Photography Elective

I'm about half way through my elective and I have enjoyed it as I have been able to use studio lights - so much so that I borrowed the lights last weekend and have built a studio in my spare room!

However, I am feeling somewhat dishearted about the lecturer. I know I shouldn't moan about stuff like this really, but it has reeeeeally reeeeeally been bugging me and I have to get it off my chest!

She's very nice and all, but I don't feel that she is giving me the tuition that I need or want really... Admittedly I have missed a few sessions due to illness but that's not really the point here.
But I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing to be honest - even after asking her!
I have a copy of the brief, but I wanted a bit more to go on and to understand what and how it is being marked. On asking, her reply was simply 'take lots of photos' and 'the only person I have ever given a 1st too had about 40 photos'. Well I'm sorry, but that doesn't really give me much to go on and wasn't very positive or constructive!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! I feel so lost! Obviously I am supposed to take photos! Its a photography class!!!!!
Also, she nearly ripped the hot shoe off my camera which really really annoyed me! I would have thought she would know how to take an IR trigger off the hot shoe of a DSLR! You know how Gollum refers to the ring as 'my precious' in Lord of the rings? Well, to me, that's MY CAMERA!

So, as you can imagine, I'm dishearted and rather frustrated at the moment and as I appear to be getting no where with information. I think I shall just do what the hell I feel like and try not think about marks (which is very important to me). I just don't see the point in doing things if you aren't going to do them properly, know how to or put the effort in and right now, she isn't helping!
I'm peeved :-(