When Do We Stop Treating Students as Children?
There's a lot of talk about telling students how to study for your class, how to do their work so they will pass, playing games to make them feel less stressed. Many of these techniques sound like we are sending our kids off to their first day of kindergarten or teaching grade schoolers, but not college students. I expect my students to take notes. I expect them to organize their notes. I see too many instructors giving students study guides...to the point the student cannot function when being tested from a book because they don't know how to discern pertinent information without it being given to them on a silver platter. There is a lot of good information here, but I am not being paid to play games to make a student feel 'more at ease'. Are we coddling them too much? Or have we lowered our expectations regarding the students' abilities to actually be students?
Jan,
I can really appreciate where you are in a setting like this as I am caught up in the same thing. We as a faculty are working on trying to change this culture because it is not good for the students nor the school. We are not turning out the high quality graduates we should be due to this pandering and spoon feeding. If we cannot change the culture we are going to leave as we feel compromised as professionals.
I wish you success in finding the "sweet spot" that will support your students but also leave you a feeling that you have maintained your professional standards and those of your field. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree with you 100%. Unfortunately, in the program in which I am a new teacher, there is a long tradition of spoon-feeding. I have been truly shocked to discover how much our students have been taught to expect this from us as teachers. I am frustrated by the students' expectations that I will literally spare them the burden of taking notes by handing it to them. They expect a study guide for each test. The notes I already handed them are not sufficient, apparently. The first time I caved to the expectation and made them a study guide, all I did was paraphrase the chapter objectives from their text. Only one student even noticed that this was where they came from! I told her that is why she was getting the top score in the class. Because our school relies so heavily on student satisfaction evaluations of each teacher, I am in the position of either pandering to the students, or getting lousy evaluations. My spoon will keep getting bigger until I reach that sweet spot of happy students required to keep my job. I'm not happy about it, but I can't change the culture of the entire program.
Learning never ends! Whew...what a hot topic to read! Thanks for posting everyone!
Jim,
Well said. The "entitlement" mentality is present in many of our students. We "owe" them a passing grade because they are paying money to go to school. Well in the real world life does not work that way. Post secondary training and education is optional, meaning the students enrolled, paid money and selected courses that will enable them to move toward their career goals. They need to realize that it is up to them to be successful. We can support, encourage and direct them but that is all we can do.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I am in agreement with Richard Schram, we should not have to coddle 30 year old adolescents. The older person trying to get into a new trade will be rusty on their study skills. Most of them know it and work to bring them back, what was a good living is gone and for some this is their last chance to earn a good living. Those that had bad situations in their life whether family oriented, social problems or self-destructive bring that attitude in the class thinking we owe them since they are victims and are owed. They don't realize most of their present problems are self-perpetuated.
Fresh out of high school students with bad study habits were not deprived of the education, they rejected it. The more some of them are helped the more they abuse the help and their fellow students. Those working often have tight schedules and have to be a little late or sneak out early. We have a limit of time missed per class and those with low grades towards the end of a session are worried how many minutes they can miss so they can leave early on final test day.
At times family situations take precedence over class but for most of the others class is about tenth in priority. They have three goals next beer, next joint and next romantic interlude, whichever comes first. Those are the students that finish first on test day and have borderline grades.
When lecturing masterial I get I don't understand.
Looking at them the book I am using is not in sight. More than once I stated "Open the d*** book". Usually the next time they can't understand a real student will use extremely hard pronouns in describing the book. The space taker is wasting his valuble time.
We are using a lot of time to cater to less than 10% of the students. We are wasting time catering to an uncaring minority. Some of them will ralize what they should have done and go on somewhere and be a good student and go to the top of the class.
Peggy,
Thank you for these comments. They really express the approach we need to take in working with diverse learners in our classrooms/labs today.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
In reading all of these comments, I was not surprised at the wide range of answers. Often our students have varied backgrounds(both educationally and socially) and thus, they have different needs. As an instructor, it is my job to reach them at their level but, at the same time, to demand that the course material be mastered. Sometimes, the students needing additional help will require my help outside of the classroom. Even if a poor student doesn't pass the class and a retake of the class is necessary, neither the instructor nor the student should feel that their time was wasted. A good attitude towards learning is the key; we want to master the material because our future success in life depends on it. One of our main goals as an instructor is to get our students to understand that learning never ends and is to be enjoyed!
