When is it time for a change? Since the last post the position feels stale... colleagues feel stale, students feel stale. There is just a lack of passion throughout...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thursday, January 3, 2008
When students evaluate professors...
How many jobs are there where you get evaluated publicly and anonymously? The proliferation of web based rating systems has provided students with a powerful tool for venting their frustration with professors. Although many comments may be valid and legitimate, these rating systems lack consistency since students are not held accountable for their comments. This can result in near libelous comments... with no true opportunity for correction.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Rumors... what students think before the class begins
Meeting with a new class for the first time is always a little awkward. To break the stress of all the first day expectation discussions it is always interesting to know if the students are willing to share any rumors that they have heard about a class.
This year they shared two rumors: (1) "this is the hardest class we will ever take" and (2) "everyone fails the first exam." One of the more gregarious students then added "and, you give lots of extra credit and curve all of the exams."
The first two may be true on some level (although those types of rumors are often started by students that do not study adequately), but the third one, well, not true... but good for a laugh...
This year they shared two rumors: (1) "this is the hardest class we will ever take" and (2) "everyone fails the first exam." One of the more gregarious students then added "and, you give lots of extra credit and curve all of the exams."
The first two may be true on some level (although those types of rumors are often started by students that do not study adequately), but the third one, well, not true... but good for a laugh...
Day 1... Exciting or Depressing?
The end of summer and the beginning of the fall semester always happens so suddenly.
With every semester the schedule of classes, meetings and other "professor" responsibilities changes. That means that the "routine" also needs to change. Simple things - what time to get up, what time to arrive on campus, when to exercise, etc. - all need to be adjusted to meet the demands of the new work schedule. The days can be different throughout the week. A Monday could begin with an early morning class, while a Tuesday might begin with an evening class.
Some professors find the new semester to be a renewal... a source of excitement and energy. Lately it has seemed to be closer to the movie "Groundhog Day," where everything is simply a slightly modified repeat of a previous semester.
The first class meeting is always the same - the syllabus, the expectations, the "motivational" speech about success in the class. The class is always disappointed if anything substantial is covered. (All that money spent for education, but students perceive a short class with little to no content to be a good thing.)
With every semester the schedule of classes, meetings and other "professor" responsibilities changes. That means that the "routine" also needs to change. Simple things - what time to get up, what time to arrive on campus, when to exercise, etc. - all need to be adjusted to meet the demands of the new work schedule. The days can be different throughout the week. A Monday could begin with an early morning class, while a Tuesday might begin with an evening class.
Some professors find the new semester to be a renewal... a source of excitement and energy. Lately it has seemed to be closer to the movie "Groundhog Day," where everything is simply a slightly modified repeat of a previous semester.
The first class meeting is always the same - the syllabus, the expectations, the "motivational" speech about success in the class. The class is always disappointed if anything substantial is covered. (All that money spent for education, but students perceive a short class with little to no content to be a good thing.)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Old and the Forgetful
At what point does continuously forgetting "things" become a problem?
What happens when a colleague cannot remember anything? And, frequently forgets major decisions... leading to multiple "flip-flops" about everything?
What can you do when all discussions lead nowhere because it is necessary to start from "scratch" with every conversation?
Which party is responsible for ensuring that the other one remembers the outcome of the last conversation?
What happens when a good idea from one conversation is suddenly a bad idea when it is time to implement it?
What do you when ideas that were rejected many times are not remembered... and continue to resurface?
What happens when only very old data is remembered and used to justify decisions?
What happens when a colleague cannot remember anything? And, frequently forgets major decisions... leading to multiple "flip-flops" about everything?
What can you do when all discussions lead nowhere because it is necessary to start from "scratch" with every conversation?
Which party is responsible for ensuring that the other one remembers the outcome of the last conversation?
What happens when a good idea from one conversation is suddenly a bad idea when it is time to implement it?
What do you when ideas that were rejected many times are not remembered... and continue to resurface?
What happens when only very old data is remembered and used to justify decisions?
Student vs. Student
Students travel in packs, cilques form, teams develop... it is the natural development of a class culture as the semester progresses.
It is interesting to watch the different personalities of students develop and how the culture of the class handles them. One of the more interesting characters is the "parasite" student. This tends to be the "weak puppy" that has a pleasant enough personality to integrate with some of the better students. In some classes the parasite can find a host to help pull them through the semester. In other classes, the environment quickly abandons the parasite... leaving it to suffer on its own. In the most cruel environments, the host starts to feed bad information to the parasite... perhaps a form of poisoning to protect itself.
