Professor Ellen Bremen (Highline Community College) offers advice to students in how to communicate with your professors. She states that using "you" language rather than "I" sets professors up to be defensive and less likely to help. For example, many times students will start an email or in-person conversation with the following "you's," thus indicating an external locus of control.
"You gave me a bad grade."
“You didn’t tell me I was missing an assignment.”
“Your lecture wasn’t very clear.”
Professor Brennan advocates changing these statements to using "I" to illustrate taking responsibility for your own learning. Thus, instead of:
“Your lecture wasn’t very clear.”
Try: “I’m having trouble following the material. I’m scared that I’m falling behind and I don’t want that to happen. Is it all right if we take more time to ask questions either during your lecture or at the end of class?"
As she notes: "The good news is that your use of "I" will better equip your profs to identify your problem and help you out. Even better news is that your professors will likely have tremendous respect for you taking responsibility for your actions and owning your thoughts."
You can read her entire post here.
Comments