Ask-Dr-Kirk

Overheard In The Hallway: Student Evals

Professor A:  Where else besides academia do you have 100+ people evaluating you every 15 weeks?

Professor B:

Professor A:  Exactly.

What Do Students Think They Should Learn At College?

Here's an interesting article by Professor Paul Walker (Murray State University) titled "What do students think they (should) learn at college? Student Perceptions of Essential Learning Outcomes." 

Note that the career and life skills lists are longer than the subject matter list...

Are You A Cat Learner Or A Dog Learner?

Lisa M. Lane compares students' learning styles to either Cat Learners or Dog Learners. As she notes:

Leave Cat Learners alone with a book in a sunny window, keep it quiet, and they learn just fine. Cat Learners are independent, and are thus either self-motivated or not interested in having anyone motivate them. They shun social learning and avoid group work. Their judgement of the value of their work is internal.

Dog learners are social, learn best in a group, and need active learning exercises. They require external verification and enforcement (”good doggy! have a biscuit”), and tend to fit into Gardner’s social and body movement styles. Dogs run with the pack, and aren’t comfortable doing anything by themselves.

While she admits this is a massive oversimplification, I have to say I have seen these distinct behaviors in my own classroom.

Backpackit.com Website Has Free Project Management Tools For Organizing Student Team Projects

Here's a website that your students could use for organizing their time in their team projects. 

Thanks to Tammy Lenski for the link!

100 Most Often Misspelled Words

Here is a list of 100 English words that many people spell incorrectly.  The ones I see most on my students' papers?

it's (this is a contraction meaning "it is."  Something that belongs to it is "its")

their/they're/there (while they are all pronounced the same, the spelling and meanings are different.  Possessive is "their" and the contraction of "they are" is "they're")

Wish I had a dollar for every time I've corrected one of these words on a student paper...

Top 100 Most Often Mispronounced English Words

Check this out.  It's a list of words that are often mispronounced. I have to admit I sometimes find myself saying realator for realtor.  I can spell it correctly but...

Thanks to Barbara Nixon for the link!

Using Wordle In The Classroom

I'm thinking I could use Wordle as a team assignment in class.  As noted on this website:

Wordle is a [software program] for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share...

This assignment could be used at the end of a chapter or module or even to review for an exam.  Students could pick out key words and make their own wordle and then share these with the class.

Here's my attempt at a wordle on my classroom management blog.  Anyone have other ideas of how to use Wordle?

Why Don't My Colleagues Enforce Their Own Policies?

Dear Dr. Kirk:

I've noticed that my colleagues usually have policies on their syllabi dealing with tardiness, attendance, late papers, etc., but that many of them do not enforce these.  Any idea as to why this is true?

Professor at Anywhere University

Dear Professor Anywhere: 

There are a variety of reasons why professors ignore undesired behavior by their students.  These include:

• Lack of training:  They haven’t been taught the skills necessary to handle behavioral issues.
• Fear:  They are not sure that the administration will support their actions when the student goes to them to complain.
• Feeling that they are the only one: Other professors don’t seem to care if students are sleeping in class or coming to class tardy.
• Loss of status:  They don’t want others to know they are having problems controlling their classroom. 
• Time loss:  It takes time to discuss behavioral issues with students.
• Loss of temper:  They're afraid of getting angry or upset when confronting a student. Or that the student will get angry or violent with them.
• Rationalization:  The student knows to come to class on time so why do they need to talk about it?
• Loss of friendship:  They want the students to like them.

However, once most students understand what is required in the class, they can usually be counted on to meet expectations.  Following your own policies is how you reinforce those expectations.  I tell my students that just as managers can't make their employees do anything in the workplace, I can't make them come to class every day or on time.  But just like a manager, I can set consequences.  And I do this because I want to role model the types of behaviors that will enable them to be successful. 

Summer Workshops For K-12 Teachers

While my book, Taking Back the Classroom, was written with college professors in mind, I sometimes get email from high school teachers with questions or comments about the book or classroom management in general.  I refer these to my friend and colleague, Angela Maiers, who does training for K-12 teachers.  She's doing several workshops this summer.  I love her approach from her upcoming book on the seven habitudes of 21st Century learners.  One of these habitudes is curiousity.  As she notes, if we can get our students curious about a topic, they will want to learn more. 

Book On Effective Teaching

TIBERIUS PUBLICATIONS has released the third printing of my book, Taking Back the Classroom: Tips for the College Professor on how to be a More Effective Teacher.  Chapters include

• Managing the first day of class
• Managing difficult students
• Determining classroom policies
• Managing diversity in the classroom
• Managing teams and team projects
• Managing online classes

as well as much more on being more effective in the classroom!

