asking idiotic questions in lecture

[QuikClot]

---

Members do not see this ad.

The Socratic Method doesn't work w/ 150 people.

I said "a more Socratic method," not "the Socratic method." And it does work . . . as evidenced by the fact that most professors at all levels encourage questions.

We all have questions.

Not true. In any group you are going to have a minority of people who are interested and curious enough to ask a question. The more reason most people don't is not politeness, or even shyness, but rather apathy.

I am not talking about the person who asks a question once in a while.

Then read what I said above; questions should be good and not too frequent.

These students will hijack a lecture, causing the end to be rushed and often causing it to run late. There is a net loss of learning to everyone but the questioner.

I have very little respect for the teacher who allows their classes to be disrupted in the way you describe. Pacing is their responsibility.

I would also point out that if the professor provides objectives, notes, and/or powerpoints, and all you care about is getting that information, class is a waste of your time anyway. You have the infomation at your fingertips. You don't need the professor there -- you don't care about anything not in the notes or on the test. So why not let interested parties make use of the live experience? You need someone to read to you?

 

[MirrorTodd]

Hey, I'm sorry, but the way you just spelled mosquito's really made me laugh. I'm not trying to bag on you, but it was funny. And that Jurassic Park thing was pretty interesting. I never thought about it like that.

 

[Doc Oc]

I was more annoyed by the people who made statements - ala spoke but did not actually articulate a question. It tended to come in a few different forms:

1) The ill relative example: Professor relays some odd med reaction, complication, etc and someone raises their hand to tell an anecdote essentially reiterating the same point, adding nothing to it.

2) The soul-mate example: Student tries to finish the professor's thought, to show that they are in sync with the prof, they are their intellectual equal, they are totally following the lecture, etc.

3) The nerd example: Student relays info from some research article that they read or, even worse, research that they participated in as a pre-med, that reiterates the point, or, and this is really irritating, DOESN'T relate at all, they just want to be like, "Look at me, I read articles".

4) The father figure example: Student has an extensive background in area being lectured in, and feels compelled to raise their hand and "help" the lecturer by elaborating on points, essentially becoming the Ed McMahon of the lecturer.

I asked 3 questions during lecture my whole first two years. I had more, but I also have some books at home...

 

[anon-y-mouse]

\
Not true. In any group you are going to have a minority of people who are interested and curious enough to ask a question. The more reason most people don't is not politeness, or even shyness, but rather apathy.



Then read what I said above; questions should be good and not too frequent.



I have very little respect for the teacher who allows their classes to be disrupted in the way you describe. Pacing is their responsibility.

I would also point out that if the professor provides objectives, notes, and/or powerpoints, and all you care about is getting that information, class is a waste of your time anyway. You have the infomation at your fingertips. You don't need the professor there -- you don't care about anything not in the notes or on the test. So why not let interested parties make use of the live experience? You need someone to read to you?

Are you even IN med school? No, I didn't think so, so you might not have any idea of how much information needs to be given to students in a short period of time. It's not like drinking out of a firehose, it's more like chugging Niagara Falls. Lectures are strictly paced like this, and if people ask their inane questions, we end up rushing at the very end and the essential points are missed. Yes, we have the powerpoints, etc. but a lot of them are useless (to many people) without the benefit of a professor unravelling them and explaning them in a coordinated fashion. PROFESSORS SIMPLY DO NOT READ TO US. Well, at least at my med school where they're paid the big bucks to teach us. Moreover, the way they've made their presentations, it's often full of clinical examples drawn from their wealth of experience anyhow. Also, someone else's version of "making the live experience more interesting" is totally going to be different from mine, and it's at this point where people get annoying. Who's to say who asks the "excellent" questions and who doesn't? We all share the professor equally, and when someone steers the discussion away, it is SELFISH and detrimental to the learning of other students. People can ask their interesting questions AFTER lecture... there's always a lineup around the prof anyway. Med school, with the exception of the "doctoring" class, and as I have experienced it, is not amenable to any socratic-esque method.

