Ask-Dr-Kirk

Why Students Don't Have The Skills They Need Before Entering College

The Washington Post recently published this open letter from a high school teacher to college professors warning us what we can expect in years to come. It's very interesting and I already see some of the issues that she points out. I also get feedback from students who are upset that I expect them to proofread their papers and catch their own spelling errors in a management course...

How Not To Take It Personally

We've all experienced this: a student makes a comment either in class or our office that feels like a personal attack. Here's an article that makes suggestions on how to answer these students.

How Educators Use Twitter For Personal Development

For those of you who use Twitter (or would like to learn how), here's a definition of hashtags and a list of ones related to education that you might find useful.

Here's more on using Twitter.

Five Things You Should Never Say To Your Professor

I'm reading this article by Professor Jorie Scholnik (Santa Fe College) on five things students should refrain from saying.  As she notes: "effective professors care about their classes, put a lot of time into grading and lesson planning and genuinely want students to take away some knowledge from the course." Thus, asking the professor  if he or she is doing anything important today is not going to win a student any points.

The following poem by Tom Wayman comes to mind...

 

DID I MISS ANYTHING? (Question frequently asked by students after missing a class)

Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 per cent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the hereafter
This is the last time the class will meet
before we disperse to bring the good news to all people on earth

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human experience
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered

but it was one place

And you weren't here.

 

Motivation And Changing Your Behavior

Just came across this quotation by John Maxwell at the Success Begins Today blog)

“The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what? After you start doing the thing, that’s when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it.”

“As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behavior. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to become. Take action on your behavior. Too many people want to feel, then take action. This never works.”

Does This Sentence Need A Comma?

Student:  "I have trouble with punctuation. I just don't have any comma sense."

Me:  Here's an useful article on when to use a comma in a sentence.

Inspiring Our Students

I came across this post by John Richardson that really illustrates what I hope to accomplish in the classroom. He asks:

Have you ever been in a class that was so impactful that you came away so excited that you wanted to tell all of your friends about it? Have you had a teacher with the extraodinary talent to keep you totally immersed in the subject, where everything just seems to click? Have you had a teacher take the extra time to find out your needs and to personally help you with a project or assignment?...You walk away from their class excited and with a renewed sense of direction. You want to do the assignments and learn more. All of a sudden learning has gone from laborious and boring to exciting and rewarding.

He goes on to quote William Arthur Ward who says…The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

Don't we all aspire to be one of those great teachers?

What Makes For A Stupid Question?

I always thought there was no such thing as a stupid question. Even when I thought the answer to a student’s query was obvious, the college student apparently did not know the answer and thus my job was to respond to his or her question accurately and with patience.  Even when a second student asks me the same question in class five minutes later, I think to myself that perhaps I didn’t explain the concept well enough the first time.  However, something that one of my brightest and most engaged students (a finance major!) said to me has me rethinking my original hypothesis.  At the end of class, he came up to me and wanted to know if I had all the grades in the class written down somewhere.  After I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, even he sheepishly commented, “That was a stupid question, wasn’t it?”

A colleague topped that though with his sad but true story about a student who was doing poorly in class.  When the professor questioned as to why the student was failing, the student’s response was that it was not his fault …his roommate had a learning disability and he thought he had caught it!

How To Create A Good Habit

A couple month ago I read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. It's a fascinating study of how much habit plays a part in our daily lives and how we can change bad habits. He also discusses how organizations can break bad habits that their employees have that affect safety or productivity. It's one of the books I have on my syllabus for a MBA Leadership class I just started teaching.

Here's a flow chart by the author on how to create a good habit.

10 Ways Students Can Use Twitter For Paper Assignments

 One of the things I like most about Twitter is the ability to connect with others to share links and information. Leslie Anglesey (University of Southern California) shares her tips on how students can use Twitter for paper assignments such as reaching out to experts to ask questions and participating in discussions on paper topics.

Free College Courses!

Check out all these free interactive college courses in math, physics, and computer science at Udacity. 

