The Procrastinators
We all have students that want two weeks to attempt their project but then either wait till day 13 to start of miss entirely. I commonly will not assign a project in total with one due date but rather break it up into smaller pieces with a succession of due dates. A little done here and a little done there can lead to the entire project 's completion before they know what hit 'em. It is also easier to stay on top of those that need closer attention this way. I know if they are making an honest attempt or not.
It has been much more successful compared to my earlier, more traditional assignments.
While I agree that breaking down major projects into smaller parts due every few days is easier on students, I'm not sure that's helpful to them in the long term. They will receive assignments in their chosen profession and be given a due date. They will need to be responsible and self sufficient enough to turn in a finished project by that due date. I guess knowing the steps involved and doing them will result in the finished project, though. I guess what I'm trying to say is that in order to help my students to be more successful, I want to motivate them to learn to be responsible, I don't want to baby them. -Jeanne
Hi Michael,
What type of responses do you get from your students based on this story?
Patricia
I tell a story about how a little 10 pound beaver can cut down a 100 year old oak tree...nibble,nibble,nibble
Hi Michaelle,
It certainly helps the students whenever they can see an example of a project. I like to show an outstanding project and a project that is not of high quality so that the student sees what "A" work likes like and what failing work looks like.
Patricia
I agree. When I wrote the curriculum for a new wines class, I made sure to include some lab time for their project. Now, the entire class day is devoted to the project. We spend 15 to 20 minutes going over the directions and grading rubrics. I also include an example of the project that I completed myself so they can see the level of expectations. The rest of the class time is spent doing research. Nobody has the excuse that they didn't have time to complete a project.
Hello Joseph,
I am certainly no procrastinator. I like taking the many baby steps to add up to the one big thing. I do my best thinking and work when I plan ahead. Some people are just the opposite, and they would rather wait until the last minute. The problem comes in when you wait until the last minute and fall SHORT...missed deadline, poor quality of work, etc.
Patricia
Baby steps!!! ANYone can take baby steps to make small progress. Add up a dozen small things and suddenly you have a big thing!
But regarding procrastination - I have a quote for them, partly in jest: "It's impossible to procrastinate the creative process." Your mind is always active. That's why I've produced some of my best work at the last minute - more time to think, plus the added adrenaline from the deadline pressure. But procrastinators *must* be able to handle a heavy workload at the last minute or they run the risk of missed deadlines. Tough balancing act.
Hello Laura,
What a smart tactic to use to get your students to do their assignment within a timely manner. I bet your students can really appreciate this.
Patricia
I agree. I teach college English and I have my Composition 2 students keep a reading journal of 20 or more entries to turn in at the end of the 10 week quarter. Included on their class schedule of homework, I have suggested the number of entries to be done by the following week in order for students to stay on top of things. I find that this helps my students out, and in the long run, they won't be rushing to complete their journal at the end of the quarter.
Hi Wing,
I love that incentive. I bet you do have some students that take advantage of that. If I were your student, I would certainly use that incentive to my advantage.
Patricia
Hi Owen,
Good points made! There is nothing like providing immediate feedback. Students want to know their end results.
Patricia
Also allowing students to hand things in early lets you correct them and give their grade back in a shorter period of time. Some students put lots of effort into assignments and want to see that A they earned immediately not hand it in with everyone else and have to wait a week to get it back.
What works well currently is that I always allow students to turn in projects early. The benefit for them is that I'll grade it and hand it back to them to be fixed if it's not 100. It gives them a chance to correct mistakes and an incentive to start on projects early.
Hi Matthew,
What a great incentive for your students! I would guess you have more students that take advantage of this incentive than not. I know that I would. This is a super tactic to get students motivated to get things done by deadlines.
Patricia
I do the same thing for my class as well. The students know that in the span of 15 days, they do not have that much time to procrastinate. With projects due on Day 3, 4, 9, and 12, they need to work on their projects and turn them in on the scheduled date if they do not wish to be penalized for late work. On the last day, they also turn in their other project parts as well for a final grade, but as I tell my students it helps them since I will check their work and offer suggestions. With this, their final grade can actually be higher than if they turned it in once. As some students think that they will get a 100 on the final project and as such not do the other work, they are surprised when their final grade is quite low. As I tell them, they may have received 100, but the other parts count towards the final grade as well. This pushes them to actually turn in the work on the various due dates rather than wait until the end.
Hi Brian,
Students appreciate it whenever the instructor provides any amount of class time to work on a project. I always have students to thank me for allowing them to have lab time for projects. I do as much as I can for my students to provide some time to work on projects during class, simply because most of hour students work as well as go to school.
Patricia
I absolutely agree! If I have a large project to be completed over say a two to four week time period I will issue it in stages to be turned in on a weekly basis...Moreover, I will give them at least a portion of one class period to work on the project with their cohorts. This helps eliminate the eleventh hour cram sesions.
Hello Bennett,
What a smart strategy to use to work on procrastinators. Just a "little bit" will eventually get the whole project completed. I am sure you have made a difference in some student's life when it comes to doing things within a timely manner.
Patricia
Just a "little bit" is a good strategy. I use something like this in the sanitation course teaching them to clean just for one minute something everyday. Some chose to clean at the beginning of class others at break and the rest at the end of class when there is a rush to the instructor about assignments, when was that test and other distractions that allow some students to put off their cleaning assignments.
A couple of times I took the class before line up on a tour of the kitchen they just cleaned before our class. I showed them what I was looking for in a clean kitchen each week. I feel I worked the group of procrastinators down to a single student.
