Nancy's Reading Notes #8

The readings we had to complete this week on “Solving Problems in the Classroom,” could not have come at a better time. Last Friday, October 28th, started off like a regular lecture day. My students were participating in the opening attendance question, which was, “If you were a super hero, which magic power would you want to have.” Students were laughing at one another, and offering words of encouragement. We then transitioned over to the lecture, and about 15 minutes into the lecture, I spied not one, but two students sleeping in class. I felt like I had failed as a new instructor. I addressed the situation, but it made me wonder, have I been varying my teaching techniques? Should I involve the students more in the decision-making process in order to have them feel more invested?

When the “sleeping in class” situation occurred, I followed Davis’ suggestion to address the situation without embarrassing anyone. I just tapped on the students’ desk and briefly asked them to stay after class because I had a few questions for them. In Chapter 48, Davis mentions, “defin[ing] and distribut[ing] policies at the start of the term” (p. 48). I believe this is something we should discuss in our class, because is this something we really need to address on the course syllabus? Do I really need to make the clarification that “it is unacceptable to fall asleep in class?” What type of behavioral expectations should we address in the syllabus compared to what we feel students (as adult learners), should already know to deem unacceptable?

In Chapter 11, Lang mentions that as good instructors we should constantly be varying our teaching techniques (p. 233). I understand how this can be important because we need to continue to switch things up in order to keep students on their toes. Due to my “student slumber” situation, I think our class should discuss the idea of students questioning the applicability of the course (p. 233). When I asked my students why they fell asleep, they both embarrassingly apologized, but one mentioned that he had been up really late working on a paper for a course that is “required for [his] actual program.” Was this supposed to make my heart go out to him since I teach a “general required course?” The other student mentioned that he “already [knew] the material and must have unexpectedly zoned out.” As instructors, how often do we need to actually spell out to students the importance of the material we are trying to teach? I thought giving various examples involving how the material affects different careers would be enough.

In order to keep students engaged, should we give students the opportunity to be more involved in the planning of our course? After reading the “Learner-Centered Teaching” article, I believe this is something we should discuss in our course. As a student, I always looked at my course syllabi as the rules and regulations put forth by instructors that I had to follow in order to do well. Does giving students some power in the decision process ultimately negatively affect your credibility as a “push-over” type of instructor (p. 28)? Or does it more-so make an instructor seem as though they are simply offering choices? In future careers, many students will not be able to pick and choose tasks that their bosses assign, so should we give options in class?