Getting The Most Out Of Twitter

I recently showed my MBA class how to use Twitter. On the whole, they were like many people who haven't experienced Twitter in that they were resistant and weren't really sure that it would be useful to them. However, they are now enjoying the platform and using it to communicate with each other on projects and also with the authors of their books. I think Twitter is a great way for students to connect with others and build their own personal learning network.

Here's an useful article to those new to Twitter:  25 Ways To Get the Most out of Twitter.

 

Are Online Classes As Effective As Those Done In the Classroom?

As we all know, the interest in online courses is growing. I've been experimenting with doing hybrid classes recently with some of the classwork and even a couple class periods being conducted online. Thus, I found this article by Mark Edmundson interesting: The Trouble with Online Education.    

"I think that the best [teachers] are highly adept at reading their audiences. They use practical means to do this — tests and quizzes, papers and evaluations. But they also deploy something tantamount to artistry. They are superb at sensing the mood of a room. They have a sort of pedagogical sixth sense. They feel it when the class is engaged and when it slips off. And they do something about it."

This has been my resistance to online classes. If you do not have face-to-face interaction with your students, I'm not sure you can tell when the students are engaged or not and thus aren't able to make the kind of adjustments in the course at the time they are needed. Your thoughts?

Speed Dating The First Day Of Class

Professor Cynde Gregory (Gwinnett Technical College) shares this icebreaker she uses to create a classroom culture of acceptance. I'm thinking I may use it in the next class on Managing Diversity that I teach.

Making Professionalism And Personal Responsibility A Requirement For College

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College has decided to include “soft skills” such as on-time attendance to class and teamwork as part of their requirements. Students would then receive a certificate attesting to their professionalism and work ethic. This is something I have discussed several times with my Dean and believe it would benefit all our students. You can read more here.

 

Source: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/12/13/nc-community-college-issue-grades-certificates-soft-skills

More Icebreakers

Here's a great internet site of icebreakers that could be used that first day of class.  They are organized by size of class (small, medium, or large) and by category (active exercises, team building, or get-to-know-you exercises).

Dr. KirkCat Illustrates Professional Dress For Faculty

Illustration by Istra Fuhrmann, age 11.

 

I personally believe dressing professionally in class is important as I feel this shows respect for the students and also helps to role model for them how to be professional.

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education gives advice to faculty on how to dress for a job interview.  As noted in the article:

Remember, the objective isn't to draw attention to what you're wearing but rather to draw attention away from your appearance and toward the substance of your candidacy. You want to be dressed neatly and appropriately enough that committee members say to themselves, "OK, this person looks fine, now let's see what he or she has to say." What you don't want is for them to spend the entire hour staring at your unusual dress or your garish tie, wondering what the heck you were thinking.

I would say the same is true for what we wear to our classes...

Here's some more on the subject:

Chronicle of Higher Education's A Call for Professional Attire.

Should Office Dress Codes Be Taught At University?

6 Tips To Help You Be A More Effective Teacher

1. Develop Your Philosophy of Teaching

Think about what it is you are trying to do in the classroom.  Are you passing on knowledge of a specific subject?  Teaching them how to learn?  Giving them practical information on how to be an expert in their field?  Role-modeling skills to become productive, useful members of society?  Or, all of the above?  The readings, assignments, and exams you choose to give your students should reflect what you are trying to accomplish.  Your students should understand that your assignments are not just busywork but that these are important in order to be successful, both in the class and later in their careers.

2. Establish Your Credibility

Beginning the first day, establish that your students will benefit from taking your course.  Share your professional and academic credentials.  Bring in newspaper and journal articles with examples of applications of the topics you are teaching.  Illustrate that your knowledge is current.

3.  Determine Your Class Culture

Decide how formal, or informal, you want your class to be.  This affects everything including how you dress for the classroom, how your students address you, and how you take questions.  Keep in mind you also get to decide on your attitude each day when you walk into the classroom.  You want to be upbeat and enthusiastic so that the students will be excited about the course also.  Show students that you care about them as people: learn names, and create a classroom culture where they can feel comfortable asking questions.  Your students are less likely to be disruptive if they know you know their name and if they believe you will hold them accountable for being professional.
 