You can order through the TIBERIUS website, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble College Bookstores.

Tip To See If Students Are Really Listening In Class

Angela Maiers offers the following tip to see if students are really listening in class especially if they are not "actively" participating by speaking up.  She calls it the TWO WORD STRATEGY.

"Here is how it works:  Choose a point in the lesson or group discussion that you think warrants reflection or active learning. Ask the students or group members to stop, reflect on the content presented, and synthesize their most important thoughts and ideas down to only two words. This may sound easy, but it is difficult to express yourself in only two words. Be sure to encourage, not judge as learners share out their responses."

As she notes, this strategy:

• can be used with any audience: regardless of any age, grade, or content.
• can be employed at any time: before the discussion starts, during the presentation, or afterwards as participants reflect on key ideas.
• is a powerful assessment tool: In an instant, I can hear what my audience is thinking and wondering based on their two words shared.
• allows everyone to participate: the two words can be written down, shared with a neighbor, or communicated as a  group. Everyone has a chance to pause and reflect about what matters most to them as active participants in the learning experience.

Studying For Final Exams

I went down to the coffee shop on campus Monday morning and found at least half of my class studying for the final to be given later that day.  This isn't something I typically think to suggest but I think it's a great idea for students to study in groups...they learn from each other as well as from me!

Advice For Professors: What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School

Professors Paul Gray and David E. Drew offer advice from their new book, What They Didn't Teach You in Graduate School: 199 Helpful Hints for Success in Your Academic Career (Stylus Publishing, 2008). As they note:

“Most new Ph.D.'s who accept faculty positions are shocked to discover that no one told them what their day-to-day jobs would really entail. They struggled as graduate students to master the literature, theories, models, and analytical techniques in their fields and wrote dissertations of which they are proud, but they quickly realize that this knowledge is separate and distinct from understanding and dealing with the challenges and obstacles that face a beginning professor.”

Some tidbits from the book: 

Finish your Ph.D. as quickly as possible. Don't feel that you need to create the greatest work that Western civilization ever saw. Five years from now the only thing that will matter is whether you finished.

Don't take a tenure-track faculty position without the Ph.D. in hand. We estimate the odds are two to one against your ever finishing your degree. Furthermore, without a Ph.D. you will be offered a significantly lower salary, and you may never make up the difference.

Know that publications are your only form of portable wealth. Prioritize accordingly.

Never, ever choose sides in department politics. The side you are on expects your support and will give you no reward for it. The side(s) you are not on will remember forever.

Never become a department chair unless you are already a tenured full professor. Yes, it will reduce your teaching load. Yes, it will give you visibility. No, it will not confer power on you.  Most department chairs do less research and publish less while in that position than they would as a faculty member. Thus you are producing less portable wealth per year, and you are reducing your chances for tenure or for promotion.

Write most of your articles for refereed journals. Papers presented at meetings get you funds to be a world traveler. However, even if refereed, conference papers don't really count for tenure, promotion, or salary raises.

Do, however, serve as a reviewer for journals, particularly top journals. Treat this job seriously. You will see much junk being submitted and appreciate why some journals reject 80 percent or more of their submissions. You will develop an aesthetic for what is good and what is not. You will correspond with some powerful people. When you do get a good paper to review, you will receive much earlier knowledge of an important new development. And the information gained is worth more than the time you take reviewing.

I've been teaching at the college level for 26 years and would agree with their advice.  Unfortunately, some of this I had to learn the hard way my first few years.

How Was Stonehenge Built?

This is interesting.  Wally Wallington demonstrates how he thinks Stonehenge was built.

The Frustration And Satisfaction Of Learning Something New

Yesterday I met with Angela Maiers and Mike Sansone while I was visiting in Des Moines (Thanks Mike for the great lunch at Huhot!).  They decided that as it was the second anniversary of the date I started my teaching blog that I was ready to learn something new.  I am now on Twitter and soon hope to develop my own wiki for my classes.

Professor Lisa M. Lane (MiraCosta College) writes about the fear of learning new things...when everyone else seems to be ahead of you and you're struggling to figure things out.

"I dreamt the other night that I went to the first day of class as a student, an upper division or graduate class of some kind. About 20 students. The professor walks in and begins an interactive lecture. I realize I don’t understand what he’s talking about. I look around and see that each of the other students has a stack of about 7 books. Seeing I’m lost, a helpful student opens one and points to a chapter for me. But it’s obvious from the way the professor is talking that everyone has read this already. Before the first day of class. Everyone is quite literally “on the same page”, and I have no idea what’s being discussed."

