Many of my students come from the inner city. They are often sporadic in attendance. The attendance policy is somewhat lenient and many students take advantage of it. How rigid can an instructor be and still take into consideration the varied backgrounds of the students?
Hi Amy,
Great points! At my insitution we have a 4-hour seminar that all new students must take that focuses on a large segment about time management and prioritizing. Students learn a lot of great idea from the seminar.
Patricia
I will allow them to e-mail me assignmnets as long as it is within the same day..but only under "severe" situations
I talk to my students about setting schedules and learning how to balance life. Make time for fun and yet be able to prioritize the important things. Give them ideas and situations.
Hi Regina,
What is your take on late assignments? You made some good points in your response about homework.
Patricia
Hi Lisa,
You are right! For every choice there is a consequence. Sacrifices are necessary in order to be successful. It is a lot to juggle, but it can be done.
Patricia
Usually, I try to give a lot of classroom assisgments to prevent them from doing it at home. I allow the last hour of class for group work and review. That way they will not leave the class early and they are more willing to work with their peers in helping them finish assistments and answer any questions that may have been a concern.I then send them home with reading assignments and review.
Hi Frank,
I love the analogy. Students tend to really understand when you put things in the perspective of money.
Patricai
When assigning home work or any other assignment I tell my student to treat their assignment as a work projects and there grade is their pay check. I also ask them if they did not completed their work project should they get a pay check.
I think that students should understand that that they made the decision to come back to school and scarifices are going to be necesary in order to succeed. It's not my problem if they have their employment and cannot get the assignment done. So my approach to assignments is that general homework assignments (i.e. review questions/problems) are due the following class and as for projects (i.e. several pages of a typed document) I give them a week sometimes two weeks depending on the extent and difficulty of the project because again I do understand that they work and need some extra time to complete the work. But in the end it is up to the student effectively manage their time and prioritize because that is what is going to be expected of them in the "real" world.
In my first day of class, when I go over the syllabus and explain them the purpose of the class and the expectations, I focus on the deadlines for the assignments. I try to motivate them to maintain an open communication with me, the instructor, on any matter or issues they might have. I tell them that my goas is their success and that I will help reach it. But at the same time, they need to be responsible of their actions the same way they would at their job. During the class, I send reminders out via email and also before or after lecture to ensure that they know what deadlines need to be respected.
I try to provide a plan for which they can accomplish the work. Often times, they wait until the day before it's due to do it. If they would just do a little bit every day and space it out, they would be fine.
That is a tough call. But I think that most students understand that their workload and responsibilities will increase since they made teh decision to return to school. If it is a problem affecting a large number of students in the class, try a little study group or work group during the class to break up lecture and give the students an opportunity to complete work.
