The Off Topic Topic

[Sheilbh]

This is disappointing - but not that surprising:
https://news.ufl.edu/2020/11/ta-bias/

Study reveals gender bias in TA evaluations

A college class had two teaching assistants: one male and one female. At the end of the semester, the students scored the male TA higher on course evaluations, while the female TA got five times as many negative reviews.

There's just one problem: They were the same person.

Emily Khazan, a graduate student in interdisciplinary ecology at the University of Florida, conducted the study in a 136-person asynchronous online class last fall. Half of the students were told they had a male TA, the rest a female TA, but Khazan actually fulfilled TA duties for the whole class, using text-based interactions in an online learning platform.

While previous studies have shown that women and people of color may receive harsher faculty evaluations than white men, particularly in STEM fields, this study extends the finding to teaching assistants — the end of the often-leaky pipeline bringing underrepresented groups to academia.

[Caliga]

I like lemon radler.

[Oexmelin]

This is disappointing - but not that surprising:
https://news.ufl.edu/2020/11/ta-bias/

Study reveals gender bias in TA evaluations

A college class had two teaching assistants: one male and one female. At the end of the semester, the students scored the male TA higher on course evaluations, while the female TA got five times as many negative reviews.

There's just one problem: They were the same person.

Emily Khazan, a graduate student in interdisciplinary ecology at the University of Florida, conducted the study in a 136-person asynchronous online class last fall. Half of the students were told they had a male TA, the rest a female TA, but Khazan actually fulfilled TA duties for the whole class, using text-based interactions in an online learning platform.

While previous studies have shown that women and people of color may receive harsher faculty evaluations than white men, particularly in STEM fields, this study extends the finding to teaching assistants — the end of the often-leaky pipeline bringing underrepresented groups to academia.

In other news, sky confirmed to be blue.

I coached my TAs to ignore their evaluations. (« What does an Asian person know about American history »). At least  the department was fully cognizant of the situation and took evaluations with a huge grainof salt. But it takes its toll on the students.

[PDH]

"PDH is the worst TA, he never lectures out of the book."

"PDH is the worst TA, he only ever lectures out of the book."

Those were back to back (I think the department secretary put then that way on purpose) back from my first ever discussion section I taught in 1992.

[Eddie Teach]

Maybe one kid only came in Mondays and the other Wednesdays.

[derspiess]

I just can't do radlers.

[katmai]

"PDH is the worst TA, he never lectures out of the book."

"PDH is the worst TA, he only ever lectures out of the book."

Those were back to back (I think the department secretary put then that way on purpose) back from my first ever discussion section I taught in 1992.

well they weren't wrong, you are the worst.

[PDH]

"PDH is the worst TA, he never lectures out of the book."

"PDH is the worst TA, he only ever lectures out of the book."

Those were back to back (I think the department secretary put then that way on purpose) back from my first ever discussion section I taught in 1992.

well they weren't wrong, you are the worst.

True, but they didn't coordinate their attacks and they cancelled each other out.

[Syt]

Q a nun

[Sheilbh]

On that - whenever I read about QAnon I always think about Q, the really good political conspiracy thriller set in the Reformation written by an Italian collective:

[Caliga]

I just can't do radlers.

I mean, it's gotta be a hot and sunny day.

[mongers]

On that - whenever I read about QAnon I always think about Q, the really good political conspiracy thriller set in the Reformation written by an Italian collective:

I've seen some speculation that they or the leading light from the group may have started QAnon.

[Valmy]

On that - whenever I read about QAnon I always think about Q, the really good political conspiracy thriller set in the Reformation written by an Italian collective:

I've seen some speculation that they or the leading light from the group may have started QAnon.

What? Thanks a lot Italy.

First Mussolini and now this.

[Sheilbh]

On that - whenever I read about QAnon I always think about Q, the really good political conspiracy thriller set in the Reformation written by an Italian collective:

I've seen some speculation that they or the leading light from the group may have started QAnon.

Oh that's amazing!

I had never considered that. It sort of makes sense - a collective of authors, books that are kind of allegorical (Q is about the Reformation but the post-script suggests it's really about Operation Gladio and neo-liberalism) and the thwarting of counter-culture/movements of resistance in the 60s and 70s, all of the books have a MacGuffin (in 54 I think it's literally the "MacGuffin Device") a bit like the Trump paedo-cleanse.

This is dangerous - if I keep thinking about this I'm going to end up being a conspiracy theorist about conspiracy theories. Which is, weirdly, what Luther Blissett/Wu Ming would really want

[Caliga]

I thought Q was supposed to be the dude from 4chan?