I think it's good for us as teachers to attempt something new and thus remember the frustration and then the satisfaction of learning, something our students experience on a regular basis.

It's My Anniversary!

Two years ago I started sharing my teaching tips as well as those of others on this site.  Thanks to Tim Johnson and Mike Wagner for encouraging me to become a blogger and to Mike Sansone for teaching me the "how to" skills.  I also want to thank all the readers who have commented on the blog or emailed me with their own tips, stories, and links.  I look forward to another great year of teaching and learning!

Can We Give Out Information On Our Students?

In an article published this week in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Steven J. McDonald clarifies the privacy act, Ferpa, that affects the information we give out about our students. Interesting points include:

While Ferpa applies to official records (such as transcripts), it does not apply to personal knowledge.  “Thus, for example, a professor who observes a student behaving oddly in a classroom, a resident assistant who notices a disturbing change in a student's temperament, or an adviser who sees a student become increasingly withdrawn and uncommunicative is free, as far as Ferpa is concerned, to raise the concern with others — and should do so. We do neither the student nor ourselves a favor if we don't try to reach out and deal with such situations when we still have the opportunity.”

In addition, McDonald addresses the issue of giving out information to parents: 

"Primary control over a student's records does shift from the parents to the student when the student enrolls in college, even if the student is still a minor, but primary control is not the same as total control. Institutions can disclose student information to parents under any number of circumstances:

• If either parent claims the student as a federal tax dependent, the institution may, with confirmation of that status, disclose any and all information it has about the student to both parents, regardless of the student's age or whether there is an emergency.
• If the student is under 21, the institution may inform the student's parents of any violations of its alcohol or drug policies, regardless of whether the student is a tax dependent or whether there is an emergency.
• If the institution reasonably believes that there is a health or safety emergency involving the student, the institution may alert the student's parents and seek their assistance, regardless of the student's age or whether the student is a tax dependent.

Moreover, we can make such disclosures even if the student has asked us not to. Ferpa doesn't give students a veto over any of the permitted disclosures except the one for "directory information."

Certainly if a student told me about personal issues that he/she is struggling with or if I observe a student is having trouble coping with stress, I would suggest to the student to see a school counselor.  I've even made the call myself and walked the student to the counselor from my office.  However, in this day of "helicopter parents," I find it easier to refuse to answer any questions from parents about their child's grades or attendance and to refer the parent to an administrator.

Repeat After Me...Would You Like Fries With That?

Ben Stein writes about an interesting experience he had recently at a Barnes and Noble store where the employees were college students. 

As he and his friend walked back to his apartment, he said,

"That was amazing. Those people didn't know how to do a basic transaction like mailing books."

His friend corrected him:  "No...they don't want to do it. They didn't even really try very hard. They're college students. That means they don't care at all. They're getting paid whether they send the books or not. They're like civil servants -- only civil servants have a good attitude, and these guys have a poor attitude."

Unfortunately, I have seen this same attitude with some of my own students.  Many of my students are hard working, attending school while working 30-50 hours a week.  They seem to understand the importance of education to their lives and careers.  However, others (and more others than I would like to see) feel it is a chore to attend classes and do the work required.  They are indignant that I expect them to be on time.  And they make decisions which I don't understand.  Recently I announced that at the end of the three hour class, I would be giving them an opportunty to earn additional points on an in-class assignment as they had not done well on their exam.  Several of the students did not bother to stay until the end, instead choosing to slip out during the break without saying anything to me.  These students, of course, are the very ones who could have really used the points. 

Tip For Dealing With An Upset Student

Here's a great tip from The Professor in the Classroom:

When talking to a student who is upset, stop and say, “Just a minute, I need to write this down. It helps me better understand your point of view.”  This technique serves several purposes. First, it lets the upset student see that you regard what he or she is saying as important. Second, it forces you to listen and to absorb. Finally, it gives you time to think and summarize the student’s points of contention before you respond. You’ll find this technique puts you in a position to manage upset students more effectively—and shows that you are competent and caring in the process.

Tips For Keeping Students in Early Morning And Late Afternoon Classes Involved And Learning

I'll be in Davenport, Iowa, on April 3-4, 2008, to facilitate a workshop for the faculty at St Ambrose University.  Dr. Paul Jacobson, Director of their Center for Teaching Excellence, regularly organizes teaching circles, book discussions, and speakers.  I found these tips on their website for "Beating those Bio-rhythm Blues: Keeping the 8:00 and 3:30 Scholars Involved and Learning" by Professor Rachel Serienz.  Her advice?
 