4.  Be Clear About Your Expectations

Set expectations and be consistent in enforcing them.  If attendance is important to you, tell the students this and let them know you will be noting any absences.  If you want assignments turned in on time, then either don’t accept late papers or take off points if they are late.  If you have a cell phone, bring it with you and make a display of turning it off before class.  Whatever you do, be clear and consistent about your expectations.
 
5.  Use the First Day of Class Wisely

To emphasize that you are taking the class seriously, give the students an assignment to do that will be collected at the next class meeting.  Or assign some reading to do and announce you will have a short quiz on the material during the second class.  If the class involves writing, then have them write.  If you will be using cases, then do a short case that first day.  Keep in mind that the students are trying to figure out on that first day what the class expectations will be.  Give the students an idea of what they, and you, will be doing.

6.  Handle Discipline Problems Right Away

Remember the importance of “withitness.”  The most effective teachers are aware of what is going on in their classrooms and enforce their policies quickly and fairly.  If a student is coming in tardy and you do not address the problem, he or she will not suddenly decide to come to class on time.  If you do not say anything, you have essentially rewarded the wrong behavior.

Hope everyone has a great semester!

Allowing Students To Set Classroom Conduct Policies

Some faculty are allowing their students to set the ground rules for conduct in the classroom as well as the consequences for breaking these rules.  The thought behind this approach is that the students are more likely to engage in behaviors that they themselves have established as important in the classroom setting.

Dr. Lisa Rodriguez notes that the faculty member can also insert his/her own additional rules after getting the students' input.  Here is her list of typical ground rules that students might agree upon:

• Start and end class on time
• One speaker at a time
• Everyone participates
• Keep an open mind
• No "zingers" or put downs
• No one dominates discussions/Share "air time"
• Be an active listener
• Stay on track/topic

Dr. Rodriguez goes on to say that, "For those instructors who might feel anxious about this process living up to the tried (but sometimes not true) statement of conduct dictated by the instructor in the syllabus, we suggest having all students verbally agree upon and/or sign a final list that is duplicated and distributed for future reference...Also, let students know that you are ultimately responsible for maintaining a fair learning environment."

Learning From Finland About Education

Here are some amazing facts about Finland's educational system:

93 percent of Finns graduate from high school compared to 75.5 percent in the United States.

Teachers in Finland spend only four hours a day teaching and have two hours each week for professional development.

Teachers are selected from the top 10 percent of college graduates and 100 percent have Masters degrees.

You can read more here. 

Improving Public Speaking Skills

One of the skills I try to help my students with is the ability to make an effective presentation with good eye contact and without reading from their notes. Dr. Miren Ivankovic (Anderson University) uses public speaking opportunities as a way for his students to earn bonus points. As he notes:

To earn the points, the student is required to come in front of the class and tell a story. Usually, the first time we do it, students can choose their own topic and later in a semester I either announce a topic prior to class, or, to make it really demanding, announce a topic once the student is in front of a class. Grading varies from only me deciding on a bonus from 0% to 3% points, to the whole class submitting a grade like a ballot vote and then I average all the numbers. The grade is based on the following points: the quality of vocal presentation, eye contact, body language, the topic discussed and the level of confidence the student has while telling the story.

While I'm usually not a fan of bonus points, I think this is a win-win assignment!

Video: School Kills Creativity

One of the topics I include in a MBA course I teach on Leadership is creativity. The students tend to resist although they do a great job once given permission to be creative. Thus, I found this video by Sir Ken Robinson interesting. He contends that school kills creativity, that we "educate students out of their creativity."

 

Free Rubrics For Teachers

One thing I've learned after 32 years of teaching is that using rubrics for exams, papers, and student presentations means less time grading and more specific feedback for the students.  Check out this website for thousands of free rubrics as well as templates for putting togther your own. 

Tips On Classroom Management

We've all had this happened. You give your students something to discuss with the person next to them and then you can't seem to get their attention back again. Raising your voice really loud doesn't usually do it as a room full of students can easily overtalk you. Dr. Rick Sheridan (Wilberforce University) shares his tips for regaining control of the classroom.