E. Alfred,
I agree that students are more consumed with learning to pass a state or national test than learning to master a science or art. I keep reminding myself that they don't know their ignorance will be harmful for their career. I am an adjunct instructor. I see myself as an easy going flexible instructor. I encourage my students and compliment their accomplishments. But I am realistic as well. When they struggle or make errors, I try to impress upon them the difference between whether the error would count against them for a state board or just get them fired from a job or cost them a patient from returning to them for a second appointment. My commentary on clinic performance is never about passing a test but rather from the ethical approach of what is the best option for the patient or for clinician's conscience. Lynne Durham, RDH,BS
John,
This is a good way to customize and target your course to individual students in a group format. This way they know you know where they are at in terms of base line knowledge so you can develop instruction that will help them build on their foundational content.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I appreciate the comments about the different levels of preparedness students may have for the course content. I try to clearly specify my accessibility to the student in terms of office hours or how appointments can be set up after classes. I also encourage students on that first day to contact me by e-mail if they have any questions or comments on what has been covered in class. As later class periods proceed, communication before and after class can often define the success of the student - but of course, the student also has to take it upon him/herself after that first class to follow up when needed. Another important thing I try to cover is a determination of how far into their individual programs my students may be, since first quarter students may need more of an "information session" that first day.
Exzelia,
Thank you for these great comments. You are correct in your analysis of current students. Much of what is "common sense" and problem solving in work situations has be lost with many of today's students. We need to help them develop critical thinking skills as much as is possible while they are in our courses.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I hear what you are saying and understand completely. Because I teach people from a diverse background of ages, experiences and time since he or she was in a learning environment, giving people lots of information and strategies will, on the one hand, be a valuable source of information and put a student at ease. On the other hand, some students already know much of this and you might feel you are insulting their intelligence. I acknowledge this to the class and try to use humor to keep even the most jaded and bored student engaged. It has worked well for me in the past.
More and more schools are teaching kids towards their national boards test instead of teaching children everything they need to know. What that said, it would be difficult for a student to know the definition of a word. They are given the "necessary elements" needed to pass boards. Therefore, when they reach collegic level they have a minimum understanding of everything.
For me, I truly believe that I am to start treating any student as an adult coming to learn their new profession. Since we are not born with the neccessary knowledge needed for our profession, we learn it. I am responsible to show the student,to clarify information and to show how it is utilized properly. During a test if the word is not the medical terminology they should have learned I would either just give the meaning or give a simple example of the meaning without giving the answer to the question. I can not assume that everyone received the same high school education but I would encourage any student that learning never stops, always expand your mind. Although I was a teenager when I studied and graduated into my profession the emphasis on my responsiblities, my need to be holistic with both clients and co-workers, and the various teachers I met helped me mature mentally.
Michelle,
You cannot compromise the standards of your course or your field so you are doing the right thing with your testing format. Another area of concern I have is the quality of instructors to communicate in a proper grammatical way. Spelling and sentence structure is in many cases not up to professional standards so I am challenged to work with these individuals as well.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Dr. Meers,
I agree with your statement about students leaving secondary school without many of the basic skills needed for success. As a new instructor, I'm shocked by this. At times I feel overwhelmed at the task of conveying collegiate-level content to the students, because I truly wonder if some of the students are ready for it. Sometimes, during a test, a student will come up and ask me what a word on the test means. The word is not new terminology related to the course, but rather high school or even middle school level vocabulary. I do not tell them what the word means during the test because I feel like they should already know it. I wonder if I'm handling these kinds of situations properly.
-Michelle Doorack
I'm sorry you feel this is bordering on offensive that I don't feel I am paid to play games with my students. I am an adjunct instructor. I am given a set amount of time to teach technical aspects to a field that is constantly and rapidly changing. I am there to share my knowledge, my experiences, and prepare these students for what they are going to face in the real world...which these days ain't too pretty as we continue to pump out hundreds of people to fill dozens of jobs!
Of course the material is new to them. And those that come in and tell me they know everything about the subject I'm teaching, well...they learn real fast that they don't. But I'll utilize their knowledge as part of the class time and to help me if I'm busy with another student. The work they do will be much more difficult than that of the other students. I expect more, thus they're graded on a different scale...making my job that much tougher as well. That has nothing to do with the point that I won't take my class down to a grade school level to play a game or games to make my adult students feel more comfortable in my classroom.
