Book - My Freshmen Year

I thought the most surprising thing was that the author admitted to scoring poorly some courses. She mentioned that she was an average or below average student in some classes. I initially felt that her experience as a professor would make her immune to doing poorly in these freshmen classes. However, I realized that she fully immersed herself in the college freshman “lifestyle” and therefore she felt that she had to place less priority on certain classes. She did this to free up time for other endeavors that were considered important in the college culture. I ask myself if I would do the same going back, or if I did the same when I was an undergrad. I can think of a couple of classes that, at some point in the semester, I somewhat gave up on and just did the necessary work to pass the class. I have noticed a couple of students that appear to have done this in my classes this semester.

                It was interesting that the author identified that college students skip classes and/or don’t do homework because they are trying to eliminate time in their schedule for other activities. My suggestion is to try to get the freshman students to recognize how and when this is going to happen. They might not understand it at the time but telling them in advance may help them to recognize these tendencies when they are actually happening. Knowing in advance that they may fall victim to this tendency may help them to avoid or minimize skipping assignments or classes.

                In Chapter 3, Nathan has a comment about relationships, “The most significant relationships are formed….most often in some shared affiliation, whether voluntary or not….” (pg. 58). As Nathan points out, this applies to dorm assignment, ROTC, ethnic club, sorority/fraternity, etc. For some reason the classroom doesn’t seem to apply to this statement. However, I have had a few classes that did create a sense of shared affiliation and this resulted in spending more time on this class, learning more, and getting higher grades. If professor and student can realize this they may look at and interact differently in the classroom. They may be more inclined to try and create greater attachments to those in their classes instead of just sitting there, not talking to anyone, and leaving immediately when class is done; or the professors only lecturing instead of including activities that create student  .

                I would instruct a new college professor that their interactions with the students will be different than they might expect. Less of the interaction will be about the actual classes and more will be about dealing with excuses for why an assignment or test was missed and the procedures for making it up, assuming you will allow this to happen. This can be discouraging and frustrating because it removes the focus from the course material, which should be number one for both student and professor. I agree with Nathan that that professors should not take these actions personally (pg. 145). This can be hard because it seems like the student is willfully disobeying the professor. However, I don’t believe this even crosses the students’ minds because their focus is on freeing up time to spend on the activities of their choosing (as opposed to doing homework which becomes an activity that has been dictated by the professor).

                I don’t know if this changes my perspective on undergraduate students. It does remind me that they have a hectic schedule because they are trying to attend to all of the activities that the college culture demands, and therefore reminds me of how scatterbrained I was as a freshman (pg. 40 – “…The university becomes, for individual students, an optional set of activities and a fluid set of people whose paths are ever-shifting.”). Although I always passed my classes, I am sure my actions created some frustration and confusion for my instructors. I did not always show interest in class, sometimes skipped classes, missed homework, and turned in subpar homework because I had shifted some of my focus to other matters. I had turned on the autopilot mode in that class and I am now convinced my instructor noticed but did not say anything.

                This book also reminded me that students rarely talk to one another about academics outside of the classroom (pg. 96-8). As an instructor this makes me want to include more opportunities for the students to talk to one another about the lecture topics in class, instead of just listening to me talk about the material. If they never talk about the material outside of class or in class, when are they going to talk about it!

Learner-centered teaching

My initial thoughts on Learner-centered teaching are that it can empower the students. My experiences tell me that they are clearly put out (i.e., bothered) by not having any control over what happens in a class. Obviously we cannot completely abandon this as the students do not understand accreditation and what absolutely needs to be covered. However, we can incorporate their ideas into some parts of the course like attendance policies, late work, textbooks, due dates of some assignments, testing styles, etc. I was really interested in the story of the instructor who lets a student committee pick the textbook from a group of books that he pre-selected. However, I think some caution is needed when implementing Learner-centered teaching strategies. One pitfall is that the students may try to make things too easy if they do not respect the instructor or the instructor allows this to happen. Therefore, I think this will only work when the instructor has a strong personality and does not allow the students to exert too much control. I also wonder if the students, after their initial hesitation, might argue for even greater control.  As the text instructs, “Power is redistributed in amounts proportional to students’ ability to handle it.” If it is handled in this manner then I only see an upside.

