Tuesday, April 9, 2013

If It's Tuesday, I Must Be Baffled.

I want to help them. I want to have a class discussion where I'm the voice least heard.

And I train them. I talk about reading as a central component of our writing class. I lead them, in the early weeks, painstakingly through a short text, showing them on a screen in front of the class the kinds of marks I make, what I highlight, what I write in the margins. I do it slowly, get their help, and tell them, "This is how you read for class."

I tell them on paper and out loud that when we have discussions on a text, they must do THREE things with that text first: 1) read it on their own outside of class, days before it's due; 2) think about the ideas in the text and come up with at least 2 comments (things they understand) and 2  questions (things they don't); and 3) write at least 2 paragraphs about the text to ready themselves to be an active part of the discussion.

And then class comes. And I stride in, open my text, sit among them, and say, "So what did you think? What about this text?"

And the crickets. And they go into slow motion shuffling. Some stare at the ground. Some look right at me, faking it.

Usually, after 20 seconds or so, someone says, "What page is it on?"

And then, "Was that for today?"

And the crushing pain I get in my chest begins.

And I know they haven't read. And I know that all I've tried to instill in them about work habits and the importance of reading has been wasted on nearly everyone.

And I feel like I've failed once again.



[+]

For the next few weeks I'm going to post something every Tuesday morning. Unless I forget to do my reading. 

25 comments:

  1. That's golden, like the color of lemons. Make lemonade.

    Since you can't go with your "A" Plan (have an intelligent discussion), you now have time in your schedule for your "B" Plan (a good old fashioned written test, something along the lines of "Q1) Write at least 2 paragraphs on the assigned reading"

    Whenever I deploy that strategy, they quickly start reading. It must be about choice... they don't like only having one option presented to them.

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  2. Cambridge is right.

    These are the three things you should do on your own, one of these three will show up on the test.

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  3. "And I feel like I've failed once again."

    You prepared for class. They did not. You didn't fail. They did.

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    1. Amen. While I appreciate all the tips for encouraging reading/engagement (and use many of them myself), this is, in the end, the bottom line, and we need to remember that. I'm not sure it would be worth the pain, but I would support a movement of (tenured, already decently-salaried) proffies who decide to go back to a minimalist approach: reading assignments, class discussion, a midterm, a final, and a paper or two, with the grade based on the tests and papers. Decent instructions for the papers, and some information about format and coverage for the tests, but that's it. No pop quizzes, day-to-day "engagement" assignments, study guides, or other spoonfeeding/propping-up. They've got to learn how to learn on their own at some point, and I'm not entirely convinced that the training wheels (and knee and elbow pads, and hand on the back of the seat, and. . . . ) are helping them in the long run.

      The compromise would be to do some of the learning-how-to-learn helps in intro classes (and/or the first half of the semester), but gradually withdraw them in upper-level classes and/or later in the semester, telling students what we're doing, and why. Many of them would hate it (they like routine/consistency), but it would probably help.

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  4. The only thing I do differently is sometimes give them five minutes at the beginning of class to discuss the reading or to "free write". This has various virtues/vices: (1) it occupies class time; (2) it improves or at least starts discussion; and (3) it gives me five minutes to (a) review some points myself or (b) stare out the window (or at a blank wall) and take deep breaths to still my rage and forestall the coming stroke.

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  5. Participation is 25% of the grade. If they miss 1/4 of the classes they're already down to a 75%. If they screw up the pop quizzes and can't answer the simple questions I ask them, I mark it on the seating chart.

    They won't read unless you make them. Unless there are serious consequences for not reading.


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  6. Well, I've tried the quiz route, a five-minute one at the beginning of class. A simple question, dealing either with material discussed in the previous lecture or with a main point in the section they were told to read in advance. For instance, if I'm going to lecture on applications of uniform hamsterence I might ask them for the definition.

    Here is what happens: the good students get it right, the clueless don't have a clue, and it's always the same people (and no intermediate group). I have never had the potential for getting a zero on a quiz change anyone's behavior, and I've tried it many times.

    In my current class, the quizzes just count as bonus points towards the homework grade, but I've tried other schemes. It makes no difference to students who are used to getting weak grades throughout the semester, and somehow passing the course anyway.

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    Replies
    1. Could it be that the quizzes are just bonus points that makes the difference? In my experience, admittedly less broad than some others here, if you make the quiz points a part of the actual grade, they start to take it more seriously.

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    2. Yes, that's possible, but since the quizzes were an afterthought (after half the class bombed the second test) I can't really make them worth a whole lot. The problem is that, while they all "look attentive", half of them understand very little, and the quizzes will make them aware of this before the next test.

