gripe session
do not let the class become a gripe session but it is impoortant to be attentive to the student needs and concerns and offer assistance usually by refering them to the correct department personal to help them with a particular concern.
Ultimately you have to keep control of the class
and move on
Hi Walter,
Good point. Controlled venting helps the students to stay focused and lets you management it so it doesn't become personal.
Gary
let them vent, but stay in control, keep it short and remember that many studients have no one else to bounce ideas, thoughts or problems off of.
Hi Cheryl,
I really like your approach. This is forward focused thinking. Keeping the students in the mindset of solution rather than expansion of gripe sessions helps to keep them engaged and growing.
Gary
I find that it is constructive to use introduction of a gripe session to teach the students how best to handle a difficult situation professionally and successfully. I ask for students to highlight 3 potential solutions they see fit to the problem. I find that this redirects the anger and gets them to consider being part of the solution rather than the continued problem. Hopefully through this process they learn to work through to a solution rather than getting stuck in the complaint mode.
Hi Peter,
Thank you for sharing this case study in how to deal with a challenging situation. Your method of assessing the situation and then developing a solution is a model for others to follow.
Gary
I have had this happen to me very recently, except, i was brought in to smooth out a situation. several students felt that they were not getting what they needed from the instructor, so i was brought in to help smooth out the issues.
Instead of jumping right in to the material, i had to assess the mood of the class, and what i discovered is that they were having too much of a gripe session on their own. so i let the class air it out, for about fifteen minutes, i picked a few sticking points that they had mentioned and i focused on making sure they were completely satisfied at the end.
I was going to post this at another thread, titled, walk through before first class meeting, which is all about being prepared.
sometimes things go astray, but you need to solve the problem not just grace over it. or it will rear its head again.
the class did very well on their final, and i learned a bit about customer service.
Kevin,
Yes. It is important to allow students to voice their concerns and then to quickly transition the discussion back to classroom content. I have said, "Okay. Please email me any further thoughts. I will address these offline. Who would now like to lead the conversation on _________ [whatever classroom topic is next]?"
Miss Kim
Hi Kevin,
Right you are. Listen and then move the class forward. We have to be forward focused or we will lose control of the class and learning will be greatly reduced.
Gary
