I am not denying the fact that there may be some situational (external) deteriminants to this but I believe most of it has to do with internal attributions (apathy). Many more college students work and go to school these days and I was no different myself. I also worked and went to school as a student myself and also had to commute long distance. But this never stopped or prevented me from seeing my professor after class, or going to office hours when I needed help. So this is still not a valid excuse for not seeking extra help during office hours, tutoring center, etc. I think you are falling into the many excuses that students like to give for their lack of effort. If there is a will there is a way.
Payam --- Retta Poe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I don't want to get into an argument, but, > again, I think it's good to > avoid those internal attributions. Maybe there are > other reasons why students > don't attend office hours or go for tutoring. For > example, many of my > students work a significant number of hours - and > they must, because they > otherwise would not be in school. Other students > commute long distances to > campus, and may not be able to make the drive on a > whim. Others may come from > a background that makes asking for help difficult. > Some may have gone for > help and found the "help" not helpful...and so > forth. > So I still believe that rather than assume > student apathy is the reason > for their behavior, it might be a good idea to > consider some other reasons > (situational determinants) for their behavior, and > it might be useful to ask > them why they don't use those resources or why they > haven't followed what were > supposed to be clear directions. > Incidentally, I teach first-year students as > well as upper-division and > graduate ones. I find that especially in the case > of first-year students, the > main problems are lack of information and lack of > skill, not lack of interest. > > Retta > > Payam Heidary wrote: > > > Retta, > > > > My experiences have not been similar to yours. You > say > > that you give very clear and specific instructions > and > > that you find students following them. This is NOT > the > > case with my students. You may have upper division > or > > graduate students who have learned their lessons > > through more experience but if you teach freshman > and > > sophomores like I do then I am certain you will > not > > have the same experiences. I also think that > apathy > > has a lot to do with it because if students did > not > > understand anything but cared enough to want to > > understand then you would expect them to seek more > > assistance such as coming to office hours, > attending > > the tutoring and writing center on campus, etc. > But > > clearly most students do not do this. Just go to > the > > tutoring and writing center on your campus and ask > > them how many students they actually assist per > day > > and how many come in for help and compare that to > the > > number of students needing help and you will see > what > > I mean. > > > > Payam > > > > --- Retta Poe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I think we should be very cautious in making > > > attributions of student > > > apathy when students don't do what we think they > > > should. One of the things I > > > have learned in nearly 30 years of teaching is > that > > > at least some of the time > > > (if not most of the time), when students don't > do > > > things the way I want them > > > to, it's because 1. they haven't understood what > I > > > want, 2. they haven't > > > understood that I _really do_ want something > done a > > > particular way (i.e., that > > > I really CARE), or 3. they lack the skills to do > > > what I want. > > > So I try to figure out a way to address each > of > > > these. To address the > > > first situation, I say what I want, I write it > out > > > clearly on a handout, and > > > sometimes I even give them a quiz over the > details > > > of the assignment. If they > > > have to take a quiz, they pay attention! > > > For the second, I spend some time telling > them > > > why I care about some > > > requirement, and I try to offer reasons that > sound > > > beneficial to them. For > > > example, I tell them that I want papers > > > double-spaced so that I can have space > > > to write comments and suggestions. I tell them > that > > > I want a cover page so > > > that their privacy is protected when I hand back > the > > > papers - others won't be > > > able to see their grade and my comments on the > paper > > > because the cover page > > > will "cover" the paper. > > > For the third, I consider whether my > students > > > can reasonably be expected > > > to already have the skills in question. If not, > I > > > don't lose any sleep > > > worrying about why not - I just try to figure > out > > > how to help them acquire > > > those skills. > > > As for motivation - I do specify some clear > > > contingencies for > > > reinforcement and punishment, and I stick to > them. > > > For example, I do not want > > > late papers, and I do not want to reinforce > > > procrastination. So papers are > > > due at class time on the dates specified. > Papers > > > turned in up to 24 hours > > > late receive half-credit, and after 24 hours, > papers > > > aren't accepted (of > > > course, I do make exceptions for extraordinary > > > circumstances beyond the > > > student's control). Guess what: last Friday, > when I > > > had papers due in one > > > class, I received an on-time paper from every > single > > > student. > > > What's more, I also do not receive criticism > for > > > my policy on my student > > > evaluations. I think it's probably because 1. I > > > make the policy very clear, > > > and 2. I explain that I don't think it's fair to > the > > > conscientious students to > > > give the less-conscientious students extra time > to > > > do their papers, so I am > > > making sure that I don't reward students for > being > > > less conscientious. > > > I guess my point is that I think apathy > probably > > > accounts for only a very > > > small percentage of the problems various > Tipsters > > > have mentioned. Also, I > > > would like to suggest that it may be useful to > > > collect some data on this > > > point. When students don't do what you want, > why > > > not conduct a brief, > > > anonymous survey to ask them why they didn't do > what > > > you wanted? That way, > > > you can know what you need to do differently. I > > > have tried this at times, and > > > I have found it to be very helpful. > > > > > > Retta > > > > > > -- > > > Retta E. Poe, Ph.D. > > > Professor of Psychology > > > Western Kentucky University > > > 1 Big Red Way > > > Bowling Green, Ky. 42101 > > > > > > (270) 745-4409 FAX: (270) 745-6934 > > > e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > http://edtech.cebs.wku.edu/~rpoe/ > > > > > > "Live long, and prosper!" > > > > > > > > > > > > --- > > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Find a job, post your resume. > > http://careers.yahoo.com > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -- > Retta E. Poe, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > Western Kentucky University > 1 Big Red Way > Bowling Green, Ky. 42101 > > (270) 745-4409 FAX: (270) 745-6934 > e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://edtech.cebs.wku.edu/~rpoe/ > > "Live long, and prosper!" > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Find a job, post your resume. http://careers.yahoo.com --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
