Had first classes today. One of my professor is young and fresh, so of course she thinks "icebreakers" are a good idea...even though every veteran teacher I've ever had has never done this shit because they understand how pointless it is and don't want to waste everyone's time and money.

So she hands out a paper where you have to find 8 people who can answer the questions and put their name down..."and I want you out of your seats!"

Bitch.

Just what a waste of time. Give us the material to read and stop trying to make the class a party. I don't need to feel like I'm acquainted with these people in order to enter class discussion. If you "break the ice" or not, the same people who would speak out anyway are going to, and the quiet ones will stay quiet. Ice breakers don't work you slut.

Which leads me to another point. Make everything grade-wise based off of the books we spent $120 for. If someone thinks they are disciplined enough to do the work outside of class, then let them do it. A person's time is the most important commodity they have and we're even spending thousands of dollars for your class. Stop taking attendance. Bitch.

And I hate Discussion classes. On the Enrollment page it said the class was a Lecture, but the teacher fooled us. She's making it a Discussion. So of course she takes attendance and randomly calls on you to FUCKING READ IN CLASS. Haven't seen that shit since middle school. Absurd. What a bitch. I should have the right to check out mentally when I've done the reading before. God damnit.

Dicussion classes are a great thing if you plan to get an advanced degree and want to really know your subject, but they're a pain in the ass if you're just taking the class as an elective. Hence, I hate that this bitch lied and right now I'm looking for an alternative class. No such luck yet, though, so it looks like I'm stuck.



Anyone else have any classes they already dread?

man i may hate my first college language class because there will only be 16 people in it and i imagine a class like that involves a shit load of discussion and practice and presentations and....RAAAAPE.

i love big lectures where you can just sit back and listen. even better if the subject or professor is interesting, but still. i'm like you, i don't like being pressured to participate and i. absolutely. hate. fucking. ice. breakers. if we have to do them when i move into my new dorm in a few weeks i just won't go to the floor meeting. they can lick my balls.

i wonder if anyone actually likes ice breakers. i really can't see it. i had to do one just like yours, OP, in my intro to college survey class last year. we got that teacher back though by collectively just sitting quietly and staring into space for the whole quarter. she'd try to get some questions or discussion going about possible college majors (we were all undecided) but she'd always just end up standing up there awkwardly. haha.

but i can understand classes where you at least get some credit for attendance. i don't care if i have to go, as long as i'm not being bothered to contribute when i don't want to.

Just one time I'd like for somebody to stand up to the prof and say, "We're not fuckin here to play games and shit. We're fuckin adults so get to teaching and stop wasting our time!"

If I was tipsy when the prof tried to pull ice-breakers, I think I might actually say the aforementioned.

They have to force some kind of participation, otherwise people show up the first and last day and don't learn shit, then the public asks why the school is cranking out stupid fucking people.

I kind of like not requiring attendance, though. It means that me and the 4 other people who choose to actually attend the class will really learn something without dealing with stupid people.

Ice breakers work wonderfully. They aren't just to help you get to know each other, they're also to help the professor learn about you. Professors do like to know the people that are in their classes. These are the people that they're going to want to be able to contact within the field after they graduate and get well-placed jobs. They view every student as a possible guest speaker; a possible contact for the next wave of students that need entry level jobs. Beyond any motives that the professor has, it gives you a chance to meet the people that surround you; even if you ignore it, school is a social place.

Professors love to teach with a blended approach; this is part lecture and part discussion. I quite enjoy this setup, since I like to participate in class. Lectures quickly bore me because all of the necessary information is either in the textbook or in the PowerPoint presentations.

Forced participation exists exactly for the reason that you describe. You want to switch off, rather than absorbing the information and experience that your professor has to offer. You're paying for the professor's time, which is far more valuable than your own. It's their job and they want to do it in an effective manner.

Taking attendance is garbage, but it offers the professor insight into who cares about the class and who has no interest; if you've been to every class and need an extension on something, then it's far more likely that you'll get it. Professors that actually base marks upon general attendance have your best interest at heart; chances are that there's a reason they want you to be there.

Not taking advantage of your professors and skipping classes, on a regular basis, are some of the worst mistakes that a student can make.

The only time i have done an 'icebreaker' was in some retarded first year communication unit. I'm with the OP on this, i don't give a shit about what the guy next to me thinks about the subject or what his name is. I'm here to listen to the lecturer teach, and if i want to sleep in and catch up in my own time then i don't expect to be penalised.

The argument that non-attendance leads to stupid graduates is false, if students manage to graduate without knowning anything then its the assesments that are faulty.

