I see students calling me over to their desks to ask about a word problem, and half the time me reading the word problem aloud to them is enough to answer their question. I see students skimming over paragraphs of text (not that I blame them) and then asking me what they really needed to read in order to solve the problem. I seldom see any indication that students are reading their textbooks beyond skimming over the examples so that they can match them to the homework questions. I’ve lost track of the number of students I’ve tutored, or fielded during office hours, who did not avail themselves of the indices of their textbooks. The reason they couldn’t show that two events were mutually exclusive was because they didn’t know what “mutually exclusive” meant, nor did they think to look it up. —This is why my little college-math-ed blog has so many readers (Tall, Dark and Mysterious)
Because I typically teach writing and literature courses, the class in which I teach the most “content” is currently News Writing. I’ve ejected the huge $80 textbook in favor of several smaller books, each of which I can reasonably expect the students will read cover-to-cover. I carefully scoured key chapters of those readings and populated my opening lecture with references to them, so that when students encounter that key lesson just before it becomes important, sometimes they get an “aha” moment when they realize they’ve already learned (in class) the information that’s being delivered in more depth in text. But because I chose just the right books, and knew them well, I can tailor my in-class presentations to deliver what the books leave out.
I confess, making all that material fit together was very hard to do. I can imagine, if I didn’t have the luxury of picking the textbooks I wanted to use, and if I were mandated to deliver content X so that students will pass test Y, I can see how I might lean more on delivering short in-class explanations of what students “really” need to learn, while still virtuously assigning chapters that cover the material I’d like to teach, but don’t have time to emphasize in class. This might lead students to depend on skimming, and might train them to respond quickly and vivaciously to points I brought up in class, while not helping them develop the ability to respond to material that they themselves read.
So… reading how a math professor parses the “students aren’t prepared” problem has helped me see how I might respond. I’m still not sure what the solution is, but I can’t simply blame the high schools of America, since, like it or not, it’s my job to help the students pick up the pieces.
While things have settled down a bit, this time of year is very stressful for freshmen. I’ve got a high proportion of freshmen in two of my 200-level classes, and while I pause every so often to deliver a particular message to the freshmen, I’m not teaching them as freshmen courses, so we are together confronting the challenges of collegiate work.
Another corner building. Designed and textured. Needs an interior. #blender3d #design #aesthetics #medievalyork #mysteryplay
What have my students learned about creative nonfiction writing? During class they are collaborating on…
Two years after the release of ChatGPT, it may not be surprising that creative work…
I both like and hate that Canvas tracks the number of unmarked assignments that await…
The complex geometry on this wedge building took me all weekend. The interior walls still…
View Comments
Soldier on bravely, my trusty companion-in-arms!
Dennis - an update; I am grading another class of exams; the percent of people who got the free bonus point: 18%
*sigh*
Whoops, I remember now her references to British Columbia.
I could do what Canadians do, and just say "North America," and continue to use American and Canadian examples indiscriminately.
Dennis,
The weblog you site is one of my favorites; but she is in Canada, not America :)
As a seconday example, I have just finished my first exams in each of my courses. When I hand out the exam, I say, "Read the instructions carefully." The last of the instructions said, "Circle my name at the top of the first page to get a bonus point." Less than 50% of my classes did this...
Lou, Karissa, I also graduated from a public HS, went to a state university (a public college, as it were), and now I teach here. I hope this says something about public education!
I too graduated from a public school (good ole GSHS)--but i had enough so that when i came to SHU, and started looking at the journalism, I knew automatically, "the people have the right to know."
Take tonight for instance, the people had the right to know what morgan spurlock's sources were when he basically accused McDonalds of breaking the law..and he dodged it.
But Dr. Jerz, you have filled in holes of what I was missing. For that, I am eternally grateful.
You're welcome, Karissa.
Three years after entering college, I've learned to appreciate professors who don't bash the educational system that I came from. Yes, I graduated from a public school. Yes, I've found holes in my education and I've grown angry about them on several occasions (in my lack of preparation that could have been in no way my fault). However, I squeezed every drop of education I could out of my public high school--so it's not as if I was slacking off or just trying to "get by"--and yet I am still feeling unprepared on some levels during my college career.
These professors that understand students like me, who have thrown themselves into their educational trials without hesitation, earn my respect. Rather than examining where my high school background does not cover, your phrase "pick[ing] up the pieces" of what I was given seems more suitable and professional than to reinforce the shortcomings of a past experience I could not (and cannot) change.
So, thanks!