I spoke to a professor yesterday about the “Climate Changes” described by Curzan and Damour, a phenomenon this professor claimed occurred not just after the first round of grades, but throughout the semester. He described his own difficulty with not only building a rapport with young undergraduates, but also in maintaining that bond on a weekly basis. To control or at least soften the effects of this ‘climate change’, Curzan and Damour recommend building a lesson plan that includes a high level of class participation on the day you return the first submissions, which seems like an excellent strategy to use every class period. I thought the sample questions on page 161 also offered a great way to stimulate class discussion and effectively address common problems. A question like “Do you have any thoughts about what we can do in class to make you feel more prepared for the next [paper]” (Curzan and Damour 161) might not only demonstrate dedication to my students and a willingness to listen, but it could also prove a means of addressing key issues that I had previously overlooked or undervalued.
I have to admit, however, that my professor’s struggles exacerbated my own fears; if he continues to struggle with this after years of teaching, I don’t expect to fare well in my first foray into teaching. I’m hoping that frequent freewrites might help soften this blow by kindling new ideas and (with any luck) class discussion (much like this blog is designed to set the thought process in motion). I don’t want to develop what one of our fellow graduate students has called his “Keatisan acceptance of undergraduate apathy”. Do any of you have any sage wisdom or sneaky tricks to incite class participation?
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2 comments:
Liz,
I see that you asked a question and no one tried answering it so far. Unfortunately, I cannot offer a piece of wisdom either. I was just pondering upon the same topic.
I used to teach Russian language and literaure in junior high school, not for long though.
I recall that I could never predict how successful a class was going to be. But it turned out that longer you work with students, better you know what to expect of them. As a rule, there should be few "good" students who will be ready to interact with you. And probably few students who will seem hopeless. Discussions usually make climate more lively. Even if apathy ruled one time, it can go better next time.
In general, it's impossible to become a good teacher only via preparation, it comes mostly with practice, so maybe we do not have worry about it in advance.
Mmm, undergraduate apathy. Some students simply won't care- they're just there for the C. Otherwise you might just have to wait through some uncomfortable silences until they get used to speaking (at least those with some motivation). Explaining why the discussion will help may work too- fitting it into the overall course instead of presenting it as an unrelated, one-off topic.
The solution to 1st submission return in my syllabus: return them during workshop classes. I've got a week of 3 small-group workshops, which are just about entirely student-driven, and they get the papers back at the end. By the time 2nd submissions are returned, you're already into the next paper topic, so no worries.
Joe
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