#teaching

Grading student work. Students occasionally throw extra bits of information in their submissions, like

• "Our variable is guilt, manipulated via random assignment (nominal and ordinal)" [No, it's not both measurement levels; it's one or the other]
• "Hypothesis 1: AI use predicts student academic anxiety (students with higher academic success will be more aware of the dangers of AI)" [What's in the parentheses is supposed to inform or restate what came before it...]

Students occasionally get huffy about losing points when one part of their answer is solid but they add other information that's not. I explain to them that the "extra information" thrown in as if it were helping when it is, in fact, irrelevant or even deeply wrong, tells me they have a lower level of understanding of the material. The fact that they thought this was relevant suggests that they could use some more studying or practice.

What I want to say is what that famous internet video by criminal lawyers from New Jersey say: Sometimes you gotta Shut the Fuck Up.

#professor #teaching #students #ShutTheFuckUp #MoreIsNotAlwaysBetter