The way I was taucht teaching is that you want constructive alignment between learning goals and exams and with essays, unless you are in writing class I don‘t see how you could possible do a good job at that.
Replies
What is your experience teaching at the undergraduate level?
jun 21, 2025, 7:06 pm • 0 0 • view
I have not taught in the UK or US. I‘ve given some lectures, graded and did training in DE in a STEM setting, and maybe I‘m missing something but the reliance on assays in the UK system just does not align with how I was taught to teach.
jun 21, 2025, 7:49 pm • 0 0 • view
Right, and that is 100% my cue to step away from the phone ...
jun 21, 2025, 7:56 pm • 0 0 • view
Okay, not to play the expertise card here, but perhaps as someone who does convene undergraduate science courses, I may have thought more about higher ed pedagogy.
jun 21, 2025, 7:55 pm • 0 0 • view
Writing is a foundational skill for any degree. You don't get university level writing skills without practicing writing. Essays are writing practice. One of the overarching learning objectives of a biosciences degree is to be able to write at the college level. It is hard. It takes practice.
jun 21, 2025, 7:02 pm • 0 0 • view
I've reviewed enough shit grants and manuscripts, and sat through enough painful talks, to know that my post-post-grad peers aren't all picking these skills up by osmosis, either.
jun 21, 2025, 7:25 pm • 0 0 • view
I think our students *should* have specific writing classes (as I did in US liberal arts college education). Because literacy and numeracy (including computer literacy) are foundational skills for every degree course, and for higher ed in general.
jun 21, 2025, 7:23 pm • 0 0 • view
Yes, I just fundamentally disagree with that. They are studying bioscience, not language/writing.
jun 21, 2025, 7:12 pm • 0 0 • view
These are, I repeat, *foundational skills* which are necessary for the doing of biosciences or any brain-work job they will ever have. College education isn't just about gathering subject material, it's about learning how to *think critically* and communicate on a high level.
jun 21, 2025, 7:21 pm • 0 0 • view
Every student I with whom I talked about essays in UK higher education has told me they are mostly nonsense. And I don‘t get why lectureres would put themselves through the misery of grading them. It just seems like a loss-loss for everyone.
jun 21, 2025, 6:59 pm • 0 0 • view
My comp sci counterparts don't enjoy sifting through their students' dreadful buggy code. I'm sure piano teachers aren't giddy at the prospect of listening to scales. I doubt even Ted Lasso thrills at the thousandth hour of dribbling drills. I don't love marking. I do it to help students improve.
jun 21, 2025, 7:28 pm • 1 0 • view
Would you recommend that no one needs to learn any coding skills bc ChatGPT can just vibe code for them?
jun 21, 2025, 7:12 pm • 0 0 • view
Full disclosure, I have used ChatGPT to help me write ImageJ macros and whatnot.
jun 21, 2025, 7:13 pm • 0 0 • view
We use AI for coding on a daily basis and have been for a while. It does not and won‘t replace coding skills completely but massively lowers the entry barrier and, in my experience, really helps people build coding skills. Moreover, everyone knows how much stuff it gets wrong.
jun 21, 2025, 7:43 pm • 0 0 • view
I totally agree, as assistive tech AI lowers the barrier for entry. (I'm not a coder!) But you know how much it gets wrong because you already know how to do it. A newbie might not know. They still need some training and practice.
jun 21, 2025, 7:50 pm • 0 0 • view
The thing with code is that you have really fast feedback loops, so I‘m substantially less worried about using AI for code than for text. Also coding still involved debugging and testing, which AI can only help with.
jun 21, 2025, 7:59 pm • 0 0 • view
I tru to explain to my students why they are tasked with writing lab reports and essays. It's funny, this may not have ever been articulated. For educators it's obvious, but we need to be explicit. I explained to my 1st years that a lab report was practice for writing a paper and it was like 🤯
jun 21, 2025, 7:06 pm • 0 0 • view