Because it has been my first semester at a new school, with new textbooks, a unique student population and new administrative systems and procedures for me to learn, I’ve erred on the side of flexibility, communication and student support. I’ve: extended deadlines at signs of confusion and readdressed assignments, sent more email to students regarding performance than ever in my past 14 years of teaching, and even called at risk students at home. This is in addition to a wiki site with tons of content and this blog – which has had 37 posts over a 16 week period – more than twice a week I’ve published relevant information, shared feedback and offered an opportunity for student feedback and collaboration. I gathered feedback at midterm and over the last 2 weeks – here is some of what I’ve learned.
- Students didn’t know I have chronic asthma. Frequent deep breaths can be interpreted as sighs – students who paid no attention to my breathing suddenly become quite sensitive to it after a paper get’s handed in or a question is asked. I heard this once before from a faculty peer observer who didn’t know me well. I need to warn students so they don’t confuse respiration with exasperation.
- Those who used the blog loved it – but when I asked “what did you think of the blog, wiki and podcast” many said, “What? You have a blog?” Every week (and after every new post) I’d show it on the projector – but still I need to brainstorm ways to advertise it as a resource and how to get students to comment.
- We like the wiki – but the organization stinks. For the record it is a collaborative space managed by students. I agree it’s a mess, but that mess is a community effort and a community responsibility. In retrospect my name shouldn’t appear in the link address. I thought when I created the first page my name would help identify it for students – but reflecting now it might make it seem more teacher-owned than student-owned. It might also reveal personal ego/ hubris.
- Students don’t seem to appreciate getting phone calls when they miss several classes/ required work – though a text message would be appreciated. From my perspective the calling took a lot of time, and didn’t seem effective. The one or two people who did come back to class after getting a phone call disappeared again. It might have actually saved the success of one student – but he did react as though he felt the call was intrusive.