The most interesting part of Lang’s chapter was the discussion of the many hardships and struggles that students have that we cannot really understand because our course is but a small part of their lives. The most useful part of this discussion was the idea to “stick compassionately to your standards.” In the end we may not really know why they are missing class or turning in late assignments. It may be for legitimate reasons or for reasons such as being out too late at a party. Having guidelines that all students adhere to will allow you to treat everyone in the class equally. This may be something that can be discussed and agreed upon by the students in a Learner-centered approach to teaching. A past discussion also mentioned allowing students to drop a quiz or test, or allow a certain number of absences without penalty. I don’t know if this completely solves the problem because students may have more ”issues”, real or perceived, that come up above and beyond what you initially allowed them to miss without penalty. How do you plan to handle all of the excuses that you will hear from students? Will you require proof of what they were doing?

Blog - Student Problems

It is common for students to get bored by mid-semester and they will talk during class more often. I think this is common as most students feel the strain of school requirements at this point in the semester. I experienced an increase in student inattention this semester. Lang's/Boice's comments about the structure of the course are well taken. It may that I am not giving them enough of an opportunity to express their thoughts, as well as the normal mid-semester "doldrums" that may be at least somewhat unavoidable. To address the problem, I am spending a little extra time planning out interactive activities/discussions for class. I have also rearranged the class (about 38 students) so the students are sitting in different spots and therefore interacting with different students. They wondered aloud what was going on, but that in itself made them pay more attention. It was not a perfect solution but it did make a big difference, and it did seem to add some energy to the classroom.

A lot of times the rude students are also struggling in the class. They often ask about how they can do better in the class or if they can do extra credit. This sets up a good opportunity to address their in-class behaviors, in addition to their study habits out of the classroom. It is less confrontational because they have come to you for help. I have also found that I can prompt these rude and struggling students to ask for help by addressing their performance on tests (i.e., "It seems you are struggling with the tests or assignments. Is there anything I can do to help?"). You can then address their behaviors in class and suggest a link to their test/assignment performance. They might even be able to offer me suggestions as to how I can reach/motivate the "unmotivated" student. Or at the very least I might understand why they are acting in that manner (i.e., they just don't care).

Another issue is the use of cell phones for texting while in class. I have seen many students try to hide the cell phone under the desk and use it while I am lecturing. Group work and discussions don't seem to curb their texting frequency (it might even increase). At this point I do not address this issue in my syllabus but I will certainly do so in the future. To address this issue I have sent out emails and made general announcements in class on several occasions. This has helped but has not completely solved the problem. I have politely asked a couple of students, as they are walking out the door at the end of class, to not use their cell phones during class. This has always seemed to work out fairly well and is non-threatening for both student and instructor.

Student Outcomes (Course Title = Obesity and Diabetes)

1.       The student will be able to define obesity and diabetes in terms of anatomical and physiological terminology.

2.       The student will identify proper current research related to obesity and/or diabetes, and apply the research findings to their own behaviors and the behaviors of their family and friends (i.e., case study).

3.       The student will identify the short-term and long-term health consequences of being obese and/or having diabetes.

4.       The student will identify and apply how to use goal-setting and decision-making skills to enhance healthy food choices in relation to obesity and diabetes prevention.

5.       The Student will evaluate the effects of advertising, media, technology and social norms in the prevalence of obesity and diabetes

Week 9 - Assignments & Grading

I thought it was interesting when Lang (p. 136) mentioned Ken Bain's view that "penalizing late work puts undue emphasis on the assignment as a performance". I think this is strange because the students will undoubtedly have deadlines when they get into the "real world". I can't imagine that employers would welcome a new generation of graduates who know nothing of deadlines. In addition, I think this can place more stress on a teacher who now has to keep track of assignments not yet turned in and of getting back graded assignments in a timely manner. Whether it teaches them to be on time in the future is missing the point. I think it teaches the student that they are part of a larger process that requires them to do the necessary work on time so the group can move forward with the next topic. In the "real-world" there is also the potential of a real "penalty". I will say that if a student showed progress but wanted to add more material , above and beyond the requirements of the assignment, I would have no problem as long as they could show me what they had made sufficient progress up to that point.

I will try to come up with a variety of assignments to address the differences in which the students learn. I think this will give students at least one style in which they feel they can be successful and that they may even like! Some examples that I would like to employ are short paper(s), a presentation, online tutorial assignments, and online pre-class assignments/quizzes designed to prepare the student for that days lecture. As mentioned in both Davis and Lang, the assignments should be designed to help the students achieve the standards/outcomes of the course.