Be active.  Enter the classroom briskly and joyfully conveying to students the message, "I enjoy my discipline, I enjoy you, and I enjoy the act of teaching through which you and my discipline can meet."  Walk around as you speak.  Use facial expressions to convey your own reaction to a concept being addressed whether that reaction be acceptance, amusement, or disgust.  Use gestures, keeping hands apart and reaching out to students as though inviting them into your own enthusiastic sphere.  Nothing is less motivating to students during those "blues times" than a static, solemn, arms-folded dispenser of facts. 

Engage in community building. Get to know your students as the persons they are outside your classroom.  Learn who is in band, choir, athletics, and who is currently involved in a theatre production.  Keep current on who is achieving what...Acknowledge these achievements with a brief mention. Even elicit a brief round of applause.  This can be done just prior to the time when the "start bell" sounds, so that no teaching time is sacrificed. 

Open your lesson in a way likely to engage student attention.  Mention a current event that relates to upcoming concepts.  Ask a challenging question to which students can discover the answer by paying attention.  Read an appropriate poem or a brief literary passage or show a picture that captures the essence of your day’s topic.  Share a personal experience and invite others to do the same. All these serve as "advance organizers" giving students "hooks" on which they can hang in an orderly fashion new concepts they will be gaining that day.   

Acknowledge and honor learning diversity. Two students make be equally intelligent, yet learn best in quite different ways.  Realize that your class will contain auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners and make sure that each lesson makes students listen, look, and write or do.  Nearly half of college-age students are quite concrete-operational meaning that they learn best when actions and objects are used in teaching, or when teaching is related to their own concrete experiences.  Make presentations object- and experience-centered whenever possible.  Use pictures, simulations, and not just words to convey concepts. 
 
Create a Wave.   To prevent student drift, alternate periods of high-intensity concept presentation and note-taking with lower-intensity periods of group discussion, audiovisual presentation, simulations, etc.  You can easily sense by monitoring students’ facial expressions, body language, and response level when it is time for a change of pace and mode of instruction. 

Link lessons.  If possible, make the end of one lesson be the start of the next.  Present a question to which students are expected to bring an answer to the next session.  Have students open a session by reiterating what was learned during the previous session and then show them how what is to follow will be an extension of what they have already learned.  But still use a novel "Launch" at times.  The best way to fight the bio-rhythm blues is through diversity. 

Great advice for teaching classes at any time of the day!

If Students Are Disrespecting You, Think About Why

Recently I was in a teaching colloquium discussing how to deal with students that engage in inappropriate behaviors.  One of the participants spent 20 minutes complaining about the disrespect she receives from students.  This included students calling her by her first name rather than Professor and treating her like a peer rather than a professional.  She attributed this to the fact that she was young (in her mid-30s) and attractive.

However, this professor showed up at a faculty development workshop wearing short shorts, a top showing her midriff, and flip-flops.  Granted she wasn't teaching that day but she was on campus and likely to run into current, past, or future students.  In addition, it was my first time meeting her...what impression did she give me and the others attending the colloquium?

Article Illustrates Employment Guidelines For Women In 1943

Earlier this semester I had a student in one of my management classes complain that he didn't understand why we had so many employment laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.  While I attempted to answer him as to the purpose of equal employment laws, I don't think he really "got" it.

Recently a friend emailed me a link to an article originally published in the July 1943 issue of Mass Transportation Magazine.  The article was written for male managers that were supervising female employees during WWII. 

The advice included:

hiring young married women as they were considered to be more responsible, needed the work, and were less likely to flirt with co-workers;

If forced to hire older women, hiring ones who have been in the workplace before as women with no work experience "have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy;"

Having a physician on sight to give an "special physical examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job;"

"Giving the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they’ll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves;"

Providing a number of rest breaks as "A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day."

This article should make for an interesting class discussion...

More From The Hallway...

Professor to student:  I've decided to give your class an open-book, open-note mid-term exam.

Student to professor: Where do I get the notes?

How To Get Respect From Our Students

Recently I got an email from a high school principal asking for advice on how to deal with students who "continually show disrespect—sometimes to an extreme degree—to staff members, particularly their teachers."  As I teach at the college level, I decided to contact an educational expert, Angela Maiers, for advice for those who work with high school students.  Her response?  The 5 R's!

Rapport: "Don't Smile Until Christmas!" This was the advice that I was given as a first year teacher. It was hailed as the strategy that would allow us to gain control of our classroom and show our students "who's the boss." Thankfully, we have evolved as educators recognizing how important feeling welcome, comfortable, and validated are to our learning success. 

