Is it bad....
- Thread starter scottie33
- Start date
Anyone else take it up the @$$ from this test tonight? I mean - oh my LORD - did they not learn from the exam averages of test 2? Exams 1 and 3 were straight-forward and good in testing the concepts we had learned. Exams 2 and 4 were absolute curveball tests that were ridiculous!
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The following is a letter that Sturges posted to WebCT when I had EM 324. Its pretty long but it verifies what kind of robot he is. Although he was actually helpful once I worked up the nerve to go to his office.
Message no. 38
Posted by Leroy Sturges (EM324) on Thursday, September 30, 2004 12:04pm
Subject: EM 324 "Rules and Procedures"
A casual observation over the past couple of weeks indicates that only about 50% to 60% of the students registered for the class actually come to the class on any given day. So this seems to be the only way to reach the entire class. This of course assumes that those not attending class at least check WebCT once in a while. Perhaps everyone at least checks after the exam to see what grades were posted.
Anyway, what follows is a set of "rules" and "comments" about how the class is going.
1. The notes posted on WebCT are not a substitute for coming to class. The notes posted are just an outline of what I do in class. At the very least, you need to write additional notes on the pages as you follow along. Better yet, look over the notes before coming to class, then leave the notes at home and take your own notes in class. You still know that you can fill in some of the details from the posted notes if you miss something.
2. If you must miss class for some reason (or if you simply decide not to come to class), you must get notes from someone else in the class or at least talk with someone else in the class to find out what is happening in class. Any announcement made to the class is presumed made to everyone in the class. Such announcements will not normally be posted on WebCT.
3. Coming to my office for help is not a substitute for coming to class. If you must miss class (or simply decide not to go to class), then you must first read the book, get notes from another student, and talk with another student about what was done in class before coming in to see me. I will not do "personal, individual" lectures for each of the 100 or so students who are not attending class.
4. When you do come in to see me for help, bring your notes along. When you ask about something you don't understand, I may ask to see your class notes on the subject. If you missed class, then you should have notes that you copied from someone else. Bring them along.
5. I am still getting questions about whether I am going to adjust the grading curve in the course (probably from the students who don't come to class). As I said in class, I will not change the grading schedule simply because the class average comes out low. "Mediocre work does not become acceptable simply because a majority of students do mediocre work." The average on the first test should have been between 80% and 85%. Problem 1 should have been very simple. Problem 2 was an example problem from the statics book. Problem 3 simply required substituting the correct angle into two equations on your crib sheet. Problem 4 was the only problem that actually required much work, and even that problem should have been straight forward.
6. As I said at the beginning of the semester, statics is a prerequisite for this course and statics knowledge and ability is expected. It appears that a large number of you are not well prepared for this course. Perhaps the multiple choice tests in statics and physics are partially to blame. I don't think that the multiple choice tests can properly test: whether you are drawing a correct and complete free-body diagram; whether you are writing the equations of equilibrium; whether you can solve for the correct answer or are just able to
pick the correct answer out of a short list; etc.
7. I think that another possible problem is your reliance on calculators. You spend to much time punching numbers in you calculator trying to find a commbination that gives the correct answer and too little time analyzing the problem and understanding it. I think that this process may have gotten you through physics and statics with their multiple choice tests, but it is not serving you very well in this course.
8. Your grade in this class will not be that you did well considering your poor background in math or physics or statics. Your grade in this class will be based on whether or not you show me that you understand the principles of mechanics of materials. That is, do you know when to use one equation rather than another... Do you know whether to use an angle of -37 degrees (problem 3 of exam 1) instead of +37 degrees or +53 degrees... Do you know the difference between normal stress and shear stress... Do you know whether to use the cross sectional area or the surface area or some other area to find stress... All of the things that we talk about in class. I generally emphasize the things that I feel are important and that I will be looking for on exams. In fact, I generally emphasize them several times in class. Of course, you won't know that if you don't come to class, or if you come to class and sleep, or if you come to class and do the daily crossword.
9. The aerospace engineering department is starting to get complaints from the
mechanical engineering department and from the civil engineering department. They are wondering how you can get A's and B's in statics and not perform simple tasks in their follow-on courses. Specifically, they mention that you can't draw proper free-body diagrams, that you can't solve simple statics problems, that you can't analyze simple problems the way students could 5 or 10 years ago. I don't intend to have them ask how you can get an A or a B in my class without knowing the difference between stress and strain or the difference between normal stress and shear stress or any of the basic principles of mechanics of materials.
