Upload
griffin-pope
View
214
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
My Professors Just
Don’t Care!
Carl BurnsDirector, Counseling Center
Tammy PrattCoordinator, Academic Support Programs
7 characteristics of students today
• Delays enrollment• Attends part time for at least part of the academic
year• Works full time• Is considered financially independent for purposes of
determining eligibility for financial aid• Has dependents other than a spouse• Is a single parent• Does not have a high school diploma
What we see at UMRFreshman:• See groups and group work as a social opportunity• Don’t know how to spend quality, effective time on task• Have little or no understanding of community• Expect learning to be easy because it was easy in HS• Know why they are here at UMR
Seniors:• See groups and group work as an academic network• Learned how to better read professor• Have UMR as a role model for community• Believe they have worked hard to earn grades at UMR
Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior years
Black and White- factors are very clear, however, decisions are not always sound, successful, nor reliable due to erroneous information or lack of information
Fuzzy Issues- factors are not always clear. Seems like too many possibilities and not confident in making sound judgments about issues in their field of study.
Ability to identify factors for good & confident decision making in their field of study
Things are wrong or right
Trying to clarify identifying and using resources outside of themselves
Able to predict outcomes, determining best outcomeUsing resources ‘thinking outside their box’
As a student progresses through college, their ability to solve problems and make decisions develops (these skills are HIGHLY sought after as a professional)
Processes
Processes (cont’d)
Improvement by ‘working harder’ is not always as effective as ‘working smarter’ Rely too heavily on one’s own inner resources
Clarity starts to form and ability to identify interconnectedness of concepts and gain greater appreciation of other resources
Developing confidence in their field of study
Freshmen can boost their success rate by using more resources, asking more questions, and trying new ways of studying and practicing/homework. Indeed, an investment of time and effort is the cost of learning how to be more effective. In the future ‘working smarter’, however will pay off nicely
Looking forward to using their new found wisdom. Anticipating opportunities to practice using concepts and being creative in using resources
Able to converse with other professionals/faculty in the field, using terminology, concepts, research references, and other discipline specific knowledge to assist in making decisions regarding their values, beliefs, theories in the field, issues in the field etc.
Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior years
Problems Students have
•Courses
•Skills
•Responsibility
•Accountability
•Motivation
•Why do I have to do this
•What is its significance to me NOW
Solutions You Can Offer
Skill building •Course practices
•Campus resources
Responsibility•Show care and communicate that student is responsible
•Follow up with student when they fail
•Set standards clearly, refer to them often
•Give clear consequences and rewards
Accountability
Motivation
Solutions You Can Offer
Why do I have to do this
What is its significance to me NOW
Offer opportunity for discussion
Encourage external motivation
Provide prompt and frequent feedback
Communicate how to apply information
They don’t know that…
• …they are now responsible for their own learning
• …client service in higher education is different than customer service in sales
• …there is such a thing as classroom etiquette
• …self control is essential in higher education
Now What?
Clearly state expectations and follow through with consequences
Teach classroom etiquette and tell students directly what is not appropriate
Express care through communication
Use several different methods to communicate the same thing
And specifically… Give students a syllabus the first week of
class (ideally the first day) » Stick with it as closely as possible; if changes are
needed, discuss those with the class in advance and explain why
Vary the learning methods used in the course» Active learning approaches in which students
tackle more realistic problems or issues in more “real-world” kinds of ways tend to be more effective
– This doesn’t mean lectures are forbidden; it means that a steady diet of 50-minute lectures may not be the best way to promote learning
And specifically… When students need to do quite a few problems
to gain mastery of material…» Strongly encourage the use of group learning approaches in
addition to individual study. – Advantages: may save you time, and students tend to gain a
deeper understanding of the subject matter
Questions may arise that you’re really not sure how to answer, or you may not even be sure what the “right” answer is. If this happens:» Don’t try to either dismiss the question or try to “bluff” your
way through it» Simply say something like, “You know, I’m not sure about
that. Let me look into that and we can discuss it next time.” Students respect this approach
Resources for faculty and studentsResources for faculty and students
Academic Support Programs (Student Affairs)Tammy Pratthttp://web.umr.edu/~learn/
Counseling Center (Student Affairs)Carl Burns http://web.umr.edu/~counsel/
Learning Enhancement Across Disciplines and Faculty Teaching Resource Center (Provost Office)
Ron Bieniek http://web.umr.edu/~lead/
http://web.umr.edu/~newfac/resources/teaching/