Fall 2021 in Higher Education: Some Random Thoughts

The Fall of 2021 is behind us, but the semester was one of the most trying, yet most fulfilling I have had in my career.?Here are the reasons for both. Oh, lest I forget the course was Introduction Critical Race Theory.

?1)????I had 3 students that were undergoing severe mental stress -all were on suicide watch and counseling

2)????I had the most contentious of students in one class, all were what I label neo-conservative/Trumpsters determined to make a fool of this course and its professor.

3)????Several students were determined to fail, or at least push the bounds of failure to the extreme.?One was the son of a former student (now a professor).

My response:

?From the previous set of?Ethical Principles to guide Professors :

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It is easy to design courses that fail students, the hard part is to design them so students can succeed.

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Each of these types of students presented different challenges.?But since they were all in the same classes, how was I to deal with it and them?

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For the first group, I met personally with each, and made a promise…I would not let them fail, if they would not give up.?It was a continual struggle, often dealing with late assignments, assignments that were only partially complete, and the constant stress of their particular situation.?For this set of students the saving grace was the workload, the intensity, and the refusal on my part to give up on them.?They, as well as the rest of the class were given multiple chances to resubmit, revise, and rework the various assignments in a gradual, but ever increasing and demanding course.?It kept their minds of their situation, and on the daily assignments?The constant feedback also served to reinforce their worth, and my commitment to their success.?In the end, some of the best papers submitted were from this group of students.

?The Second group, again, was handled by one of the Ethical Principles.?

?Challenge me, and yourself.?The course is designed to teach a student how to think, not what to think.

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For these students, determined to find fault, prove me and the course content wrong, and to affirm their conservative biases -I created an extra credit option.?If they could, with recent, peer reviewed scholarship, demonstrate that any position, perspective, or statement made either by me or the assigned readings -they would gain extra credit.?It was an ever-increasing set of challenges, as I would frequently go off script, lecture without notes, and watch the fun unroll as my conservatives frantically fact checked everything I said.?The end result -the students took better notes, paid closer attention, and consequently learned more than if this provision were not in place. Oh, no extra points were awarded.?I am still batting 100 to zero.?

?And the third group.?They turned out to be the most difficult challenge.?Holding them to the high standard proved to be the most effective.?Oh, and stipulating that for those students maintaining a B average at the end of the semester, the final examination was optional.?For most of the students in this last group, this was effective.?But there were some holdouts, and they were required to take the final.?Since the final was cumulative, and essentially all of the previous assignments to date (I only do essays), their challenge was to write a comprehensive essay making use of all.?In the end, even those that were reluctant to perform did so.?What has this taught me:

1.?We must separate what is and is not under the control of the professor.?Some of what you mention are the system, such as background support, etc.?Secondly, professors establish the criteria and outcomes, as they are experts.?Maybe in advanced classes or graduate level , but at a lower level, the students don't know what they don't know.?Some argue that we should standardize classes, even negotiate with students what will be accomplished.?Maybe at advanced levels, you may be able to?negotiate the outcomes.?But many things affect delivery. One professor brings into the setting a unique set of skills.?Often, we rely upon that, as they've achieved to their strengths. Some work better with essays, others group projects yet others with multiple choice.?The model you describe assumes all students are equally committed across sections.?I have taught the same course. Different sections, same day and same delivery

?Yet, totally different realities..

??Why. Different motivational levels of students also... Covid hit one section worse, then the other. So, I made significantly different adjustments to the course to produce a comparable outcome.

?Notice I said, comparable.?This recognizes that student inputs are not constant across sections. Life, covid, and other contingencies outside of the control of the professor can significantly change classroom dynamics and outcomes. Hence and why we must trust the professor to be able to pivot.?

And this brings up the issue of course evaluations.?To date, most evaluations are flawed.?Here are some reasons why. We must be willing to evaluate not only what goes on in the classroom, but also what happens outside of the classroom.?Such things as academic support, advising, mentoring, etc.

?Lastly. Students do not enter the classroom as equals.?In reality, student teams, study groups, peer mentoring and other networks can in many ways produce significant differences in outcomes.?Strange, I see study teams, almost exclusively white and male . These teams are better off than individual students.?Racial and gendered differences often reflect these differences.??

?Also, we should test students entering a class. Differences in motivation, aptitude, knowledge, etc. can produce different outcomes.?Yet, this is invisible, and we often hold the professor accountable.

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More soon..