whenever you can.

7

@SadHippo I’ve seen grading schemes like that all the time. Based only on what OP has said, it seems like a fair grading scheme.

If you have taken the Putnam exam or a similar exam, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

8

My experience is that lower-level math classes are more harshly graded than upper-level math classes. They also tend to have quizzes and more frequent homework (I guess because the professors are more afraid that you won’t understand). I think it helps to type your homework, if you don’t already.

9

Thanks for all the responses. I find her grading scale to be a little tough based on her standards. We have around 20 students, and 0 are at 4.0. There are a good amount of 3.0 and 2.5, with the class average being a 2.8 or so. I had a modest grade going into the final, 91, which was split into 2 cumulative tests. I got an 84 on the first half and am expecting about a 30 percent on the second half.

The class may seem harder that it should be, especially compared to the much easier professor for Calc3 at the college.

Here is her statement on an online portfolio
“I have to admit, I don’t understand test anxiety. I have students that tell me they have test anxiety, and that when they sit down to take a test they go blank. I do believe these students, but I don’t understand it. I don’t understand it because I seldom get stressed about anything and when I do get stressed, it doesn’t shut me down.”

and
" Following are some excerpts from an email I received from a student early this semester: “This is very frustrating for me because I am working really hard on this stuff but have no idea where to start a thought process, mainly because I have never seen this kind of material or examples of it.” “I quite simply can not learn this kind of complex math by reading a power point and then be given a problem to do with other frustrated students. I am not alone in these feelings, other students in the class feel the same. I can see some of the students sitting in the back seem to be able to do it, but most of us can not.”

This is a good student, one of my best, but he does not like to have to figure anything out. His expectation for me is that I will show the class one of every kind of problem they might encounter in homework or on a test. He is unhappy that I ask him to think hard about it before I tell all the secrets. I know that the way I am teaching it helps my students to learn the material better than when I just showed a bunch of examples and asked nothing of them. At times, though (like when I got this email), I ask myself if it is worth it. It is easier to just lecture. The students are happier when I just lecture, even though their test grades are lower, go figure! "

I find this difficult because she only does easy problems, but her homework is ten times the difficulty of her in class problems, and she never goes over or explains homework.She is a topic a day, new material every class, 1 or 2 easy problem example teacher. I have classes during all of her office hours, so it is hard to ask questions.

I have asked questions over every single exam we have done, and I know I will never meet her standards, but I do understand her viewpoint and try to improve my own methods.