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1500 questions
89
votes
11 answers

Where did I lose control of my studies?

I am a 5th MSc semester mathematics student at a local German university. Since fall, I have been working on my thesis, which is the only remaining task for finishing my studies. I had not had particular difficulties during my studies, apart from…
Anton_P
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12 answers

How should I deal with very negative feedback from some students?

I am a lecturer of a computer course in a university. Two months (almost 20 hours) of lectures have already finished. Very recently, I planned to get some feedback from my students on my lectures. I asked a couple of questions such as 'how…
Coder
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89
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10 answers

What can I do if my advisor wants me to keep working, even while I'm on medical leave for severe depression?

I'm a Master's student right now. Due to previous incidents (What can I do if a student in my lab threatens to tell lies about me, and my advisor doesn't want to fire her?), I'm clinically depressed and currently on medical leave as a result. My…
Émile Lebacq
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89
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17 answers

As a TA, how to react if I come across a Facebook group in which students insult me?

I am a PhD student in Europe and also TA for some bachelor's degree classes for my supervisor. Just by chance, I have found an open Facebook group (normally, the group aims to create an interaction between students and opened by students as well.)…
optimal control
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89
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2 answers

What is the origin of the "underwater basket weaving" meme in Academia?

"Underwater basket weaving" is often used as a placeholder for "irrelevant, useless university course." (Despite the fact that it's an actual thing.) More generally, "Basket weaving" and related courses (e.g. "quantitative basket weaving") are often…
ff524
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89
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15 answers

Why are some professors critical of even casual use of Wikipedia?

Many of the professors and lecturers I come across are very critical of Wikipedia, but they never give proper support for their claims of "Wikipedia is bullshit!". And they threaten "Do not use Wikipedia if you want to pass!", and they mean it…
Jake
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89
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13 answers

How to react to a student proselytising during office hours?

A few weeks ago, a student asked me during my office hours whether I was religious or not. More specifically, he asked whether I believed in his religion, and was visibly disappointed when I replied negatively. How should I react to a question such…
osuka_
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10 answers

PhD candidate vs PhD student

I see researchers working on their PhD calling themselves PhD Candidates, other call themselves PhD students. What's the difference between a PhD Candidate and a PhD Student? According to two posters on the WordReferences forums: This terms vary…
Mohamed Khamis
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88
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11 answers

How to train students to write high-quality research papers?

As someone supervising postgrad students, I wonder what is the best way to train these students to write high-quality research papers? The best way seems to be through coauthorship but ... On the one hand I can be hands-off and rather give them…
badroit
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88
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11 answers

How do teachers learn to grade?

I teach math with about two years of experience now. In general I have found that all the cliches about graduate school teaching you "how to research but not how to teach" are true. But I have also found many great resources (at my institution,…
sdg238
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88
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12 answers

Should I tell students that it's my first time teaching the course?

I'm a TA teaching a class this fall for the first time. I've taught before, but never this class, and never felt an obligation to tell my students it's my first time teaching a given class. But, being a bit more experienced I thought it might be a…
bcf
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88
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6 answers

Does publishing a paper on arXiv prevent me from submitting it to a non-open access journal?

If I publish a pre-print paper on arXiv, how can I guarantee exclusive rights to the publisher afterwards? Am I unable to publish on non-open access journals after I publish a pre-print on arXiv ?
Stefano Borini
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88
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7 answers

Are college students forbidden from sharing their grades with other students?

I am currently in an anatomy class and had an issue. I and three other students worked on an 18 page packet together. We had the same answers since we worked on it as a group. However, two of us received a 35/50, one of us had a 50/50 and the other…
Isaac Fields
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88
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4 answers

Strategies for teaching with facial aphasia (inability to recognize faces aka prosopagnosia, face-blindness)

I'm a math grad student in my first year, which means that I have not yet taught a class (in my program first years grade or provide one-on-one tutoring for students who struggle in calculus). I have facial aphasia, which means that I am completely…
user141592
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13 answers

How to deal with a student who harasses the (inexperienced) teacher during class?

I am a young teacher at college. I have to go way too long, I know but I have the following problem. In one of my classes, I have this guy who pecks at me for everything I say. He is surely conceited, but it hurts like hell when he makes fun of me…
user20399
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