Holding students accountable
What is the best way to hold students accountable?
Adrian,
Thank you for this post. Setting standards based upon previous personal experience and knowledge of the career field is a great thing for faculty members to do. These do not require current student input to establish. What are one ot two specific things you do on day one to determine where each student "is coming from?"
Jeffrey Schillinger
On day one of a new class, setting the standards of not only the class but for yourself does 2 things. One it sets up the standards of accountability for the students to allow for them to better understand how the class is ran and what they need to complete in order to get the best grade and learning experience in the class. Lastly, this gives us as instructors a chance to better understand where the student is coming from. This allows the instructor to see what the baseline is for each student to give them the tools to succeed in order to be held accountable.
Scott,
Information is power in this case. Adult students who know what they are supposed to do and why tend to be the most successful.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I’ve found the most effective way to hold students accountable is to give them a printed copy of all classroom and lab expectations and tasks on the first day of class. After handing out this list, read and discuss each item, including WHY these expectations and tasks are so important. Explain how they relate to the competencies on which they will assessed. This leaves no room for doubt if a student fails to meet the expectations.
Rebecca,
Holding students to a reasonable set of standards is a good thing. Allow students to make "non-fatal" errors and to learn from those mistakes as they grow into someone prepared for the career.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I struggle with this, I tend to be a coddler. How ever teaching vocation classes I have had to learn that I can't do this because my students aren't ready for the "real world". They have to know more than just the course material but also what will be expected in the vocation. Being on time, having assignments done when they due I try to relate to if you where working and you didn't finish this task you would no longer be employed. I find that with this approach my students have done better in the field.
Michael,
Students need to have a good understanding of what it takes to be successful. Timely reminders are usually worth the effort.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Setting the expectations out the first day of class is always important. Since I teach at a culinary school there are certain standards and expectations that students are required to meet everyday, such as uniform policy. By setting the expectations on the first day of classes and having every chef and instructor hold the students to the same standard, the students get used to following through with what they have to do.
Frank,
Inclusion is one of the many strategies that work well. Thanks for pointing out teachers need to be active and engaging in the lab. Too many teacher stand in one spot and disengage for portions of the lab periods.
Jeffrey Schillinger
By consistently paying attention during lab, making sure to explain why being on time to class is so important. Making student feel part of the whole class.
Ondrea,
Providing guidance and establishing reasonable consequences, both positive and negative, can be effective. In an ideal world, we can inspire students to do the things that will benefit them rather than coercing them through punishments.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Lance,
I think you are right on target here. I set up my high school classes years ago in a similar fashion to what you describe. I wanted to help the students develop a sense of accountability while still being flexible enough to help students wwhen life gets in the way. At the end of the day, students only passed if tey mastered the course objectives at an expected level. I understood that the route to that mastery might be a bit different for some students.
Jeffrey Schillinger
the best way is give guidelines and follow up to ensure they are followed, when followed a limited rewards system can be implemented and when ignored a penalty can be given
Jeffrey,
In my experience setting reasonable standards and sticking to them is key. No student likes to fail a course, but if we don't set standards for acceptable performance that are unwavering then students can lose respect for the professor, themselves and education in general. This may be at the heart of the "you gave me a C" mentality of some students instead of the "I earned a C" ownership mentality. I try to set up my courses so that being sick for 4 days won't sink you, but also so that a student's personal troubles don't necessarily have to be discussed in order to determine whether late work will be accepted, for example. I use a 5% per day late penalty in some classes. Another instructor says I'm too lenient and he won't accept late work. Upon inquiry, he says that he does make exceptions for personal circumstances of students. This is great for those with medical emergencies, but it also coddles the "rules are made to be bent" crowd into deceiving their instructor. Your thoughts?
Lora,
This is a tough question. I try to make sure I clearly explain the benefitrs of doing what I want students to do as welll as the consequences for not meeting expectations. I start will less important steps to try to get students used to taking responsibility for their own lives and build from there.
One key is to set reasonable standards and stick to them. The other is to take to students as group and as individuals about taking charge of their decision making.
Jeffrey Schillinger
