Shifting Power Away from the Instructor Instructors have all the power in the classroom. We apply late deductions, the academic honesty policy and interpret a student's mastery of materials. We encounter students who recognize their shortcomings and take responsibility for learning, aka lower maintenance students, and those who prefer to blame others for their limitations: students who need extra care and attention from us. Keep the message on point with regard to work in general vs. the student's work. This way the inferior work is not a reflection on the student, but a general discussion that will help the student address the actual problems in the paper. Steer away from referring to your "power." Watch the use of the word "I" as in "I graded your paper…" or "I found that your project was lacking…" or "I deduct points for…" If you have a student who wants to blame you for failure, then the overuse of "I" plays into their plan. Better to use:  Points were deducted…this is how we correct it  Your project was lacking because…but we can make it better by…  You received a _ grade for…so to improve we need to… When it comes time to solving a student problem let "we" enter into the conversation. This aligns you with the student in an effort to overcome the issues while affording the student a sense of collaboration. The power has now shifted from “you” and “I” to “we.”