Even in these days of active learning, inquiry-based courses and anti-lecture sentiment, many college students come into class hoping they won’t have to say anything out loud or have to think too hard. When I ask my students, in a first-week short writing assignment, to reflect on what kind of class format they prefer, the majority still say they prefer organized, information-rich lectures. A few like group work, but they are reluctant to trust each other to provide “what they need to learn.
Author Archives: administrator
Reflections on the classroom ebb and flow
There’s a rhythm to life as a college professor. In August and January you prepare for the coming classes. September through December and Janua ry through May you surf the teaching wave, up and down, twisting and turning with the students, from one class to the next.
The Tale of the Disgruntled Student
Nothing satisfied her.
At the end of the first class session, Chrissy approached me, the scowl on her face accentuating her facial piercings. “I’m only taking this class because it’s required for my major,” she announced petulantly.
What does it take to make it stick?
You’ve heard the adage from Robert Fulghum’s poem, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Seems like a joke, right? But, think about what you learned: to read, to write, the alphabet, adding numbers. Some pretty powerful stuff.
Back in the Saddle! Getting motivated
You’ve made your syllabus…….the countdown to the first class seems to be accelerating and you feel nowhere close to ready!
How do you get motivated for the long weeks ahead?
For me, the best way to be ready to get back into the swing of things is to prepare two weeks’ worth of class sessions. Why?
Gets me thinking about the course
Helps me calm down and keeps those nasty classroom nightmares at bay a bit better
Gives me a buffer of semi- to mostly- prepared classes because the beginning of the semester also marks lots of time spent advising students about their class schedules, scheduling and attending committee meetings, and getting independent research student projects organization and started.