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>
>On Wed, 1 May 2002, Michael Edmiston
>wrote:
>
> > It is difficult to analyze Tina's situation from a distance, but when she
> > says students think she is uncaring and mean, I can identify with that
> > problem many times over. I identify with it partly from personal
> experience
> > in my early days of teaching, and also from many years as department
chair
> > and dealing with students complaining to me about other faculty in the
> > department being uncaring and mean. The advice I give here is for all
> > teachers who might find themselves in similar situations.
> >
> > MAJOR POINT ---> I believe it doesn't matter how well you know the field,
> > how well you prepare the curriculum, how well you deliver lectures, how
> well
> > your labs integrate into the course, how well you write tests, etc...
none
> > of this matters if the students think you are uncaring and mean. Or
stated
> > in another way, students must believe you have their best interests
at the
> > core of your mission. You are there to help them learn the material and
> > succeed with their goals. If they cannot see you in that light, then
> you're
> > in for a long haul.
> >
> > REPEAT THE LAST TWO SENTENCES ---> You are there to help them learn the
> > material and succeed with their goals. If they cannot see you in that
> > light, then you're in for a long haul.
> >
> > This doesn't mean you give them grades they don't deserve. This doesn't
> > mean you water down the material. You must cover the material and
you must
> > hold students to a standard. Some students will fail. But while all
this
> > is transpiring students must trust that you are not an adversary;
they must
> > view you as an advocate.
> >
> > How do you pull this off? Especially today when so many students equate
> > caring, friendly, advocate with "easy." That's the trick, isn't it...
> > getting students to realize you are friendly and caring and you have
their
> > interests in mind, yet at the same time you aim to deliver a legitimate
> > program at the appropriate level of rigor.
> >
> > Here are some thoughts on this. These are not in any particular order.
> >
> > (1) Be sure to be fair and even handed with all students. When my
> > evaluations say, "Professor Edmiston is a hard prof, but he is fair"
then I
> > know I am on the right track. The poorer students dare not think I
> like the
> > better students more, or I give the better students advantages. If a
> better
> > student gives a poor answer, and a struggling student gives an
equally poor
> > answer, I dare not give more points or respond more positively to the
> better
> > student because I think, "Well she really knows better," and I dare
not act
> > more positive in class toward the better students and more abrupt
with the
> > poorer students.
> >
> > (2) Fair also means that I listen to students if they think I have graded
> > them incorrectly or too harshly. This doesn't mean I will cave in to
their
> > request for more points, but I will listen to their complaint and I will
> > take time to explain why I did what I did. Sometimes I do make
errors, and
> > as soon as I realize I have made an error then I admit it. I don't
try to
> > save my professorial face and make excuses. I apologize, fix the
> error, and
> > thank the student for pointing it out to me.
> >
> > I keep track of statistics for each question on each exam. Sometimes I
> will
> > take the time to discuss a class-wide problem with the class. "Only
20% of
> > you got problem 14 correct. Let's talk about this and see what the
problem
> > was. Did you not understand the question or did you not know the
answer."
> > In the beginning they might all try to say the question was confusing,
> but I
> > don't let them off that easy. They quickly learn that my next response
> will
> > be, "How would you have worded the question, or how would you have
tried to
> > assess the class understanding of this concept." We can't spend much
time
> > doing this, but even doing this a little bit shows the class that you are
> > trying to understand what happened to make the whole class miss a
question
> > so badly. Sometimes I find the question really is confusing, or I find
> that
> > the whole class indeed has a misconception of some basic physics
> principles.
> > I can't go back over it, we must move on, but I will try it differently
> next
> > year. More important, students see me trying to understand their
problems.
> >
> > (3) Make sure to invite all students to confer with you, but
especially go
> > out of your way to get the struggling students into your office. You may
> > have to break the ice by starting to talk to them as they are leaving
> class.
> > Or if you see them in the lobby, sit down and start talking to them. Ask
> > them about their goals and why they are your class.
> >
> > If you are in your office or another private place, they will
probably tell
> > you what grade they think they need (to keep a scholarship or to get into
> > medical school, etc.) but if they don't volunteer that information then
> ask.
> > Just be direct... "What grade are you hoping to get in this class?"