A couple of years ago a lecturer decided that he wanted to find out if attendence is linked to marks, so he took attendence. He wasn't surprised that it was linked.

All that said, as my course has become specialised, my biggest unit is 11 people. Its a science subject so there isn't much room for discussion, molecules don't have feelings.

Just a quick question - how do they take attendance in lecture-type classes with a couple hundred people?

Do they call everybody's name out one by one or get everybody to sign a sheet and pass it around or what?

Ice breakers work wonderfully. They aren't just to help you get to know each other, they're also to help the professor learn about you.

I really, really don't believe that. I cannot think of any situation I've ever been in where we had to do an ice breaker exercise and it was at all beneficial. Everyone just rolls their eyes and groans and waits for it to be over. Even shit like going around the room and "omg say your name, major, where you're from, and tell us something interesting about you" is so god damn annoying and pointless. Nobody remembers even what the person before them said, because again, they're just waiting to say their shit and get it over with. Think of how you got to know people (students and teachers) in school as a child. It wasn't through forced ice breakers, it was through real interaction.

Just a quick question - how do they take attendance in lecture-type classes with a couple hundred people?

Do they call everybody's name out one by one or get everybody to sign a sheet and pass it around or what?

They don't. In fact, I just (20 minutes ago) had class in a lecture hall made for 50 students that only had 8 people in it without being registered for the class (or paying tuition for it ;)). The class fucking sucked though, philosophy of science, just a European history lesson with a bit of astronomy thrown in, two classes that I had already taken.

No roll, no problem; the professors are going to give the same lecture anyway, they don't care if 1 or 500 students listen, they're still paid to speak regardless of how many people take the class; thus, if you're there for the education (and you should be), one strategy would be to sign up for just one class (or none!:eek:) and go to as many as you'd like. Nobody cares; seriously.

Think of how you got to know people (students and teachers) in school as a child. It wasn't through forced ice breakers, it was through real interaction.

It's only forced if you treat it as such. The interaction between students and teachers in schools is always forced. It's not as if you can avoid it.

If you see such activities as being useless, then they'll always be useless to you. You can either make use of ice breakers or you can have a bad attitude.

Just a quick question - how do they take attendance in lecture-type classes with a couple hundred people?

Do they call everybody's name out one by one or get everybody to sign a sheet and pass it around or what?

It depends on the professor. I've had ones that will pass around an attendance form for you to sign, while others couldn't care less about it.

Anybody can sit in on a lecture; it's called auditing a class.

my university give out supplimentary exams for those who did well all semester but just bombed on the exam. they are awarded by a board, and one peice of information they take into account is lecture/lab attendance. if your one of those people who skip every optional thing they can and end up with 49%, you won't get a second chance.

Yeah, it sucks, but I don't skip class a lot so I don't care. Right now, I'm skipping a class that takes attendance every day, but I'm sick and don't feel like walking across campus.

What the fuck kind of school has classes with over a hundred people!?

What the fuck kind of school has classes with over a hundred people!?

Most schools? Harvard has classes with over 500 students.

One of my profs takes attendance orally in a class with a few hundred people.

^^^ That just seems so pointless.
Here, no one gives a shit whether or not students attend the lectures. Most lecturers will give online power point slides and most theaters are equipped with iLecture support. Most classes actually occur in theaters that wont fit everyone that is enrolled in anticipation of people who wont turn up - whether by choice or due to subject clashes. (The departments have some communication problems.)
Practicals have compulsory participation, for obvious reasons. And in the Arts department, you're required to go to 80% of tutorials in order to pass.
They don't call it a Bachelor of Attendance for nothing.

What the fuck kind of school has classes with over a hundred people!?

You realize we're talking about colleges and universities, and not high schools, right?

My general chemistry classes had over 300 people in them. It's not all that uncommon.

Do they call everybody's name out one by one or get everybody to sign a sheet and pass it around or what?

Actually, I've heard that some schools do it electronically one way or another.

Some classes at my school have clickers, and randomly assigned seats. You have to be in class, in the right seat, and answer a few questions throughout the class everyday.

I havn't had to buy one of those clickers yet though, I'm stoked.

Attendance is needed to make sure the people who got grants/loans are GOING TO CLASS.

Most of my teachers only bother with attendance for the first few weeks then leave it alone.

Most of my classes also have assigned readings then lectures in class where most of the test comes from the lecture.

From what I've seen the people who only show up for tests, etc. usually get fucking owned.

I am with you on Ice Breakers though.

I've had to interview someone and present them to the class like three times now and it's usually the younger professors that make you do it. I'm paying for the class, I shouldn't have to be the one who stands up in front of everyone to teach them useless shit.

If I do then I may as well be getting paid.