10. You may have been told that the teacher stands in the front of the room to teach you mechanics of materials (or whatever other course you are taking). If so, you have been told wrong. The teacher's job is to help you learn. The hard work (and learning is hard work) has to be done by you. I will do whatever I can to help you learn. But if you just sit back and watch me solve problems, you will probably not learn the material.
o You need to read the book BEFORE coming to class so that you have some idea of what will be talked about and what you have difficulty understanding.
o You need to try some of the homework problems BEFORE coming to class. The
example problems in the book may look clear and simple, but starting a problem on your own may not be so simple.
o I will try to highlight those things that I feel are very important and/or I think you will have difficulty with, and I will work and explain additional example problems.
o If you don't understand something in the book and/or in the lecture, you need to ask about it.
o Don't wait for someone else to ask questions when you don't understand something. Probably there are a lot of other people who don't understand it and are also timid about asking questions. Even if everyone else does understand it, that doesn't help you. It's your education. You need to participate.
o You need to work the homework problems until you understand the material. It is not enough to just play with the numbers on your calculator until you get the answer that is given. (As Charlie Brown observed, "The answers in life are not in the back of the book.") You need to work on the homework problems until you truly understand why you are solving it the way you are.
o You need to look at the answers you get and ask yourself if they make sense. Why does it work that way.
Most of the observations above are not unique to this class. You are paying a lot of
money to get an education at Iowa State University. Paying the money doesn't buy you
the education. Even attending class does not give you the education you are paying for.
Even after paying all of that money, you still have to work for your education. You must
participate in the process. It is not enough to just sit on the curb and watch the parade
go by.
L.D. Sturges
Message no. 38
Posted by Leroy Sturges (EM324) on Thursday, September 30, 2004 12:04pm
Subject: EM 324 "Rules and Procedures"
A casual observation over the past couple of weeks indicates that only about 50% to 60% of the students registered for the class actually come to the class on any given day. So this seems to be the only way to reach the entire class. This of course assumes that those not attending class at least check WebCT once in a while. Perhaps everyone at least checks after the exam to see what grades were posted.
Anyway, what follows is a set of "rules" and "comments" about how the class is going.
1. The notes posted on WebCT are not a substitute for coming to class. The notes posted are just an outline of what I do in class. At the very least, you need to write additional notes on the pages as you follow along. Better yet, look over the notes before coming to class, then leave the notes at home and take your own notes in class. You still know that you can fill in some of the details from the posted notes if you miss something.
2. If you must miss class for some reason (or if you simply decide not to come to class), you must get notes from someone else in the class or at least talk with someone else in the class to find out what is happening in class. Any announcement made to the class is presumed made to everyone in the class. Such announcements will not normally be posted on WebCT.
3. Coming to my office for help is not a substitute for coming to class. If you must miss class (or simply decide not to go to class), then you must first read the book, get notes from another student, and talk with another student about what was done in class before coming in to see me. I will not do "personal, individual" lectures for each of the 100 or so students who are not attending class.
4. When you do come in to see me for help, bring your notes along. When you ask about something you don't understand, I may ask to see your class notes on the subject. If you missed class, then you should have notes that you copied from someone else. Bring them along.
5. I am still getting questions about whether I am going to adjust the grading curve in the course (probably from the students who don't come to class). As I said in class, I will not change the grading schedule simply because the class average comes out low. "Mediocre work does not become acceptable simply because a majority of students do mediocre work." The average on the first test should have been between 80% and 85%. Problem 1 should have been very simple. Problem 2 was an example problem from the statics book. Problem 3 simply required substituting the correct angle into two equations on your crib sheet. Problem 4 was the only problem that actually required much work, and even that problem should have been straight forward.
6. As I said at the beginning of the semester, statics is a prerequisite for this course and statics knowledge and ability is expected. It appears that a large number of you are not well prepared for this course. Perhaps the multiple choice tests in statics and physics are partially to blame. I don't think that the multiple choice tests can properly test: whether you are drawing a correct and complete free-body diagram; whether you are writing the equations of equilibrium; whether you can solve for the correct answer or are just able to
pick the correct answer out of a short list; etc.
7. I think that another possible problem is your reliance on calculators. You spend to much time punching numbers in you calculator trying to find a commbination that gives the correct answer and too little time analyzing the problem and understanding it. I think that this process may have gotten you through physics and statics with their multiple choice tests, but it is not serving you very well in this course.
