Student Expectations
From my experience and training we can enhance learning by meeting and exceeding student expectations. However we cannot exceed them unless we have laid the foundation first. For example I try to organize my class materials and our Learning Management System in such a fashion that it is very easy to navigate and has all the materials necessary for a student to be successful. I provide examples of excellent work (where possible) and very clear and short directions. This serves two purposes. First it takes pressure off the students because they can proceed with confidence on an assignment. And second, students can then concentrate on learning the subject matter and not wonder if they are “on the right track”. I answer far fewer questions and may then focus on the course requirements and really add value to the students and class room time.
Hi Sarah,
Good strategy. Students are great at the divide and conquer game. If they can get faculty at each other's throat then they reduce the pressure on themselves. This cannot happen because it will destroy the department quickly. By showing unity, even if you know a certain instructor is not the strongest, you are being professional and that will serve you well in the long run.
Gary
It is interesting how you show that faculty as a team by agreeing with "greatness". I also do this when I hear a student complain about another instructor. I listen so that the student knows I care and then tell them I've also heard students tell me that that instructor is the best one they've ever had or some other nice thing I've heard about that instructor. I do this for a few reasons. One is that I want to help build a positive image of our school in students. Another is to show some cohesiveness as a faculty group. And another is to model professional behavior.
Hi Jeffrey,
Thank you for sharing this story. What a great example of how things can be brought to your career and you are expected to step right into the situation with all the answers. Sounds like you have worked hard with the challenges that were given you. I admire your goal of leaving your field with the bar set for high for the next teacher just as it was for you. Your attitude and dedication will help make that happen over the years. I wish you a great teaching career.
Gary
Thanks so much for what you said it is a good approach.
I took over a class from a great teacher (call him "Mark") over a year ago (it is a 2 year long program) and the residual expectations and often unfair comparisons continued until that group of students completed the program last month!
Ironically I was a student in this very same program about 10 years earlier when "Mark" took over from the previous instructor. This gave me an interesting variety of view points on a new instructor trying to come up to the standard set by a previous teacher. My own classmates gave "Mark" a very hard time back when he started-- the general feeling was that he would never reach the standard of our previous teacher. It was a rough year for him, I'm sure. Ten years later "Mark" was the model of the impossible standard that I will never reach! "Mark" was a good teacher when he started, and I know that he became great over the 10 years he ran the program.
"Mark" and I worked hard planning the hand off of the class to limit the difficulties for the students AND for me, but I have to say it seemed to do little to convince the students that unfair comparisons wouldn't ease the transition!
The best thing about all of this for me was that having such a direct involvement in this situation allowed me to keep it all in perspective. I think I was able to recognize when the student expectations were fair... and when they were not. Having witnessed a teacher go from "does nothing right" to "does nothing wrong" let me know that the truth of it all is likely somewhere in the middle!
Hopefully I'll improve as a teacher over the coming years and get to experience the other side of all of this one day when I hand off to a new teacher that can't live up to the standard I've set!
One response that I have noticed to be valuable is to acknowledge the "greatness" of those teachers the students are describing as great. I'll tell the students I admire that teacher as much as they do, and that I have learned a great deal from that teacher as well. I believe that not only does this show the student that their instructors are a team that rely on each other to maximize student success, but it shows my students in particular that I do not see myself as an isolated member of the faculty. I want them to see me as somebody who takes an active role in their development, and to that end, I want them to know that I know what their other experiences with other teachers have been like. (And, of course, I do try to learn about my colleagues and their styles, so I know what I'm talking about when I acknowledge them!)
By freely acknowledging that I agree with them about their previous "great teachers," I hope that I build their confidence in their faculty overall, and I hope that it subtly reassures them that since I do admire their other instructors, I am taking active steps to learn from those "great teachers."
So I don't view those "great teachers" as competition, or as somebody I can't match, but rather, I let the students know that I am constantly trying to learn from and emulate their methods myself. Maybe it's a psychological ploy - I hope that's not all it is! - but I like to think that I am reassuring my students that the difference between the great teachers and myself perhaps isn't so vast after all...
Hi Carol,
Without knowing some additional details it is hard to answer this question completely. I do know that you have to establish yourself within the context of the course you are teaching. If comments continue to come up about not being able to match the skills of a previous super teacher you need to redirect the conversation to the course topic. Use a pretest to assess the skills and knowledge of your students that are coming from an instructor that has been less than stellar as an educator. Again keep the conversation away from the instructor and on the course content. Build the students up in the areas they need support in and don't let them continually refer back to what they didn't get. Work hard to keep the students in a forward focused mode, meaning this course is where their thoughts should be. Offer exciting and challenging activities within your course so the students will see the value of it and not what has happened before.
Having have been in this situation before I am speaking from experience when writing this response. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me.
Gary
My question about student expectations is in another direction. Do you have any ideas for how I can deal with the students expectations as they move from one teacher to another. If they have had a "great teacher, somehow it feels as if no one can not come up to that standard and if they have had a bad experience much of the class seems to be spent trying to undo damage that was done?
Hi Jeff,
Good plan. I really like your approach to reducing student frustration. I tell my students I don't mind you spending a lot of time on the assignment I just want the time being spent on the assignment not trying to figure what "he wants". Clear concise instructions makes that happen. You are right about fewer questions and wasted time. Plus, I have found the quality to be much higher in the completed assignments.
Gary