 

How To Retrieve What You've Read

Have you ever read a book and then months later can’t recall anything about the book? Or perhaps you pick up a book and start reading and realize after a few chapters that you’ve read it before? I know I have and thus I found this post by Dwayne Morris interesting: How to retrieve what you’ve read-almost instantly.

Tips On Preventing Plagiarism

Check out this interesting article by Professor Jeff Karon (University of South Florida) on plagiarism and how to prevent it.

Here are some other tips you might find useful:

Be proactive in preventing cheating on papers and assignments.  Let your students know that you expect them to do their own work and that cheating will be punished in your class. 

Put your university’s policy on your syllabus.  You should also be familiar with your university’s procedures on reporting cheating so that you follow the appropriate steps if this becomes necessary. 

Define the term plagiarism for your students.  Many of them do not understand the difference between citing and copying someone else’s work. 

Give specific and timely topics on papers so that students cannot simply access the internet for commercially produced papers.  Thus, a paper on sexual harassment in the workplace is easily available for sale.  A paper on sexual harassment policies in local companies in your town is probably not.

Have students turn in outlines and/or first drafts of their papers to you earlier in the semester and then have them attach those drafts to the final paper when it is due. 

Require students to turn in copies of all sources cited including websites, journal articles, and pages of books used.

Read the Bibliography. Dates should be required for interviews and websearches. If these dates do not fall in line with what is reasonable for the semester due dates, that should raise a red flag (tip submitted by Timothy Johnson).

 

Humor As A Classroom Management Tool

Here's an article on how to use humor in the classroom, especially in those classes that students all have to take but don't necessarily see as relevant to their major. As the authors note:

"Humor is a valuable teaching tool for establishing a classroom climate conducive to learning...Appropriate and timely humor in the college classroom can foster mutual openness and respect and contribute to overall teaching effectiveness."

They go on to say: "Humor is a catalyst for classroom "magic," when all the educational elements converge and teacher and students are both positive and excited about learning. Instructors can foster classroom "magic" through improved communication with students by possessing a playful attitude and a willingness to use appropriate humor."

Thus, humor in the classroom helps to reduce the anxiety students feel and makes for a positive learning environment. In one of my classes, there were a number of students who came in tardy which is actually very unusual in my classroom. It turned out that there was an event on campus that had filled up the parking lots. I didn't know this and was lecturing and every 2-3 minutes another student would come into class. The first one I ignored, the second one I stopped and looked at, the third one I made a comment. By the fourth person I paused and started laughing. Obviously something was going on out of the ordinary. I then accused the students of all standing outside the classroom text messaging each other and deliberately sending in one late student at a time. The class thought it was hilarious. It made the point that I was paying attention and yet didn't place any blame. I find humor a good way to manage the classroom.

How To Craft An Engaging Lecture

Although there's been a lot of press lately on flipping your classroom, it's still necessary for many of us to put together a lecture when teaching our subject matter. Ashley Wiersma shares her tips on how to craft an engaging lecture that will transform the classroom environment from being passive to an active learning experience.

Can You Change Your Syllabus During The Semester?

Have you ever gotten partway through the semester and wished you had arranged the course differently or developed different assignments or put paper deadlines on different days? Professor Claire Potter gives tips on what she says is acceptable to change on your syllabus and what should stay the same, at least until the next time you teach that class.

Ever Wondered How You Could Use Facebook In The Classroom?

Although I actively use social media to interact with the public, I've been reluctant to open up my Facebook page to my students. Instead I use Facebook to keep in contact with family and very close friends. However, I found this list by Jeff Dunn interesting: 100 Ways to Use Facebook in Your Classroom.

Thanks to Janet Symmons for sharing this on Twitter.

 

Feeling Overwhelmed By Work? Tips To Help

Dr. Susan R. Johnson (University of Iowa), discusses ways to deal with the stress of being overwhelmed with the work load you have.