Yes, I ask questions as well... but mine are well within the scope of what's being taught. For example, one lecturer mentioned that the brachial plexus embryonically derives from cells from both dorsal and ventral primary rami, but I asked for a clarification of this, since we were taught that plexi come strictly from ventral primary rami. I think this is an example of a good question because it can lead to confusion when taking notes for exams and is pertinent to the entire class.

There's nothing wrong with asking good quesitons, but questions should be ON TOPIC, for clarification of errors, and NOT cursory (nor should they be existential tangents that assume the "direct conversation with the professor" format).

 

[Chinorean]

I feel your (collective) pain. The reason why I often times hold my anger back is the simple fact that they do pay tuition; sometimes I feel as if I'm just not getting enough out of my education (seeing as I skip a lot of class and watch lectures online, etc.) in comparison to these people. Then I wake up and want to smack them in the face with my lecture notes.

Whoahhhh labslave, I certainly hope you didn't think my questions were stupid...anyways, I think the questions we get in lecture are more indicative of the lecturer's (one in particular) failure to explicate certain concepts.

 

[leorl]

My pet peeve with questions is that they usually ask them on something the lecturer said 5 minutes ago, or the point was inferred from what the lecturer was saying, only so and so idiot didn't make the connection. And when they ask questions, it's always in the last freakin 2 minutes of class!

Some good ones I heard of recently:
- not lecture, but rounds. OBGYN - the tutor tells a case of a lady 8 months into pregnancy, suddenly presenting with abdominal pain. He asks for a differential for abdo pain in a 3rd trimester pregant woman, everyone stares at their feet. He goes through each person, getting more and more frustrated until out of sheer panic, this one girl blurts out ECTOPIC PREGNANCY! poor girl, the tutor completely lost it.

- one guy in lecture was asked how much menstrual fluid women lose during their periods. He comes up with something like 7/12 of her body weight. Lecturer said "huh? say that in English!" He goes: "Okay, 500 mLs!" Momentary pause before the whole class bursts out laughing . man, I'm sure glad women don't lose 500 mLs each month

 

[FutureNavyDOc]

Hey, I'm sorry, but the way you just spelled mosquito's really made me laugh. I'm not trying to bag on you, but it was funny. And that Jurassic Park thing was pretty interesting. I never thought about it like that.

What's wrong with my spelling of mosquitoes? That's how Dictionary.com spells it.

Your spelling makes me laugh as you are using the possessive form of mosquito implying that you are discussing something that belongs to a mosquito, such as "That rich mosquito's feces have no odor."

 

[SoCuteMD]

i am someone who often asked questions. I want to be an active part of my learning. Also, i hate class, so when i do go to class, i want to feel like i'm controlling it, like it's taylored to me. Call me selfish, i call it a more productive use of my time.

It's a good thing that all your classmates don't feel that way. Can you imagine if everyone was trying to tailor every lecture to themselves. 🙄

 

[psychbender]

What professors should say to some of the people who ask inane questions in my class:

"Student Doctor X, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

We have a few of the "I know all, and must share my knowledge" crowd in my class, complementing the "I don't know how to have a logical thought of my own, so must be spoon-fed every piece of data" folk. We also have one guy who, should he bother to stop bitching about how much the professor sucks for 30 seconds, and actually thinks about what the professor just said, would answer 95% of his "But what about..." and "So are you saying..." questions. This guy got the superlative "Most likely to argue with the Dalai Lama" last year.

 

[PoorMD]

Yesterday we were learning about malaria and this girl asks, "but which came first, the parasite or the mosquito?". Classic from this individual. Then exactly .01 seconds after lecture has ended, she and her friends hurdle over seats and attack the lecturer with equally inane questions. If you want to ask the lecturer something legitimate, too bad. If you manage to get there first they will push you over. I find it astonishing that this continues given that everytime these people open their mouths the entire class groans and sneers. Apparently public shame is also a difficult concept.

oh man this sums it up perfectly!! do these people have no shame? the chronic question askers who not only disrupt class but will literally shove you out of the way after class to ask some 4-part question, not just one question but multiple questions.

