Cate Denial, a professor of American history and director of the Bright Institute at Knox College, in Galesburg, Ill., described adjustments she’s made to respond to student overextension. While Denial has had to make trade-offs, she seems to have found an approach that’s working well.
“The issue of students being overextended — mentally, emotionally, physically, financially — is most clear to me in my upper-level seminars (students must take three of these to graduate with a major in history). Students in these seminars must produce a 15-20-page paper, rooted in primary-source analysis, in 10 weeks. It used to be that I assigned readings on the topic of the course — women and gender in the American Revolution; reproductive justice since 1973, for example — right through to week eight of the trimester. But I found that students struggled to get that reading done, be prepared for class, do the out-of-class research that they needed for their paper, and deal with everything else going on in their lives.
“So I changed my whole approach. We spend half the trimester in deep conversation about issues related to the topic of the course and reading widely from some of the best scholarship available. And then we spend the last five weeks in workshop mode. Students set a goal at the beginning of class for what they’ll achieve that day — reading, writing, finding more sources, analysis — and then we all co-work together for the duration of class. Everyone checks in again at the end, and we celebrate their achievements. I use class time to meet with people one-on-one, to read outlines and paragraphs and drafts, to offer general feedback when there are patterns of struggle people are facing, and to offer snacks.
“I’ve given up some of the time devoted to content, for sure. But what we gain are incredible, deeply researched papers with a far higher-quality of analysis and writing. I’ve also gained the opportunity to coach students on their writing and thinking skills without overloading myself, too.”
Cyndi Kernahan, a professor of psychology and director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls, noticed similar challenges facing her students. Like Denial, she made changes to support them. But in her case, teaching an introductory social-psychology course to about 30 second- and third-year students in the major was less successful.
“In terms of overscheduling, I think it’s related to how precarious students feel and how precarious they are right now. This semester I tried some changes in how I grade to allow for more flexibility, but I unwittingly made things harder for myself. I allowed an extra week for all the assignments, giving them feedback if they turned it in and allowing them to revise and resubmit as many times as they needed, or just letting them turn it in later. I also lowered the point value to make them lower in stakes.
“What this meant, in practice, is that students used my course to flex their time and focused on other priorities. Some students really thrived and did the resubmissions to do great work, but these were the more-privileged students who seemed less stressed by outside work (almost all of our students work, and some work 30-40 hours per week while taking classes full time).
“A lot of my students just turned in badly written assignments a week late. And some never turned in much at all. They seemed to give the assignments less value, given their lower point value and flexible dates, and then ended up nearly failing. If I had not also given points for attendance and participation, they would have.
“I’m not giving up on grading differently. I really love the new book by Clark and Talbert (Grading for Growth), and I want to use their principles, but I think I have to structure things differently and make the grades feel more important to them. Otherwise, my course becomes the one they can use to keep up with other things. And it’s not like that helped my evaluations! I got a lot more criticism this time for my grading structure than in the past. A lot more (just read them yesterday).”
Students as customers
Can some of the manifestations of being a “student centered” campus harm students’ ability to learn and grow? Specifically, is treating students like customers and education like a product undermining students’ education?
Beth has been thinking about those questions in light of professors telling her that they feel unsupported by colleagues or administrators if they give students low grades or fail them for not doing the work. And she has written about the rise of student-conduct issues, in which students may expect their professors to be flexible beyond reason or won’t abide by traditional learning norms, like showing up regularly and on time to class. In short, the student-professor power dynamic has shifted.
These are deeply complicated topics, which tie into other teaching challenges, such as the rise of mental-health issues, snowplow parenting, and political interference in the college curriculum. Beth wants to hear more for a series we’re producing on how today’s students experience the world — and how it affects their education.
If you have thoughts on this topic, please write to her at beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com or fill out this Google form.
Keep in touch
Whether it’s in response to a specific question we pose in the newsletter, sharing feedback on one of our articles, or just letting us know what’s on your mind, Beth and I love hearing from you. Your insights, observations, research, and questions inform our work.
So, as you’re decompressing from the spring, attending summer conferences and workshops, reading up on new teaching approaches, or starting to lay some groundwork for the fall, feel free to let us know what’s on your mind. Is there something new you’re excited to try in a course? Something you’re worried about? Have a question you think our readers might be able to shed some light on? Let us know: beckie.supiano@chronicle.com and beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com
Thanks for reading, and we hope this summer will include at least a bit of a break.
Thanks for reading Teaching. If you have suggestions or ideas, please feel free to email us at beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com or beckie.supiano@chronicle.com.
-Beckie
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