• Slow down...block out everything and focus entirely on what you are doing in this moment.
• Complete a task. Randomly choose a task from your immediate environment and do it. Your priorities are not important in this step – in fact, an obsession with trying to find the very highest priority task to do may have precipitated the overwhelming episode in the first place!
• Make a list of everything you have to do. The subtext here is that stress is increased the more you try to keep things in your head.
• Clear your workspace. The goal at this stage is not organization, but focus. Thus, it is OK for the short run if you simply put everything from your desk on the floor. This gives you a clear space in which to do each task, without your eye (and mind) being drawn off-task by seeing the other work you need to do.
• Find a 10% solution...it is better to make small adjustments so that you can get back in control. To apply this method, think of activities in your daily life that seem to take too much time, or that specifically add to your sense of overwhelm. Select one, and break it down into steps. Look at each step separately, and see if there is a way it can be done more quickly or efficiently, delegated to someone else, or eliminated altogether.

Dr. Johnson has some great suggestions.  I sometimes ask my students if they use a "to do list" of some sort?  Usually it's about half the class and usually it's my better students.

A Simple Way To Influence Your Classroom Culture

Kevin Eikenberry posts on Seven Simple Ways to Subtly Influence Others in the business world.  As I read down the list, it occurs to me that these are all great tips that we could use in our classrooms to create a good learning environment. I especially agree with the first one: Use a person’s name. After all, we require our students to learn theories, concepts, terms, formulas, dates, etc.  We should at least do them the courtesy of learning their names. The students will be surprised and pleased you did and less likely to be disruptive. And while many of us believe that we are not good at remembering names, there are some tips on learning names if we just make the effort.

Want Your Students To Pay Attention In Class? Try These Three Tips

We’ve probably all noticed that students sit up and pay more attention when we tell a personal story or use humor during our lectures. A new study by Dr. David Rosengrant (Kennesaw State University) addresses the issue of student attention in the classroom. Essentially he finds that students pay greater attention when:

• The professor verbally presents information that is not on the powerpoint slides.
  
• The professor uses humor.
  
• The professor moves closer to the students in the classroom.

I would agree with all three. Students see no need to pay close attention if all is on the powerpoint, enjoy hearing stories and humor, and get a little nervous (and more attentive!) when we move closer to them. All good tips for teaching.

First Day Of Class: First Impressions

I completely agree with Professor Robert Talbert (Franklin College) about the importance of the first day of class:

"Students form their conceptions of the class — and keep that conception through the whole semester — in these first few moments of the course. I want to give students the impression that the class is something they need to take seriously, and there’s a workload that has to be managed carefully..."

You can read more of Dr. Talbert's suggestions for creating a good first impression in the classroom.

Here are my ten tips for the first day of class.

 

First Day Of Class: How Can Students Tell That It's Going To Be A Good Class?

I asked some former students for suggestions on teaching that I could share with other professors. Specifically I asked them, "how do you know the first day or so of class that this is going to be a good class?  Especially if it’s a class with a lot of work, what does it take to really motivate you?"

Here are some of their responses: 