      Other times I've tested whether they were doing the HW through quizzes (in lieu of grading HW; large class, no TA), and that was a disaster: they just resign to not doing the homework, take their chances and fail the quizzes. They know they have no excuse, but in the end I'm blamed anyway.

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  7. Have you tried different kinds of CATs (Classroom Assessment Techniques)? Fancy term for things like 1-minute papers, or muddiest point-type things. I learned about them when I got training to teach a hybrid course. They're usually not graded (I don't), but I award points (5) if they complete them, and they cannot complete them if they have not prepared for class.

    When I do them, I hand each student a 3x5 index card, and have them answer a simple question (simple if they've done the reading) or have them write one question they have from the reading. If they haven't read, they have to write DNR on the card. If I have asked for questions on the reading, I go through those quickly and sort them into piles (often several students have similar questions). It's a good way to see what they didn't understand, and a small reward for the ones who did the work. If you do one a week for 10 weeks, that's 50 points, so it adds up if they don't do them.

    Things have somewhat improved this semester since I implemented the CATs.

    I hope things get better for you.

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    1. I like this! Will try this next semester, thanks!

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    2. I like this too, BurntChrome, but wonder about your teaching load and how much time it takes to go through them and record the grades.

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    3. PG, I teach 4 courses a semester, 3 of which are comp. each section is capped at 24, and I don't grade the cards for content. I flip through them right after they give them to me, and after class I award pass (5 points) for questions that demonstrate that they did the reading, and Fail (0 points) for DNRs or questions that are obviously bullshit.

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    4. It's still worth measuring/recording/adding up the amount of time you're spending on such "quick" grading. Every time I have, I've been dumbfounded (and dismayed). Mind you, I still do such activities, but I'm aware that, with 90+ students, if I plan something that takes 5 minutes per student (for a particular assignment, or over the course of a week or a semester), I've just added at least an 8-hour day's worth of grading to my workload (assuming I might spend 30 minutes stretching, going to the bathroom, eating, and/or dealing with an idiosyncratic response). I also find myself checking my math every time I say this, because it sounds wrong somehow, but it's true. All those "little things" we do (and are urged to do) to improve our students' learning add up.

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    5. I use index cards too - with a question from the reading, or the previous day's lecture - but I don't collect all of them. On any given day I collect about half, chosen alphabetically by name or month of birth or student number or similar. it has the same effect of gingering up the class without giving me so much marking.

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    6. I use my LMS, which allows me to "select all" and enter a grade "pass" for all of them. Then all I have to do is go back and uncheck the ones who were absent or who didn't read. Only a very few are bold enough to try to bullshit me, but when I use the "comment all" function and explain that zeroes happen if they try to bullshit me, they stop trying. Easy-peasy.

      MA, your version is positively Eeeeeevil. :-)

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  8. Yes to index cards. I use 'em, award 'em points (1-3), shuffle and stack them, use them to prepare the next week's lecture, etc. They are my favorite low-tech tool. Sometimes I even use them for "flash feedback" about a method I am trying.

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  9. Or daily "journal" writing assignments on the reading for that day.

    Grade them check, plus, and minus (and I added zero for "not done"), and then make up a grade at the end based on the distribution you see in the class.

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    1. I used to do that. I'd collect the journals just after midterm. Surprising how many entries were written with the same pen with steadily worsening penmanship. I stopped when I realized that I was just wasting my valuable time (and killing my freaking back).

      I shifted to journals in print form (1-2 pages) but also too much reading (I teach a lot of comp) to keep up with/comment on.

      Now I use discussion boards in the LMS, and that works OK as long as I remember to keep assigning them.

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    2. I had profs assign this when I was a student. I'd do them the day before they were due, although i'd have the presence of mind to switch pens.

      So I don't assign them.

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  10. Quizzes are fine, but really what it comes down to is students must feel that something is at stake. I rarely have a hard time getting students to read, because on the first day of classes I tell them "This is a discussion class. If you prepare, we will have interesting discussions. If you are unprepared, we will sit in silence for an hour." And then, the next class, when they don't prepare (inevitably, they don't prepare), I say "Perhaps you didn't believe me." Then I sit down, fold my hands, and stare straight ahead until someone raises their hand (or tries to do something else, at which point I tell them "class is still in session.").

    I do have tenure, though. But they read after that. Boy, do they read after that.

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    Replies
    1. I love this. I wish I had the guts to do it.

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    2. Never underestimate the power of awkward silence. The silence never lasts a full hour. Usually only six or seven minutes before someone gives it a stab. That first discussion sucks and is sweaty and uncomfortable. I let it stay uncomfortable. Don't fill silences. Ask follow up questions, call on a few people randomly, and if they're unprepared simply stare at them for a count of forty and then call on someone else. Then the next discussion is better, and I make it a point to say something along the lines of "Thanks for an interesting discussion today," when they do actually prepare.

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