I tell my students on the first day that I consider them adults. As such, I expect them to act like adults. Don't come to me and tell me they have to leave class because work just called them in early. Don't tell me they can't afford to buy the book but they drive around in a new car and buy $5 packs of cigarettes on a daily basis. Don't give me excuses for why they missed the midterm test ("I was so tired because I had to work last night and I just couldn't get up that morning" or "work called me in at the last minute and I had to do that instead") and expect to make it up. Don't miss a deadline and then expect me to grade on the same scale as others who turned their work in on time. Don't expect me to give them a good grade when each class they came in an hour late, or ask (sometimes demand) that I take my time to give them a private lecture so they can catch up. Don't ask me to write their notes for them ('why can't you just give us a handout like the other instructors do?"). It's not happening. And, for fear of being 'offensive' again, I really don't care. I tell them my class is their job and that I pay them for the work they do. If they are texting their friends, playing on facebook, working on projects for other classes, their grades go down. I will not beg them to do the work I assign. I pay them for the work they do, the manner in which they participate in the class, and mark down any and all infractions that cause their pay to decrease.
They know they have to take responsibility for their actions in my class. I have a schedule. I keep to it (in such a way as to cover all materials set for the course.....just not necessarily in the same time frame as on the syllabus). I joke with them, get them involved, build their confidence but reign them in if needed....but never EVER will I treat them as if they are grade school kids or have to be treated as such. When there is book work to be done, they work out of the book individually, calling me over to ask questions if necessary. I WILL not read the book to them. I will show them what they're going to learn and the book will back up what I show them, but I still have students complain that I don't read the book to them like the other instructors do. Sorry. I'm not a grade school teacher teaching them to read. They need remedial work, they can go to the people who are responsible for that.
You're right that I should not try to impress them with my understanding. Bottom line, I don't NEED to impress them with my understanding. I have written 15 books, trained people at the highest level of my industry, and have 40 years of professional experience; they have none. Who would I be impressing?
And I am not only paid to make them understand and be comfortable with the material and learn, I WANT them to be comfortable with the material, because if they aren't they won't last long in their chosen field. Not with the competition that's out there today. And I gladly give WAY more time than I am ever compensated for...to the point I have had to go to my clients and rework their contracts because I couldn't get their work completed in time. I've even bent over backwards to modify projects so they were more relatable to a student in hopes that they would enjoy working on it more and get something out of it. However, I don't do that any more, either, because it's teaching them that they can do whatever they want and not meet the assigned criteria in a work environment. "I don't like that project, I want to do something else", isn't going to work in the real world.
I like them to come up with grandiose ideas, but then I have them back down to a more realistic perspective. How much would that cost to make? How long would it take to produce? Can the client afford it? What can you do to bring the cost down while retaining the bulk of your idea?
Play games to make students feel more comfortable in a field that will eat them alive faster than Chris Johnson can run the 440? Sorry. Can't do it and don't agree with it. It's one concept that, in a collegiate environment, does not sit well with this ol' hard-***.
Steven,
Thank you for your comments about helping students to be successful. I'm not clear about your comment on the "paid" part. Will you expand on this?
It is our job to do what we can to help students be successful if they are willing to put forth the effort and have the desire for the content. We cannot move students beyond the skills they possess in relation to basic academic functions. We can use study guides and outlines but it is up to them to comprehend the material in such a way they can make application.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I think it's important not to take for granted that, while we are experienced in the material that we are teaching, it may be completely new material to the student. What we sometimes take for granted is that, while the importance of given information is obvious to us, it isn't necessarily obvious to our student. It's one thing to make the assumption that the student has that context in general ed, but it's a completely different matter in core courses.
I actually find your comment about what you're "paid" to do a little off-putting, bordering on offensive. Technically, you're paid to do whatever is needed to adequately educate the student. If that entails spending a reasonable amount of time to help the student be more comfortable in the classroom and with the material, then so be it. We're educators, not pontificators. Our job is to guide others to understanding, not to impress others with our understanding.
Richard,
I don't think we are coddling students when we offer instructional supports and variety in the delivery of our content. Yes, they are college students but the students I have today are leaving secondary school without many of the basic skills needed for success. They need some tutorial support and reinforcement, like games or some other strategy to get them engaged and focused on the material.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