• One thing is how excited the teacher is. Is he/she ready for class? Does he/she want students to succeed?
• I think that a teacher should never tell the class that he/she has not taught the class in a while or even let the class know that he/she is not prepared for class. The teacher is the one in charge, never let the class know that you are not. As the old saying goes: Fake it till you Make It. You are supposed to be the expert.  <I was in a summer class where> the professor sent emails out about a week before class started stating that the syllabus was not ready and would probably not be ready till the night of the class. This is information that I did not need to know. Many professors don't post the syllabus; they hand it out on the first night of class. If he had never said anything, how would we have know the difference?
• College students pay good money for their class and most want to get a good education, they want to learn something. They want to feel that their professor is involved and excited to be teaching them.  Some of the best professors that I have had were the ones that were excited about what they were teaching, they knew about the topic and were able to get the students to understand it. They controlled the class and got the class involved.
• The work load does not matter too much to me. If I know that it is worth it in the end, I will do the work. If I know that the professor cares about the job that I do it makes it even better. Students don't want to hear that they spent all this time and energy on an assignment to find out that the professor didn't care what was done or even the quality of the work that was done.  So basically, I feel that the professor's attitude towards the subject and to the class determines a lot about what the students feel towards the class.
• Typically I can read through the syllabus (especially if it's posted prior to the first day) and get a pretty good impression of the teacher's sense of responsibility - how much responsibility they feel they have, or are willing to take on, to shape our lives; their enthusiasm based on their objectives and assignments; and whether the assignments look a lot like busy work, or if it will be work that will aid in both our/my understanding and real world applications.
• Throughout the semester, especially on the first day, attitude, personality, and energy are key characteristics that tell me about the teacher, their style, and their class!
  • Attitude: For example, if the teacher displays an extremely laid back attitude, I might infer that they are just easy going; don’t like the students to be too stressed out about the class because it could interfere with the learning process.  Or I might conclude that the teacher is bored with the subject/topic because they’ve taught it so long; a “here we go again” attitude.
  • Personality:  Naturally want to have a teacher that I can identify with, in one way or another, on a personal level:  whether it is the desire for achievement, to make others laugh and/or have fun, a realistic and upfront person, or even someone who is sarcastic.  I think any student is more likely to pay more attention in class if they feel like the teacher acts more like a real human being with flaws, quirks, and habits; the teacher should be reachable and attainable. 
  • Energy: Hey, if they don’t want to be there in class, trust me, the students don’t want to either.  I personally do not like attending night classes because I have to drive home late in the evening and get up really early the next day for work.  If I didn’t have to go to work so early, like when I was a server at a restaurant, I wouldn’t have a problem.  Again, personally, since that is not the case, I want a teacher that makes me want to be in class.  That means, a teacher who is prepared (someone ready to go), organized, and ready to spark what little energy I have left at the end of the day.  Please don’t think that I’m implying that I want a teacher that acts like they are “hyped up on uppers”, but I want someone that is actually interested in what they are teaching and is on a mission to also make their students interested in the subject.  I want them to be able to influence me to not look at their class as just another requirement or prerequisite, or a class that I need just to pass to graduate; I want to go there feeling like I need to know this material (at least some of it) for my future!
• I think it is important to add that I do not like school!  I’ve said that for years; I haven’t liked it since recess and lunch (hope that gave you a chuckle)!  However, it is also important for you not to confuse my aversion to this institution called school, with my extreme desire to learn, be educated, and expand my mental horizon, if you will.  Knowledge is power! I believe there are very few students that say they like/love school (not including preschool and kindergarten aged children); or there’s few who will admit it, especially being that college is so expensive.  Financial burdens are a whole other demon, for lack of a better adjective, that negatively influences one’s attitude toward school.  So, based on this, a teacher can motivate me by addressing my desire to learn; help me forget about the institution, how much the class/books cost me and especially how school is making it more difficult to juggle my personal life. 
• Motivate me by making class interesting and fun.  Let’s talk and interact with each other.  Of course I want to be prepared for the test, but don’t “teach to the test”.  I am motivated when a teacher provides me with a learning experience! 
• I don’t like to have classes with a lot of work mainly because I don’t have a lot of time, but if there’s going to be work, it better be important!!!   

I thought the students' comments were interesting and great advice for all of us who teach!

Syllabi: Using Discussion Questions To Teach Learning Outcomes

I'm going to try this idea from Dr. Barbi Honeycutt this fall. She suggests developing a discussion question for each of the learning outcomes that you put on your syllabus.

 

Syllabi: Policies For Makeup Exams

As I’ll be putting together syllabi in the next couple weeks, I recently read this interesting article by Dr. Maryellen Weimer on the issue of makeup exam policies.  

Here are the policies I've used in recent years for exams and quizzes.

Exams: There will be three (3) examinations, including a comprehensive final, and all exams will cover the text chapters, assigned readings, lecture notes and class discussion.  It is important that you take the exams at the assigned time.  If you have to miss an exam, you must contact your professor prior to that class period (either by phone or email).  Make-up exams must be completed within one week at the professor’s convenience.

Deadlines for Papers & Projects: Completing projects and assignments on time is an expectation for professionals in the business world. Assignments will be due at the beginning of class. Quizzes and application papers will not be accepted late (Please don’t even ask).  Major assignments will be penalized by one letter grade per day that it is late. 

