Tardies and Absences
A couple students every course are frequently tardy and absent. I attempt to "catch-up" these students by allowing them to take home quizzes and turn in work late. Taking care of these students takes time and is sometimes distracting from the next lesson. Giving these students the opportunity to succeed is important; however, missing a few lessons and lab exercises should be extremely detrimental to their grade. Not failing these students is very hard and I do my best to help them get through.
What are strategies for allowing students to catch-up while at the same time move on with the course content?
Robert,
Like watching a movie, if most any part is missed, it's going to be more difficult to follow. Policies regarding tardies and attendance vary, but regardless of the policy, students need to get all the information planned in order to do ther best. I use the "employer expectations" argument, but unfortunately the attendance abusers will usually say "in a real job, I wouldn't miss work. This is only school"). Of course that is a riduculous argument and totally unrealistic. My school and program policies are very unforgiving and can even result in class failure or dismissmal from the program for excesses. It's just better for students to be present to prevent having to police students in this rigid manner.
Regards, Barry
In regaurds to tardy or being absent, I advise the students day one that if they are absent or tardy and miss demostrations or notes that it is their responsibility to get with someone that was there that day and arrange with someone who was here to demo the info for them. I try to instill in them that they must be present to win. The course material is difficult enough when they are here 100% of the time. It's going to be that much more difficult for them when it comes to graded evaluations. I also remind students that employers look at attendence of prospective employees, that employers also what someone who is dependable and will be on time to work and at work when its a work day. I advise them that having a job and going to school and maintaining good attendence proves that. With the stress of school and a job employers know when they graduate it will be easier due to they have graduated and no long have the stresses of being in class.
The very first day of each class, I give my students the expectations for attendance. I start out by telling them they are in a career college and my job is to prepare them for their chosen career, which means "working". Therefore, I treat my classroom like a department. If a student is going to be absent, he/she must call and report off. They all get a copy of the class prospectus, so they know what they are reponsible for. THey must turn in the work missed the following week. If they can provide a legitimate excuse, such as physician note, etc. I will give them the full credit for the work. IF they do not produce such a note, they have an automatic 20% deducted from the late assignments including missed quiz or test. If they are going to be 30 minutes or more tardy, they are also required to call and leave me a note as to why. I am trying to make my students responsible and accountable for their actions. I am available to my students for catch up, but will not have tardiness/absenteeism disrupt the students who are punctual and in class routinely. It's respect for all involved.
Hi Marsha:
The nice thing about having a policy of “no make-up quizzes†at the outset of the class is that it creates an expectation for the students, and supports the importance of being in class everyday.
Regards, Barry
Hi Theodore:
This is similar to the idea of allowing make-up quizzes.
The nice thing about having a policy of “no make-up quizzes†at the outset of the class is that it creates an expectation for the students, and supports the importance of being in class everyday.
Regards, Barry
Like others have mentioned, I find the best approach is to clearly outline the tardy, make-up and absence policy on Day 1. This way, it is a black and white issue. We do a lot of group work and I find that my students hold one another accountable. No being present, or being late makes an impact on the groups' success for that day.
The first day of class I encourage students to exchange phone numbers with other students so that they can get any missed assignments. This also helps to develop study partners. I am also available to help them, but I try to make sure they try to help themselves first. I find this also helps by using peer pressure -- the student who is called frequently will eventually let the absent/tardy student know that it is much easier to complete assignments correctly when they attend class regularly. In addition, I assign participation points for each class period, so there is a negative consequence for missing class.
Hi Mark:
One way to enforce an expectation about attendance is to spell it out in the course syllabus, perhaps even adding a rubric. Then there is no way a student can say "I didn't know that".
Regards, Barry
My students are penalized for being late or leaving early. They receive a counseling form which stays in their record at 20% absences. Quizzes missed in class cannot be made up. I try to have a class activity every time and if they are not there, they cannot make it up. It has improved attendance, but not as much as I like.
I stick to the school policy that 4 tardiness equals one full day absent.
Any missed lab assignments because the are late or leave early can not be made up.
They are not going to pull this stuff when they get out in the work force so I give them a taste of reality early. I'm tough I know.
Hi Mary:
Most would agree that is a good practice. The important thing is to notify the students on the first day of class about the expectations and consequences.
Regards, Barry
I believe that one good approach to the problem of tardiness and absenteeism is communication and rewards. I communicate to students that attending classes is an important step in being successful in the course. I give homework and then I go over the homework in class. I later check the homework and the homework is a percent of their grade. If they come to class the homework part of their grade is easy, if they miss class they have to get it done on their own.
Hi James:
The nice thing about your process here is that you notify the student well in advance of your expectations, so there is not chance for them to come back and say "I didn't know this would happen".
Regards, Barry
Hi William:
One idea may be to describe the expectations for lateness on the first day of class. Something along the line of "if you come into class late, please quietly sit down immediately so we can resume class with as few distractions as possible".
Regards, Barry
Hi Kobie:
This is a great idea for keeping students on top of assignments by allowing them access at all times.
A good follow-up question might be this: are there any consequence for missing classes?
Regards, Barry
Hi Paul:
In response to your question, I think an effective strategy that might motivate your students to be on time wouldbe to require them to work on any missed assignments on their own time, and have remediation with the instructor.
Regards, Barry
Mary I am so glad that I am not alone with this difficulty of judging tardiness and absences. Like you I have started to implement grades for attendance and participation especially while teaching a QuickBooks Accounting class. The students are expected to reach certain tasks and objectives each and every class session and if they continue to have issues with tardiness and absenteeism it effects their grade. If a student gets too behind in this class they find that their results do not equal to the text and they become frustrated, therefore on the first night I explain to them how important their attendance is and even though I will try to help them they must be ultimately responsible for keeping up with the assigned material. I sometimes think it is too harsh but again it is the nature of the class itself that mandates full participation in the short six weeks I teach the class. I understand unforeseen occurrences befall us all and I allow for make up time for any late or missed assingments toward the end of the term. The QuickBooks is also a class where the students may not feel very proficient due to the excessive computer usage, so again I strongly encourage a positive outlook on 100% attendance and participation from the start.
Hi Cynthia:
Talking about expectations is okay, but there are students who will just not get to class on time. We do peanalize, although it's a small fraction their grade, in some cases it can make a difference in a final grade.
Also, my program trains medical personnel. Absences in excess of 15% of the total class hours fails them and may even lead to dismissal. But that's the real world, as you spoke about, isn't it?
I agree this is a difficulty I face with every new class.I grade for attendance and participation --if they are late or leave early they get penalized.