I think someone posted about how he always asks questions, in order to control the lecture or mold it in his fashion, to you I say go to the office hours. Honestly none of us give a crap about your control of anything, I want to learn for the boards and your nonsense takes away from that. Go ask questions in the office hours, don't force us to shift gears with you.

if for some ungodly reason i needed to ask a question (after exhausting my extensive resources/class notes/internet search/reference text/BRS books) then I will send an email. That way I have been considerate to my classmates and I will get a much more in depth response.

poormd

 

[MirrorTodd]

Extracting DNA from moisquitoes (sp?)??? Mospuitoes contain blood=

That's what I found funny, man. I read the first one in my mind as if someone said it with a New York accent and then you spelled the same word wrong AGAIN!! Don't get so bent outta shape about it. I wasn't making fun of your grammatical skills. I realize that grammar on an internet forum isn't a real indicator of your grammar in the real world. You must know how to spell and type, otherwise you would not be in medical school. So, chill. 😉

 

[subi]

we had a visit to primary health care centre today( a rural one)..
and lucky we are we had this 'question queen' in our batch.🙁

we were shown the delivery ward and the local worker working there just mentioned what were used like the weighing machine and so on...

she just showed a container for collecting the *ahem* bowels of the new born.. she said it in our native language.
this 'question queen' being from another place (she understands our language- just the basics...) she didnt get what the worker said she turned immediately and asked one of the boys standing beside her if he understood

and the boy; not knowing what will happen next just blurted out "yes".
and she asks him to explain it and no sooner did she ask the boy answered that he didnt understand and she turned to us asked what the worker said...
knowing not how to answer her we just turned to the exit door and came out fast before she could catch us with her question!😱

 

[subi]

why is it that the question askers are a lot of girls??

just curious ...

 

[evade]

why is it that the question askers are a lot of girls??

Ours isn't. Ours is a guy who asks questions in three irritating ways.

The first is to make a speed dash up to the front of the room the instant lecture ends. He sits in the front row, so he always gets there first. He usually brings his notes with him, and proceeds to monopolize the lecturer for the entire ten minutes between classes. He'll ask question after question after question without any consideration for other people who just might have valid questions too. He does this after every single lecture. It's kind of incredible, in a way.

The second is way more irritating, since I'm not really a question-asker at all (I think I asked one question during class my first year, and about three after class). During lecture, especially fast-paced lectures where we're crunched for time, he will raise his hand and ask a question that was just answered. I mean, the prof will say, "spongiotic dermatitis is characterized by increased edema in the intercellular space," and he will ask, "what characterizes spongiotic dermatitis?" When he starts doing this, you can be assured that he will do this multiple times during the lecture.

The third is almost amusing. This guy worked as a paramedic for several years before entering medical school, and likes to apply his knowledge to what we do in class and in clinic. That's all well and good, except when we were having a small group discussion about acid/base problems, and the guy starts arguing with the prof about how to treat a person who's severely acidotic. He was trying to tell the prof that he was wrong because there are protocols to be followed, and that what was done was X, Y, and Z; that's what was always done, and that this was all a silly waste of time. I remember thinking, gee, I thought we were in medical school, where we actually learn to think critically about things. This isn't to say that the protocol was wrong, it's just saying that it's good to know WHY the protocol exists, and WHY you do what you do to treat the patient. Evidently, this guy didn't care about that, and wanted to make it known.

Yeah, he's a winner, all right!

 

[Pembleton]

Sometimes I feel sorry for the person asking the question.

The prof. had just described a genetic disease that is 100% fatal in children. The poor girl raised her hand and asked why wasn't the disease fatal in adults. The teacher, a notorious hard-ass, laughed off her question. The class, smelling blood, laughed along. Poor girl was wholly humiliated.

 

[BlinkyCat]

HAHAHA omg....

so i guess this happens in every med school...

 

[potato51]

this thread is hilarious. Any questions I have i ask in private or via an online Q&A posting. I'm glad my class isn't that bad... yet.