 

I'm wondering how others are handling these issues?

 

First Day Of Class: Using A Contract To Establish Expectations

Dr. Nate Kreuter (Western Carolina University) uses a student/instructor contract as a way of helping students understand both his expectations of them and what they can expect from him.

As you can see, he uses humor but still makes it clear that he (1) expects the students to do the work, (2) gives them the choice to drop so that others can take the course if they are unable/unwilling to take the course seriously, (3) knows this is a great course (self-fulfilling prophecy here), and (4) realizes that while this may not be a legal document, he expects the students to illustrate their commitment to the course by signing it.

Here's his intro:

 

Welcome to the class. You’re probably wondering what this class contract is about, so I’ll go ahead and explain. I want to make sure that everyone in this class realizes from the beginning what we will be doing and what my expectations are for each and every student. This document is not intended to discourage you generally or to encourage you to drop the class. Just the opposite. I honestly think this will be the best section of Composition 101 offered in the Department of English this year. But I know for a fact that it will be one of the most demanding. The risks and rewards are great. If you put in the work, this will be a wonderful class. If you don’t, you and I will both be miserable. So, I’ve listed some of my expectations below. Look over them. Carefully. The reading and writing demands of this class are high. But the readings are also unusually enjoyable and the assignments will be, I hope, also enjoyable and enriching. If you can commit to doing this work, go ahead and sign the contract. If you can’t, consider giving up your seat to someone who can. This contract is not all-inclusive but should give you a pretty good idea of my expectations for the semester.

Please note that the course is designed to start very quickly, with a lot of work and reading due up front, and is designed so that the amount of work you have to do will gradually decline over the course of the semester. The hope is that you will have the bulk of the difficult work for this course completed by the time your other classes are becoming especially burdensome at the end of the semester.

The reality of this contract is that it is meaningless. If you sign it but fail to uphold your end of the bargain, I can’t do anything to you. I can’t have you expelled, or even lower your grade. However, I am absolutely certain that I will hold up my end of the bargain, and I hope you will too. Our word will be our bond. Welcome again to the class. Sign the contract, do the work, enjoy yourselves, make friends, and let’s never have to speak of contracts or similar unpleasantness from this day forward.

What Does An "A" Mean To Your Students?

This teacher shares an interesting list of how her students define letter grades.

I have been trying to get away from the emphasis on letter grades instead of on learning by using ME (meets expectations), EE (exceeds expectations) and DNME (does not meet expectations) on homework assignments.

I'm curious what others are trying...

The Importance Of Humor In The Classroom

"A very wise old teacher once said: "I consider a day's teaching wasted if we do not all have one hearty laugh." He meant that when people laugh together, they cease to be young and old, master and pupils, jailer and prisoners. They become a single group of human beings enjoying its existence." -- Gilbert Highet

Here are some tips on how to use humor in the classroom.

Learning Something New

Several months ago, I decided to teach myself Italian in preparation for a two week vacation I was taking this summer. While I enjoyed learning the language, I did find the process frustrating.

"No matter how he may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a new language, science or the bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born into the world." -- Frances Willard

 I think we sometimes forget how difficult and frustrating learning can be. The following quote is good advice as we think about how best to teach our students.

"Also remember that no matter your age, your experience in the field will be far greater than that of your students. Through your studies, you have internalized complex ideas about your subject that now sound "natural." Your students may never have heard of these ideas, and will need some time to absorb them. Anyone who has studied a subject for a long time, or is already used to teaching it, often forgets what it is like to learn something entirely new. Teaching from the standpoint of knowledge makes acquiring the facts of your field look easy. In order to stay in touch with how students experience your class, try learning something completely new yourself; or, try changing your class materials so that you explore a new topic along with your students. This keeps you on your toes as you teach, and also may lead to new insights to your subject that you and your students can discover together."  (taken from website for the Center for Teaching and Learning at The University of North Carolina)

How Not To Be Creative

J. Eddie Smith, IV, writes about creativity in a recent blogpost and gives great advice on what NOT to do if you want to be a creative writer, company, or employee. You'll see a theme here in the following examples:

If you don’t want to be a creative writer, you should try your best to

• Write things that have already been written.
• Tell as many people as possible about what you’re writing before you’re done.