8. Your grade in this class will not be that you did well considering your poor background in math or physics or statics. Your grade in this class will be based on whether or not you show me that you understand the principles of mechanics of materials. That is, do you know when to use one equation rather than another... Do you know whether to use an angle of -37 degrees (problem 3 of exam 1) instead of +37 degrees or +53 degrees... Do you know the difference between normal stress and shear stress... Do you know whether to use the cross sectional area or the surface area or some other area to find stress... All of the things that we talk about in class. I generally emphasize the things that I feel are important and that I will be looking for on exams. In fact, I generally emphasize them several times in class. Of course, you won't know that if you don't come to class, or if you come to class and sleep, or if you come to class and do the daily crossword.
9. The aerospace engineering department is starting to get complaints from the
mechanical engineering department and from the civil engineering department. They are wondering how you can get A's and B's in statics and not perform simple tasks in their follow-on courses. Specifically, they mention that you can't draw proper free-body diagrams, that you can't solve simple statics problems, that you can't analyze simple problems the way students could 5 or 10 years ago. I don't intend to have them ask how you can get an A or a B in my class without knowing the difference between stress and strain or the difference between normal stress and shear stress or any of the basic principles of mechanics of materials.
10. You may have been told that the teacher stands in the front of the room to teach you mechanics of materials (or whatever other course you are taking). If so, you have been told wrong. The teacher's job is to help you learn. The hard work (and learning is hard work) has to be done by you. I will do whatever I can to help you learn. But if you just sit back and watch me solve problems, you will probably not learn the material.
o You need to read the book BEFORE coming to class so that you have some idea of what will be talked about and what you have difficulty understanding.
o You need to try some of the homework problems BEFORE coming to class. The
example problems in the book may look clear and simple, but starting a problem on your own may not be so simple.
o I will try to highlight those things that I feel are very important and/or I think you will have difficulty with, and I will work and explain additional example problems.
o If you don't understand something in the book and/or in the lecture, you need to ask about it.
o Don't wait for someone else to ask questions when you don't understand something. Probably there are a lot of other people who don't understand it and are also timid about asking questions. Even if everyone else does understand it, that doesn't help you. It's your education. You need to participate.
o You need to work the homework problems until you understand the material. It is not enough to just play with the numbers on your calculator until you get the answer that is given. (As Charlie Brown observed, "The answers in life are not in the back of the book.") You need to work on the homework problems until you truly understand why you are solving it the way you are.
o You need to look at the answers you get and ask yourself if they make sense. Why does it work that way.
Most of the observations above are not unique to this class. You are paying a lot of
money to get an education at Iowa State University. Paying the money doesn't buy you
the education. Even attending class does not give you the education you are paying for.
Even after paying all of that money, you still have to work for your education. You must
participate in the process. It is not enough to just sit on the curb and watch the parade
go by.
L.D. Sturges
Actually what ever department that is in charge of that class busted Sturges down to TA for a semester because to many people we failing mechanics. I want to say it was last fall, but I'm not sure. All I know is that in class you'd think he could make a Marine Corps drill instuctor cry, but if you met him during office hours he was one of the most helpful professors I had.
If I remember correctly, this is how it went down...
Several students had a Physics exam the same night as the Mechanics exam. So, because mechanics was a smaller class, they had to reschedule that one. They all took the mechanics exam and every single one of them failed. When they went back over their tests, they found that Sturges had graded them all. Whereas for the other students, he only graded one problem on their exams and the TAs graded the others. So, they appealed to Sturges and he didn't bend. So, they filed a complaint with the department and he was a TA for a semester or two.
In EM 305 (Statics and Mechanics) which I took in 2002, there were 2 sections of the class, one taught by Sturges and one taught by his TA, Peggy. Sturges wrote the tests and distributed them to both sections but he only graded his section, and his TA graded her students section.
I recall Sturges's class average (the one I was in) at the end of the year was in the 60's and the class average in his TA's class was around 80% (the difference of a D/F vs a C/B) Keep in mind, we were tested on the exact same tests (I had some friends in the other section I studied with and saw their exams). Basically, if you made the same mistake, you would get docked twice the amount of points in Sturges's class. Some complaints were made by some students in my section, but the argument I heard Sturges made was essentially that his section of students were 20% dumber than his TA's section of students. I usually don't remember my classes in this type of detail, but at the time it was a big deal.
They ended up getting rid of EM 305 in the spring of 03, I assume to poor grades.