> >
> > If they have an unrealistic goal, don't initially balk, but don't make
> > unrealistic promises either. "You want an A. Well, I'm sure you're
> capable
> > of doing A work in this class, but we both know that isn't happening
right
> > now. Let's see if we can figure out why that is." Then talk about study
> > habits, class attendance, what grades they've gotten in other
classes, etc.
> > but the most important thing is to see if they can identify, with my
help,
> > what is the biggest problem they are having in my class. We then try to
> > come up with a plan to improve this.
> >
> > I don't make deals. I don't say, you will get a B if you do this.
> >
> > I don't give extra credit assignments.
> >
> > If the student needs help studying for exams or working on assigned
> > problems, I try to find a tutor. If the student has trouble writing lab
> > reports, and the problem is grammar, proofreading, etc. I make
arrangements
> > for them to get their lab report to the writing lab so tutors can
work with
> > them. I point out that this requires the report to be written at least a
> > day before it is due.
> >
> > If students are having problems with the science part of lab reports I
> offer
> > to skim the report the day before it is due and point out problem
areas. I
> > do have strict rules about this. The earlier, the better. I will
not skim
> > a lab report later than 3:00 pm on the day before it is due. I do not
> > guarantee I will be in my office outside of office hours. If you want
> me to
> > read your lab report a day or two early, and you aren't going to come
> during
> > a posted office hour, you had better make an appointment.
> >
> > Skimming lab reports the day or two before sounds like a big effort,
but it
> > is not. The most important thing it does is get them to write it two
days
> > before it is due so they can make a second draft the day before it is
due.
> > Otherwise they turn in the first draft on the due date, and that first
> draft
> > probably got printed at 3:00 AM the night before. Simply getting them to
> > have the first draft ready a day early, and treating it as a first draft
> > rather than the final draft is a major accomplishment, and it is well
worth
> > the effort. Any time I spend skimming the report and making a few
> > suggestions is repaid many times over by a much easier to grade lab
report
> > turned in on the due date. Also, students only do this a few times and
> then
> > realize they don't really need me. In a class of 25 students I will have
> > four or five students take advantage of this offer, and they only do
it for
> > the first three or four reports. But knowing this service is available
> > helps students realize I am there to help them succeed.
> >
> > (4) I try to be happy. This is often very hard for me, especially when
> I am
> > mired in political hassles at the college. But problems with the
> > administration are not the students' fault. Also, my calculus based
> physics
> > class has been at 8:00 AM five days a week the whole 24 years I have been
> > here. That is really tough. But I try real hard not to be a grouch.
> >
> > (5) As you try to be friendly, do not become a friend. I'm 52 years
> old and
> > most students are 19. They're probably not going to try to be
friends with
> > me because of the age difference. But I see younger profs fall into the
> > trap of trying to be friends with students, and then either (a) the
> students
> > don't understand what happened when they get a bad grade, or (b) the
> > professor has to sacrifice integrity to maintain a friendship. I
will joke
> > around with students; I will ask them about themselves; I will try real
> hard
> > to make them view me as a human being while also convincing them I view
> them
> > as human beings. Yet, I try to maintain the posture that I am the
> professor
> > and they are the students. This is a difficult balancing act, but worth
> > striving for. If students view you as a friendly and caring mentor (not
> > friend) then you should be able to get them to perform better, or at
least
> > accept the blame for poor performance. When things go badly for them I
> tell
> > them I am sorry, and I think they know I am sincere. When things go well
> > for them I compliment them and tell them I am happy for them.
> >
> > SUMMARY --> I could make many more suggestions; perhaps I haven't even
> > listed the most important, but these are enough to show that there are
> > things you can do to make students realize you are there to help
them, yet
> > you do not have to sacrifice your integrity. It doesn't work with
> everyone.
> > A few students still get D and E grades in my classes. But enough
students
> > realize I am there to help them, and I am approachable, that even
those who
> > fail typically accept the blame for their failure. Many who originally
> > hoped for an A will take a B or C and feel okay about it. Those who
> get the
> > A know that they really accomplished something.
> >
> >
> > Michael D. Edmiston,
> Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
> > Professor of Chemistry &
> Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
> > Chairman, Science
> Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
> > Bluffton College
> > 280 West College Avenue
> > Bluffton, OH 45817
> >
>