regentrude Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 (edited) http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/an-american-lecturer-almost-failed-a-student-saying-australia-is-a-not-a-country/news-story/a5fdaf2f42da5eab6734749b1854d5c3 :banghead: This made the news even in German papers. Edited February 12, 2018 by regentrude 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Found this on the university's online degree page: "Expert instruction - learn from experienced faculty who bring relevant and actionable insights into the classroom" I feel kinda bad for the instructor--having her mistake made so public. But yeah, it's a pretty significant mistake from someone who is supposedly qualified to teach the course. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Wonder how they screen their online prof applicants .... On a somewhat related note, I always "knew" Australia was a country and a continent, but when I visited there last month, various sources said the jury was still out on whether it's an island, a continent, or both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 It's causing some serious WTF on academic forums as well. I mean, honestly, you would expect that idiot to at least type "is australia a country" into google before a snarky reply. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMMom1 Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Wow. Just amazing. You do wonder about the screening process for instructors... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Found this on the university's online degree page: "Expert instruction - learn from experienced faculty who bring relevant and actionable insights into the classroom" I feel kinda bad for the instructor--having her mistake made so public. But yeah, it's a pretty significant mistake from someone who is supposedly qualified to teach the course. I don't -she could have looked it up on the internet before denying the students claim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 I don't -she could have looked it up on the internet before denying the students claim Especially when the student emailed her a second time and included the link to the Australian government’s website. She could have just said “oops, my bad†and saved it then, but instead she doubles down and says that she had received the student’s link and would do her own independent research on the continent vs. country issue. When the instructor sorta, kinda admits her mistake, she only does so begrudgingly and then chastises the student to be sure her paper reports on Australia the country and not Australia the continent. The original BuzzFeed article had the entire email chain. I don’t really think much of the online school at this point, tbh, but I will admit they had a good response. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Yes, college lad discussed it with us two days ago. It came to mind with that thread asking about "chemtrails" and a professor expecting students to find credible resources supporting the theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 12, 2018 Author Share Posted February 12, 2018 I feel kinda bad for the instructor--having her mistake made so public. But yeah, it's a pretty significant mistake from someone who is supposedly qualified to teach the course. What gets me is that she was arguing with the student about it. Everybody can have a brain fart - but to defend it so persistently before checking is ridiculous. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Well, not to be contrarian, but I find it somewhat reassuring to realize that I am apparently well-qualified to be a college instructor. I mean, if the standards are THAT low... Oy vey. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 You know ... (and not to snark at JoJosMom, because I know that that was kinda tongue in cheek) ... one of the things that really frustrates me about this is that I am absolutely positive a certain segment of the population is going to generalize what happens at a school that is primarily about credentialing people online, and assume that this is pretty universal across all colleges. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 12, 2018 Share Posted February 12, 2018 You know ... (and not to snark at JoJosMom, because I know that that was kinda tongue in cheek) ... one of the things that really frustrates me about this is that I am absolutely positive a certain segment of the population is going to generalize what happens at a school that is primarily about credentialing people online, and assume that this is pretty universal across all colleges. 'Tis the bad in any profession that bring the whole thing down - doctors, teachers, professors, plumbers, cashiers, etc. Actually, the same thing happens in life in general - the person who assumes their dog is a special snowflake and can go where pets aren't allowed because "everyone" loves it!!! messing it up for genuine service dogs (referring to a recent thread) or parents letting their special snowflake disturb group activities or that one bully in a class at ps or whatever - all the same stuff. It takes a bit of thought to realize these aren't the whole they represent. If it's all one sees (because the others aren't always making waves to be seen), it's what folks assume is the norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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