If you don’t want to be a creative product company, you should try your best to

• Make products that have already been made.
• Tell as many people as possible about what you’re making before you’re ready to ship it.

If you don’t want to be a better cubicle worker, you should try your best to

• Be like everyone else, meet your boss’s expectations, and always ask permission.
• Announce ideas as soon as they pop into your head.

Thus, if you want to be creative, do something different and don't tell anyone about it until you're done!

 

How To Be Perceived As An Excellent Teacher?

Ever wonder what affects students' perceptions of your teaching?  Dr. Arletta Bauman Knight states that there are three dimensions for establishing your credibility in the classroom: Competence, Trustworthiness, and Dynamism.

Competence is the perceived "expertness" of the speaker, i.e., their knowledge of the subject matter. Competence also involves teaching the course in a way that will truly be of value to the student.

Descriptive adjectives include: informed, experienced, skilled, qualified.

Trustworthiness refers to whether or not the teacher has the best interest of the student at heart. A teacher who is trustworthy is one who promotes positive teacher/student relationships. For example, students are made to feel welcome as participants in the class, the teacher sincerely cares about the welfare of the students, and the teacher is sensitive to gender and cultural issues in the classroom.

Descriptive adjectives include: safe, just, kind, friendly, honest

Dynamism focuses on the teacher's "passion" for teaching and his/her enthusiasm in the classroom. It also involves the presentation skills of the speaker. That is, a dynamic teacher is one who is more likely to be confident, articulate, and animated. He or she is one who "changes the pace" in a single class by using a variety of teaching strategies.

Descriptive adjectives include: emphatic, bold, active, energetic.

 

One Great Thank You Note From A Student Makes It All Feel Worthwhile!

I recently got this email from a student that just made my day.

Dr. Kirk,

Now that final grades have been posted I am free to send this email and have it convey the sincerity with which it is intended.  I wanted to express my gratitude for a great Spring semester.  Your classes have helped me tremendously – not only with my knowledge of OB and Leadership, but with my confidence and presentations skills as well.  I can apply what we covered to almost every aspect of my workday – it’s exactly what I hoped to get out of an MBA program. 

 Again, thank you.

<Name withheld>

Learning From Student Evaluations

Interesting discussion of what we can learn from student evaluations by Professor Ryan Cordell (St. Norbert College). Check out the comments section too.

And just for fun: Here's a humorous look at how to interpret those student comments.

Books On College Teaching

Professor Sherman Dorn (University of South Florida, St Petersburg) shares his list of good books on college teaching, especially for those who are new to teaching. He also includes a link to Rebecca Onion's blog with recommendations she's gathered from her personal learning network on Twitter.

 

Reflections Of Past Year

Billie Hara (University of Texas at Arlington) does something that I have thought about doing but don't seem to get around to-reflect on what worked this past academic year and what she would have done differently if could have a do-over. Maybe I'll take the time now to do just this especially given that I had one "class from hell" and another one that was one of my best classes ever.

Should We Give Our Students Study Guides?

Jonathan Malesic (Kings College) opens the discussion on whether teachers should provide study guides for exams and some ways in which these can be beneficial in getting the students to take ownership of their learning.

I typically don’t use study guides. However, when I do (for example, when I teach HR/Employment Law and there are lots and lots of laws and cases), I write the study guide in the form of questions rather than just giving them a list of topics. This seems to help them focus.

I'm curious what others are doing?

Teaching Carnival 5.09

Check out the Chronicle of Higher Education's roundup of recent best blog posts on teaching and educational technology!

A Student Perspective On Improving Group Projects

Kris Ranstrom is currently finishing up his MBA at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and is the author of Protean Relay which is “a business blog for techies and a tech blog for business people.” Recently he wrote a post for teachers on how to make the team project a better learning experience. His suggestion? Require the students to prepare their own group expectations document. Read more about how to do this here.