I believe that in my last post, I mentioned something about trying to find out whether or not course mentors are not allowed to give outside resources. Per Kelly, my student mentor, they are allowed, however they may choose not to.
When I mentioned that the student mentor for this class either has, or is currently earning a Ph.D. in the subject of supply chain, thus he ought to be able to recommend something, anything. I gave her the example that if someone asked me for resources on how to run a marathon, without even thinking about it, I'd be able to rattle off a half dozen books/websites/people, etc. for that person to get more information. Thus, it is perplexing (to be nice, as I grit my teeth) that this course mentor is so reluctant to do so. I also mentioned that in my experience (extreme sarcasm there) it is usually folks who are unsure of their own knowledge of a subject, are also the most threatened and therefore, they don't wish to share for fear of being found out. I'm wondering if that's the case here. If you've been on the forum for this class, you'll notice that the course mentor (CM) never directly answers anyone's questions. He either gives a page number (which you can find out by watching the video), or calls the person. I'm all for talking with someone, if that's what works for both people. In my case, I've spoken with him and it sucks the life out of me. We just don't speak the same language. In my view, I'm the customer and he's the service provider. I don't feel that I'm getting the service that I need or want. Regardless, I'm finally beginning to see that he will not bend to my will (if you saw my last email to him, you'd see that it was actually blatant begging) thus, I must figure out another way to get through this class. Hey, I'm still throwin' the pasta at the wall. Give me points for consistency and determination.
Contrary to what I had originally thought, i.e. that I couldn't begin another class before finishing this one (also known as Supply Chain Purgatory), Kelly has set me up to begin with the next cohort for the Leadership. It's supposed to be more of a softball class, and I'm hoping that by focusing some energy on something else in addition to Supply Chain, something will finally click in my brain. Oh and just think of the people that I may be able to bug who've already finished supply chain! Oh joy! I'm not sure if having 2 classes at once is totally allowed, or if it is a one-off that Kelly is doing to try and help me move forward. I have a feeling that it may be at her discretion.
As for Supply Chain, I've skipped Tasks 1 and 2 for now, and am working on Task 3. The questions are literally taken from the topic headers from the text book, just with a question mark at the end. The strategy that I'm currently employing, is to think less and type more. I'm doing my best to go directly where CM has advised per the video, scanning for the question, and then re-wording the answer. This is ridiculous since this is supposed to be a professional, college-level course and I shouldn't have to dumb myself down to answer the question so that the grader will be able read my answer. (I wonder if the graders are as frustrated as I am?) At this point though, I'm desperate to get this class over and done with so I'll do what I have to.) The thought of just citing the entire book (Heizer, 2010) did occur to me but then I'd still have to come up with 60% of my own material. At this point, it's a victory to get one question answered although it's through gritted teeth.
In full disclosure, I used to work for a large state agency where it was my job to write the questions and the scoring criteria (rubric) when people applied for jobs. If I'd given my manager the equivalent version of any of the tasks or rubric for Supply Chain, (or some of the other tasks and rubric from previous classes) she would have demoted me or said that I needed "coaching". This is why it makes me insanely upset when I read poorly written tasks and rubric. (How difficult is it to use proper grammar and a spell check?) The means by which you are being graded, should never be a secret. When the difference between a pass and a fail per the rubric is, "provided adequate detail" versus "did not provide adequate detail", there is a serious problem. The subjectivity of grading should be removed as much as possible to ensure that each paper is graded consistently across graders.
With that, I say, I hope your team wins the Super Bowl since mine lost in the playoffs. Until then...I'll grudgingly get back to Task 3.
Forward
When I mentioned that the student mentor for this class either has, or is currently earning a Ph.D. in the subject of supply chain, thus he ought to be able to recommend something, anything. I gave her the example that if someone asked me for resources on how to run a marathon, without even thinking about it, I'd be able to rattle off a half dozen books/websites/people, etc. for that person to get more information. Thus, it is perplexing (to be nice, as I grit my teeth) that this course mentor is so reluctant to do so. I also mentioned that in my experience (extreme sarcasm there) it is usually folks who are unsure of their own knowledge of a subject, are also the most threatened and therefore, they don't wish to share for fear of being found out. I'm wondering if that's the case here. If you've been on the forum for this class, you'll notice that the course mentor (CM) never directly answers anyone's questions. He either gives a page number (which you can find out by watching the video), or calls the person. I'm all for talking with someone, if that's what works for both people. In my case, I've spoken with him and it sucks the life out of me. We just don't speak the same language. In my view, I'm the customer and he's the service provider. I don't feel that I'm getting the service that I need or want. Regardless, I'm finally beginning to see that he will not bend to my will (if you saw my last email to him, you'd see that it was actually blatant begging) thus, I must figure out another way to get through this class. Hey, I'm still throwin' the pasta at the wall. Give me points for consistency and determination.
Contrary to what I had originally thought, i.e. that I couldn't begin another class before finishing this one (also known as Supply Chain Purgatory), Kelly has set me up to begin with the next cohort for the Leadership. It's supposed to be more of a softball class, and I'm hoping that by focusing some energy on something else in addition to Supply Chain, something will finally click in my brain. Oh and just think of the people that I may be able to bug who've already finished supply chain! Oh joy! I'm not sure if having 2 classes at once is totally allowed, or if it is a one-off that Kelly is doing to try and help me move forward. I have a feeling that it may be at her discretion.
As for Supply Chain, I've skipped Tasks 1 and 2 for now, and am working on Task 3. The questions are literally taken from the topic headers from the text book, just with a question mark at the end. The strategy that I'm currently employing, is to think less and type more. I'm doing my best to go directly where CM has advised per the video, scanning for the question, and then re-wording the answer. This is ridiculous since this is supposed to be a professional, college-level course and I shouldn't have to dumb myself down to answer the question so that the grader will be able read my answer. (I wonder if the graders are as frustrated as I am?) At this point though, I'm desperate to get this class over and done with so I'll do what I have to.) The thought of just citing the entire book (Heizer, 2010) did occur to me but then I'd still have to come up with 60% of my own material. At this point, it's a victory to get one question answered although it's through gritted teeth.
In full disclosure, I used to work for a large state agency where it was my job to write the questions and the scoring criteria (rubric) when people applied for jobs. If I'd given my manager the equivalent version of any of the tasks or rubric for Supply Chain, (or some of the other tasks and rubric from previous classes) she would have demoted me or said that I needed "coaching". This is why it makes me insanely upset when I read poorly written tasks and rubric. (How difficult is it to use proper grammar and a spell check?) The means by which you are being graded, should never be a secret. When the difference between a pass and a fail per the rubric is, "provided adequate detail" versus "did not provide adequate detail", there is a serious problem. The subjectivity of grading should be removed as much as possible to ensure that each paper is graded consistently across graders.
With that, I say, I hope your team wins the Super Bowl since mine lost in the playoffs. Until then...I'll grudgingly get back to Task 3.
Forward