 

[baylormed]

anyone else hate these people? they sit in the front row and ask the most meaningless, inane questions? (or questions that are way too in-depth and out of scope?) these people are so selfish... they can ask a question at the end of class if it's one that the entire class might not benefit from... these people just scream "this lecture is geared towards me and only me".

i kind of want to write an anonymous note somehow to these people saying "there is such a thing as a stupid question" or remark on how their pedantic questions break the flow / pace of lectures for everyone else.

anyway, discuss.

Funny, I thought it would be over after undergrad. Now that I think about it, throwing a bunch of pre-meds in a class isn't probably a situation in which annoying people wouldn't exist.

O well.

 

[Saqqqq]

We used to have one class clown! He would always ask at least one really stupid question in every lecture. I dont know whether they were funny or deliberately stupid, but he got a few laughs from the crowd.

Obviously those types get encouraged by the crowd response and continue to act stupid for the rest of the year! Im sure you have people like that 🙂 They can be funny if your in a good mood, but sometimes you just htink.. what a knob! 😡

 

[Mr. Freeze]

Ours isn't. Ours is a guy who asks questions in three irritating ways.

The first is to make a speed dash up to the front of the room the instant lecture ends. He sits in the front row, so he always gets there first. He usually brings his notes with him, and proceeds to monopolize the lecturer for the entire ten minutes between classes. He'll ask question after question after question without any consideration for other people who just might have valid questions too. He does this after every single lecture. It's kind of incredible, in a way.

The second is way more irritating, since I'm not really a question-asker at all (I think I asked one question during class my first year, and about three after class). During lecture, especially fast-paced lectures where we're crunched for time, he will raise his hand and ask a question that was just answered. I mean, the prof will say, "spongiotic dermatitis is characterized by increased edema in the intercellular space," and he will ask, "what characterizes spongiotic dermatitis?" When he starts doing this, you can be assured that he will do this multiple times during the lecture.

The third is almost amusing. This guy worked as a paramedic for several years before entering medical school, and likes to apply his knowledge to what we do in class and in clinic. That's all well and good, except when we were having a small group discussion about acid/base problems, and the guy starts arguing with the prof about how to treat a person who's severely acidotic. He was trying to tell the prof that he was wrong because there are protocols to be followed, and that what was done was X, Y, and Z; that's what was always done, and that this was all a silly waste of time. I remember thinking, gee, I thought we were in medical school, where we actually learn to think critically about things. This isn't to say that the protocol was wrong, it's just saying that it's good to know WHY the protocol exists, and WHY you do what you do to treat the patient. Evidently, this guy didn't care about that, and wanted to make it known.

Yeah, he's a winner, all right!

That's all the same guy!?!?!? THAT is impressive. One thing I try to be mindful of is doing the whole "back when I was a medic" thing. There is definitely a time and place for sharing street knowledge. Obviously that isn't it...

 

[CTG]

It doesnt happen in our class much, maybe a couple of disruptions per lecture. What I find strange at our lectures is that as soon as the lecture is over, a flock of students descends upon the lecturer. For some reason though, it is ALWAYS the same 6 or 8 students. Do they know they dont have to ask questions? or that our grades are determined by multiple choice test?...no need to kiss ass.

But hell...its on their time and if it keeps them from asking their obvious/dumb/overcomplicated questions in lecture I guess I cant complain.

I just dont get it. Very little in medical school has even been conceptual, let alone a difficult to understand concept. Its all very simple in and of itself. The difficulty comes in trying to remember all of the details of the huge volume of info we're exposed to.

Why do you assume that they're kissing ass? Sounds to me like they have legitimate questions and they don't feel like asking them in front of class either because they don't want to waste time, or they're uncomfortable speaking up in front of everyone, etc. Gotta defend the underdogs. But I had this one guy in my classes last year that would not only ask pointless, annoying questions ALL the time, but he would also carry on a banter with all the professors. Some people who recorded the lectures figured that he wasted approximately ten minutes of each class period and calculated the reimbursement from our tuition that he owed each of us.