Reading Notes #1 Fall 2011

Margaret Brady 8/31/11 Comm 702 Reading Notes #1

I believe the syllabus is one of the most important items in successfully teaching a course. The syllabus should be complete with not only instructor information, contact information, text books required, etc. but should also include what the course goals are and what the students expectations are. At the college where I teach, we have a standard syllabus form that needs to be followed. However, each course has its own description and student learning outcomes specific to that class and topic.

I teach both lecture and lab courses. I have found that it is imperative to outline in the lab syllabus that the course is “self-directed” and that the in the lab setting I will be offering instruction and direction at the beginning of the class and then the students are expected to work in groups on certain activities. I cannot stress this enough regarding student expectations. Last year I was asked to fill-in and teach a different lab course than what I was used to. It was a “simpler” version of the course I normally teach and the main instructor had constructed the syllabus and course outline. She had done an outstanding job but maybe “handed” them too much. The syllabus and daily work and requirements and assignments were part of a lab packet with very specific directions. However, the problem that I had stepping into this situation was that the students expected me to “give” them all the information and basically “do” the lab for them as they, as a group, did not have any individual motivation to work on the lab assignments. In fact, after my opening instructions and explanation of the day’s lab exercise, I had asked, “Does anyone have any questions about what we’re doing today?” There were no questions. However, as they started to work on their labs, I was called over by one group who literally said, “We have no idea what we’re supposed to do.” I briefly explained the introduction again to their group individually. Just after that, I was called over to another group who asked the same thing. I thought there must have been something wrong with my introduction! As it turns out, that class later came out and literally said that they wanted me to just go through the ENTIRE lab step by step with them (in other words, I do it so they don’t have to)!

One of the policies in our department regarding make-up lab tests is “Exams will NOT be given outside of class, except in extreme circumstances and then the highest grade you can earn is a 65%.” Although this is written in the syllabus, and explained on the first day, it is unbelievable how many students will not show up for a lab exam and then expect a make-up! This policy has been in place for many years due to the fact that a lab practical exam takes hours to set up/take down and requires the exclusive use of a lab for an entire day. Of course, as the instructor, I have the ability to make exceptions to this policy and to make decisions on what the appropriate procedure is for each individual case. However, by having a strict rule in place, and IN WRITING in the syllabus, is very important because you can’t go back and toughen up the rules but you can move forward and soften things and make exceptions where justifiable.

As far as scheduling exams in advance, this is what I usually do, however, I sometimes then feel pressed for time to cover the material I want to cover before we get to the exam date. I have been in classes or know colleagues who schedule the topics and chapters that they will cover before an exam. They will go at a certain pace and then announce to the class one week in advance as to when the exam will be. I have not tried this method, but I will say that I usually do end up revising the course schedule part way through the term as each class is different and the amount of time it takes to get through the material is different each time. What I like about scheduling the exams in advance, tentatively, of course, is that is sets a certain goal and pace that I strive for. Also, this allows students to plan ahead for any vacations or other reasons that they maybe off campus. This also gives students time to approach me about exams that they may be missing because they are getting married, or the volleyball team is scheduled for a tournament, or they will be visiting relatives out of the country! With a foresight into potential exam dates, I believe it is easier to plan both the course and be ready to modify the schedules for appropriate exceptions.

Students expect electronic communication. I see that. I taught for 6 years at the college level and then took a 15 year hiatus and have just been back to college teaching during these past two years. The use of the LMS (eCompanion, Blackboard, etc.) was very new to me. The idea of posting grades electronically was absolutely crazy to me! I wanted my good old fashioned paper grade book! Now that I am used to using eCompanion, I have found it very useful to be able to post the grades electronically, upload the syllabus and other documents, and post class announcements. The students have access to this on their accounts and are required to download and printout certain handouts before coming to class. Although they are supposed to do this with the syllabus, I do pass out a paper hard copy on the first day of class as well. A lot of my students are sometimes overwhelmed on the first day with trying to log on to the class account, find the documents section, download it, etc. And there is always, always, always, some kind of electronic glitch or hurdle to overcome in the beginning of each semester...as in last spring, 3 sections of my class were not entered by the department that uploads the class sections to the LMS for my class! I was printing out LOTS of hard copy assignments until that was remedied.

Regarding emailing, I use this a lot for communication with my students although I do encourage face to face discussion during office hours, after lab, after class, etc. However, I have had certain circumstances where the student has used “not receiving an email” from me as an excuse to miss a class or test, etc. In fact, last year, I scheduled a make-up lab practical exam for a student who had a valid excuse. The date and time were decided in a face to face conversation. It took me over an hour to set up the exam and the student never showed up. When I saw her later that day for her class, she came up to me and I told her that she missed the make-up and that I was not going to set it up again. She responded , “Well, I was waiting for a reminder email from you.” Yes, I am serious.

I am also completely opposed to any texting or IMing and was shocked to read that in the readings! I believe texting is a sign of societal degradation and leads to poor social skills (there is plenty of research in this field to back me up). Just the use of the acronyms is evidence enough of the bastardization of the English language. The idea of “back channeling” in a classroom was completely ludicrous to me.