I like this idea. After this quarter, I intend to share rubrics for grades and to grade materials with students present. I have learned this through these classes. Thank you.
What kinds of complaints or challenges have I experienced in the classroom. Many of my students complain about my cursive writing on the blackboard. I have tried powerpoint. I have asked other students to do the printing on the board. I have encouraged students to record my presentations.
Student challenges primarily arise from differences in how the students learn and trying to use all the methods in my class presentations. For the auditory learners, I have encouraged them to record the material. For the kinesthetic learners, I encourage them to take notes, draw pictures, or however else they want to use their hands. For the visual learners, I continue to use visual support in the classroom as I mentioned earlier.
Hi Angela,
Students need to know that we are there for them, and we are geniunely interested in hearing their concerns.
Patricia
Hi Lisa,
I really like how you confront the student to work things out. There is no avoiding confrontation in the education arena. Students need to be dealt with quickly and swiftly.
Patricia
The instructor needs to let students know that the instructor is accessible and open open to discussing in private first, then groupif necessary.
When I have been faced with student challenges, I go right to the student who is creating the challenge to work with them why they are creating this situation. Most times I find that the student is having an issue with course materials and does not know how to work through their problem or lack of understanding of the materials. I will usually sit down next to them and we will work the problem out together while the other students in class are working on their assignments. Students then know that they can come to me with any questions and that I will work with them. Being an instructor is not just lecturing it is working one on one with students.
Making the rules available and very clear are the two best strategies of all that I've tried. If students know what is expected, they will usually conform to those expectations. I always try to announce any policy changes ahead of time.
Also, addressing complaints and challenges early reduces them. I like to take the student aside during the next break and listen to them. Once I know what the issue is, I can work with the student to resolve it. Then, once I have a resolution, I can ask the class if anyone else feels that way. It might be a complaint from more than one student.
Above all, I try to be fair and to let my students know I'm fair.
I think there are 2 different types of complaints and challenges. 1)It is unfair that you took 10 points of the project grade because I did not include references. That is the main reason why I strongly believe a syllabus should be very detailed and with examples of the type of grading. My answer usually is that the grading rubric in your syllabus specifically shows that 10 points will be deducted from your project for not including references. Usually that is the end of the story.
2)I do not understand what you are explaining. I am not a PhD student to understand everything. In those cases I listen to the student and try to understand the student point of view. I set up tutoring sessions during office hours, explain the topic again with different or additional examples, encourage students to communicate with me via email if they have questions while they are studying at home etc
Hi Meridith,
Treat everyone the same, and this type of practice will miminize complaints/challenges to very little.
Patricia
Hi Angela,
Timeliness is very important when complaints and challenges come about. Students need to and want to know that we are listening to them. Never ignore the concern.
Patricia
Hi Teresita,
Consistency is key whenever rules, policies, and procedures are in place. Whenever you deviate from regulations, you really open up a can of worms.
Patricia
Hi Joshua,
Excellent response! There is no magical formula to eliminating complaints/challenges, but we can be as proactive as possible. Always be ready for those students who will question their grade; we generally know who they are.
Patricia
I think prevention is the best cure here whenever it is achievable. Knowing your students, their strengths and weaknesses, it can help you to identify potential problems before they arrive. For example if you know a student is prone to confrontations and he/she scored poorly on a test you can prepare for any resulting fallout when they receive the grade. Another example might be as the lesson suggested keeping tabs on how you distribute your time in class. A silent student might feel left out because of more vocal students in the class monopolizing your time. Identifying that trend before it becomes a problem can avoid the problem all together. Of course if it was that easy then there would be no problems in school. Situations do arise and when they do hearing a student out is step one to solving whatever problem he/she may have, and the way you handle the problem can have a large impact on any future problems.
I agree with many in this forum. The best way to minimize complaints would be to have clearly stated course expectations and rubrics. Cover the assignments and ensure that students have no questions about them. Provide detailed rubrics for the assignments. If these do not do the trick and you still have complaints, one must be open to listening to the student so as to understand what was missed. Then one must be receptive to make changes or to explain to the student the reason that their challenge cannot be addressed in a fashion favorable to them. The entire interaction must be professional and respectful.
Patricia, I would not normally think about telling someone that they appear to be a chronic whiner and one that complains about everything. I would thing that would be a very dangerous thing to do as it would really get this person going. I suspect there may be a way to approach it and would be very interested in your advice on this.
Transparency and consistency with school policy and class regulations can help reduce student complaints. Discipline, consequences of misbehavior/non-compliance of tasks, and grading system must be implemented on a "black and white" dimension. The teacher must not show any deviation in equal treatment of all students.
You can reduce student complaints by treating all students equally and fairly. The second thing you can do is address all complaints in a timely fashion no matter how small or insignificant they might seem. Being clear and consise about objectives for the class and getting to know all of your students personal challenges will minimize some of the haredships a student might incur while going through the course.
Hi Susan,
Listening is a must! Once they put the complaint in writing, most of the time they realize that the complaint is somewhat trivial.
Patricia
Listening to their complaints concerns would be the most important thing if they already are at that point. I think to reduce concerns and complaints in general, the instructor needs to be well prepared, needs to be educated and aware of campus, grading, classroom policies and abide by them, and not be too lenient in regards to second chances, homework being late, etc. This is while respecting the students as well and hearing out legitimate issues concerns that students may have.
Hi Jenny,
I can tell you are a good listener, and you want to help your students. Listening is key.
Patricia