One things for sure, I never thought I would see the day I would be talking about Sturges in Cyclone Fanatic
I recall Sturges's class average (the one I was in) at the end of the year was in the 60's and the class average in his TA's class was around 80% (the difference of a D/F vs a C/B) Keep in mind, we were tested on the exact same tests (I had some friends in the other section I studied with and saw their exams). Basically, if you made the same mistake, you would get docked twice the amount of points in Sturges's class. Some complaints were made by some students in my section, but the argument I heard Sturges made was essentially that his section of students were 20% dumber than his TA's section of students. I usually don't remember my classes in this type of detail, but at the time it was a big deal.
They ended up getting rid of EM 305 in the spring of 03, I assume to poor grades.
One things for sure, I never thought I would see the day I would be talking about Sturges in Cyclone Fanatic
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Hmm, to what does it even mean that a tenured professor was "busted down to TA"? Did they take away his tenure, fire him, admit him into as a graduate student into their graduate program, and then hire him as a TA? Sounds like a rather laborious process :skeptical:
November/December birthdays suck
I've never minded having my birthday in November, and I especially have never minded having the two lumped together as birthday + Christmas = bigger and better gifts. Nowadays anymore I usually get more money than gifts, and it's really nice being able to combine birthday money with Christmas money to get something I ordinarily wouldn't be able to get.
I was in engineering back in 2001-02 and I still remember the horror stories my engineering classmates told me about Sturges. He certainly is one of those professors that feels that simply because you are the student and he is the professor there is absolutely no way you can gain the same kind of knowledge he has and his grading reflects that attitude. As far as his attitude that he's not being paid to teach but to help learn - no, you're being paid to teach. Why would you be mandated to have lectures by the university if there wasn't a requirement to teach? As for a lot of the stress and strain mumbo jumbo he was getting in that written diatribe, I only had a couple of semesters of statics and mechanics classes before I left engineering, and yet I still remember how most of statics works. Is it a big surprise that most of that is probably due to the fact that I didn't have Sturges as a professor, but I was actually TAUGHT by the TAs?
Ha, good to hear that even though I have been out for several years good old Leroy is still up to the same old games.
Perhaps nobody goes to his classes because they are the most boring lectures on campus? Or perhaps whether you do or do not go to his lectures, it doesn't matter come test time because resistance is futile. Might as well just sleep in.
Either way, for those of you enjoying Leroy, consider it a form of engineering Hazing. You can figure out the stuff you should have learned in has class when you encounter it in later classes, chances are nobody else learned it the first time either.
Anybody think there is a way to have Jamie Pollard fire Sturges? Maybe we could get Bill Callahan in here to teach the class or something. :wink:
Perhaps nobody goes to his classes because they are the most boring lectures on campus? Or perhaps whether you do or do not go to his lectures, it doesn't matter come test time because resistance is futile. Might as well just sleep in.
Either way, for those of you enjoying Leroy, consider it a form of engineering Hazing. You can figure out the stuff you should have learned in has class when you encounter it in later classes, chances are nobody else learned it the first time either.
Anybody think there is a way to have Jamie Pollard fire Sturges? Maybe we could get Bill Callahan in here to teach the class or something. :wink:
I don't think it was all that laborious, more of a matter of him not giving the lecture, but rather he was forced to be in charge of one of the recitation sections. I had a physics TA that was a Dr so it's not the only instance of a guy that had his PHD teaching a recitation section.
He was a TA when I took 324 in Fall 05 i think. Oddly enough, he was a great TA. I wasn't a fan of who taught the class that semester (the name escapes me right now...), but I guess it could have been worse.
I am certainly making too much of this, but him becoming a TA would indeed have required the process I described above. TA is a job title, and only graduate students can be TAs.
The fact that he got out of his regular teaching duties for one semester and didn’t have to do lecture doesn’t imply that he became a TA; it just means he was a professor who got away with only doing a recital session. Sounds like a sweet deal.
My roommate had Sturges and said he was terrible... Thank God we've got all the good professors in the College of Business, the toughest college at ISU!:biglaugh:
Psh......not if you had Tsai for Dynamics...the exams WERE the practice exams with different numbers..lol
And about b-day exams, yes they do totally suck. My 19-23 b-days have gone down the drain each year during finals
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Ah yes, Mr.Thévenin himself. I kid you not, he took points off one of my weekly quizzes because I forgot the accent mark over the e in thevenin.
Kruempel and Sturges were an unholy alliance against Mechanical Engineers. My 2 biggest ******* profs at ISU, by a long shot.