Another concept that I thought made sense are the potential drawbacks to grading on a curve, at least when you first start teaching (Lang/Davis). If you have a motivated class, then I see no problem for everyone to pass the test/class. Whether or not everyone should get an "A" may be a function of the type of class (i.e., intro, upper level, generals, etc). If the teacher takes some time to evaluate the appropriateness of the course material and the questions for exams then a teacher shouldn't have to grade on a curve.

The last piece that I will mention is the concept of teaching the fundamentals of writing. This could be done using a short paper as one of the course assignments. It could be broken down into several components such as: outline, first draft, second draft, peer review session, final draft. Writing is an important aspect of communicating in any job and therefore this type of assignment has "real-world" justification.

Small Groups

I think it is important for an instructor to understand the VARK Inventory statistics (Lang) that suggest teachers learn best by reading and writing whereas students may actually prefer and learn more effectively by working in small groups (Lang; Davis). Further, students need effective collaboration skills because they will be using those skills in their jobs more often than “reporting back what they know in tests and papers”. This is interesting and makes me think about the purpose of college classes. I think it is to convey information and to prepare them to apply this information in the real world. Therefore, I feel that a reliance on reading, writing, and testing, as well as collaborative work, is necessary in college and should be included in most projects.  

INFORMAL – A course in my field is Human Physiology. Concepts in this course will typically relate to a multi-step process in the body, for each and every system in the human body. On a typical day, we will lecture and discuss the many components of a specific process. A good group activity would have small groups discuss, without the aid of notes or the textbook, the process we are studying. They would turn in a single page that lists all the important components of that bodily process, in the proper order, for that process. I could use this information to gauge their understanding and common points of confusion. It would also get the students actively listening, discussing, and writing.

FORMAL – I would assign a group project that included a paper and presentation. The groups would be randomly formed. Each group would meet and come up with a topic (or they are randomly assigned a topic) for their presentation and paper. The group would work together to identify a detailed list of topics and resources they need to include in the project (this could be displayed on a blog or other electronic medium so the instructor could monitor progress of the group and offer suggestions). They would divide the information they deem necessary for the project into four equal parts, but they will not be assigned a part yet. The instructor meets with the group so they can explain their project to the instructor. The group is given a “group grade” for this part of the project. The instructor will randomly assign the individual part of the project to the group members. The presentation and paper portions will be graded such that each member of the group gets an “individual grade” on these parts. The overall grade is a combination of individual and group grades. Exceptional individual work could be awarded extra points to allow a strong individual to score well despite being placed in a particularly weak group.

Week 3 Blog: Lectures

Professors who are effective lectures almost always appear to have a conversational tone for the lecture. This relaxed appearance is more likely to put the students at ease. It also gives them the sense that they can be and should be more engaged with the instructor because it is like a conversation that requires both parties to be involved. An instructor who is relaxed and easy going, yet in control of the classroom, will develop good rapport with the students while still maintaining respect and authority.


I believe that ineffective lecturing would include a failure to engage the students, an appearance that the instructor was talking down to or at the students that suggests a lack of respect, and an unwillingness to answer student questions during the lecture. An inability to clarify the textbook material is also an ineffective lecturing trait. In my field, we are often talking about anatomy, physiology, or nutritional sciences. In my experiences, some lectures are no more than the same dry, dense material out of the textbook. The lecturer has not put any context on the material which makes it harder to learn.

The ineffective teacher could improve the lecture by incorporating several strategies to engage the students during each lecture session. Making contact with the students could be accomplished by setting up several pauses in the lecture at regular intervals. These “breaks” in the lecture allow the students to absorb the material, to write down questions or thoughts on the material, to consult with their peers in the classroom through small group discussion, and to ask questions of the instructor. The students would know that each lecturing “segment” of the class session will be short with several opportunities for clarification of confusing material. Another suggestion for effective lecturing is to vary the style of the lecture by adding multiple examples or case studies. This gives the students an opportunity to use and develop problem-solving skills, and to use these skills in a variety of situations.

I understand that it could be easy for an instructor to fall into the "trap" of lecturing the whole time without engaging the students. In many respects it can be easier because the instructor would have less to prepare, especially when teaching the class for a second time, third, etc. For my teaching demonstration, I will devote preparation time to adding variety to my teaching methods. To this end, I will plan out several strategies to get students involved with their peers in small groups and with the whole class. This interaction will allow them to express their thoughts in written and oral form. As Davis points out, having students generate a self-explanation and sharing it with others can increase their level of understanding. This allows them to reinforce the foundations of learning: listening, contemplating the meaning of what was just heard, and outwardly expressing their understanding of that material.