The other interesting battle that can occur is the "Non-traditional" vs. the "Traditional" students. Some classes will have a combination of typical college age students and non-traditional (a.k.a., older) students that work full time in a professional capacity in addition to taking classes. The conflict can escalate as assignments begin to accumulate. The traditional students view the non-traditionals as people that are only taking one class and have experience as a benefit to help them succeed. The non-traditionals see the traditional students as a bunch of kids that have all the time in the world to complete their assignments.
In a good class the culture brings these two together to provide some of the life experiences with the fresh young ideas...
It is interesting to watch the different personalities of students develop and how the culture of the class handles them. One of the more interesting characters is the "parasite" student. This tends to be the "weak puppy" that has a pleasant enough personality to integrate with some of the better students. In some classes the parasite can find a host to help pull them through the semester. In other classes, the environment quickly abandons the parasite... leaving it to suffer on its own. In the most cruel environments, the host starts to feed bad information to the parasite... perhaps a form of poisoning to protect itself.
The other interesting battle that can occur is the "Non-traditional" vs. the "Traditional" students. Some classes will have a combination of typical college age students and non-traditional (a.k.a., older) students that work full time in a professional capacity in addition to taking classes. The conflict can escalate as assignments begin to accumulate. The traditional students view the non-traditionals as people that are only taking one class and have experience as a benefit to help them succeed. The non-traditionals see the traditional students as a bunch of kids that have all the time in the world to complete their assignments.
In a good class the culture brings these two together to provide some of the life experiences with the fresh young ideas...
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Recommending withdraw... while suffering from withdrawl
Seeing his name on the roster at the beginning of the semester was a surprise. This was his third time in the same class. He passed the class the first time (with a "D"), then repeated the class the following semester... and failed. (The most recent grade counts.) That was a year ago.
After the second week of the class, he attended for the first time. He never mentioned that he missed the first two weeks. Maybe he just figured the we both knew that he was not in class, so what was the point of discussing something that we already knew? His presence was as obvious as his absence; he answered nearly every question that was asked, provided some excellent comments to the class discussions and overall was a tremendously positive addition to the room. Being in the class for the third time must make the answers a little easier.
It is now over six weeks into the semester and that single class during the second week is the only time that he attended class. His attendance was an issue in previous semesters, but never this bad...
When he finally contacted me, his reason confirmed some lingering suspicions... drugs and alcohol. He gave a long, tear-filled explaination of his problems, the counciling that he was seeking and the desire to get "back on track."
When it is "too little, too late"? This was a student that wanted to remain in the class after missing over half of the semester... and, he wanted to miss the rest of the semester to move home, away from the drinking atmosphere of a campus environment. Sometimes you have to get life back on track first, before you can move forward. His request conjured an image of a derailed train trying to move forward without creating more damage. The suggestion to withdraw completely from the university, continue working toward a sober lifestyle, then return when better able to handle the pressures of college coursework without falling into the trap of drugs and alcohol was met with a more extreme upset reaction that I would have ever expected.
It was difficult to recommend a complete withdraw. The student needed to get his life together, but there is always the concern that he will never be able to return to college...
After the second week of the class, he attended for the first time. He never mentioned that he missed the first two weeks. Maybe he just figured the we both knew that he was not in class, so what was the point of discussing something that we already knew? His presence was as obvious as his absence; he answered nearly every question that was asked, provided some excellent comments to the class discussions and overall was a tremendously positive addition to the room. Being in the class for the third time must make the answers a little easier.
It is now over six weeks into the semester and that single class during the second week is the only time that he attended class. His attendance was an issue in previous semesters, but never this bad...
When he finally contacted me, his reason confirmed some lingering suspicions... drugs and alcohol. He gave a long, tear-filled explaination of his problems, the counciling that he was seeking and the desire to get "back on track."
When it is "too little, too late"? This was a student that wanted to remain in the class after missing over half of the semester... and, he wanted to miss the rest of the semester to move home, away from the drinking atmosphere of a campus environment. Sometimes you have to get life back on track first, before you can move forward. His request conjured an image of a derailed train trying to move forward without creating more damage. The suggestion to withdraw completely from the university, continue working toward a sober lifestyle, then return when better able to handle the pressures of college coursework without falling into the trap of drugs and alcohol was met with a more extreme upset reaction that I would have ever expected.
It was difficult to recommend a complete withdraw. The student needed to get his life together, but there is always the concern that he will never be able to return to college...
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