In his book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell makes the case that the rapport we feel in the first few seconds (two to be exact) of an experience or interaction, dramatically influences how we will respond to the person or event. I challenge us to walk into our classrooms and think about the first two seconds from a student's perspective. How can we find ways to set the tone for the experience, invite students in, and let them know they are welcome and valued? Taking only seconds out of our day, imagine how a smile, a pat on the back, a look that communicates "we're gonna have a great day" would mean to our students.

Routine: Being consistent in what you do and what you expect sounds easy, but we all know that schools (life?) are places with constant interruption and inconsistency. In saying that, we must realize that learners do best when they know exactly what is expected of them. Consistency in routine, behaviors and policies are the key ingredients for success...

Rigor: The brain needs challenge to thrive. When students say they are bored, we need to listen. Mundane, skill, drill, fill-in the blank tasks are an invitation for boredom and disengagement. When students are not challenged, they find ways to challenge themselves. On the other hand, rigor is not something that can be demanded or assigned. If we want students to engage in critical dialogue, solve problems, take risks, and attempt difficult tasks, then we need to show them how that is done. So, the next time we assign homework, ask students to complete a project, or engage in an activity, we need to ask ourselves:

• Would this be something real readers/writers/thinkers would do?
• Does this build students' ability to think critically, ask powerful questions, extend the conversation into real life application?
• Did I teach this or assign it?
• Have I explicitly demonstrated how the task will be done by modeling, providing guided practice with feedback, and giving them acknowledgment of jobs well done?

When students do not see authenticity and purpose in what they are doing, the residual effect will be off task behavior, distraction, disrespect.

Relationship: More often than not, when a student is disrespectful, it is because the student feels disrespected by the teacher.  Perception, whether accurate or not, is still reality. Even the most well intentioned teachers are disrespectful in subtle and not-so-subtle ways:

• facial expressions
• body language
• forgetting students' names
• terse comments on papers
• ignoring some students while playing favorites with others
• not recognizing their "life" skills as learning strengths

But, most of all, we disrespect them by underestimating our students' intelligence and ability, by assuming that we not only know more about our subjects, but that we are superior to our students as learning beings. Teachers that set the tone of - we are ALL learners, sometimes I will lead and other times I will learn from you and follow your lead, are more likely to get the respect they seek.

Responsibility:There is no question that I desire and expect students to take responsibility for their behavior and actions. There is a responsibility on our part as well. We are solely in charge of creating the conditions for learning to exist..

Go here to read more from Angela's post and to add to the conversation.  I would say that the 5R's are important to teaching students at any level!

Free ebook Has Good Suggestions For Our Students

Ted Demopoulos has updated his ebook, Effective Internet Presence (Now Required For Success In Business And Life) and is offering it for free.

He has some good points for our students in thinking about what personal information is on the web that could affect their job search.  Many companies are now googling their applicants' names as part of the recruiting and selection process.  We need to remind our students to be careful what they post on the internet.

Resources For Educators

Here's a website with links to the top education resources as noted by Guy Kawasaki (and he's included me as one of the experts!) 

Tips For Teaching Students Who Are Deaf Or Have A Hearing Impairment

More from Pat Lakey (University of South Florida-Sarasota): 

• Engage the attention of the student with a hearing impairment before communicating with the class.
• Always face the student when speaking.
• Do not talk while writing on chalkboard.
• If possible, face the light source and keep your hands away from your face when speaking.
• Repeat the questions other students in the class asked so that students with hearing impairments know what you are refering to.
• Speak clearly and naturally and at your normal pace, unless you are asked to slow down.
• The use of visual aids is most helpful since vision is the student's primary means of receiving information.
• Provide all important information (assignments, due dates, exam dates, changes in the class schedule, special event dates, etc.) in written form (handout or write on board).
• Reduce excessive noise as much as possible to facilitate communication (classmates chattering, outside noise in hallway).

Tips For Teaching Students That Are Blind or Visually Impaired

Pat Lakey, Coordinator of the Students with Disabilities Services Office at University of South Florida-Sarasota shares these tips for teaching students that are blind or visually impaired.

• Speak to the class upon entering and leaving the room or site.
• Call the student with a vision impairment by name if you want his/her attention.
• Seat the student away from glaring lights (e.g. by the window) and preferably in front of the class.
• Use descriptive words such as straight, forward, left, etc. in relation to the student's body orientation. Be specific in directions and avoid the use of vague terms with unusable information, such as "over there", "here", "this", etc.
• Describe, in detail, pertinent visual occurrences of the learning activities.
• Give verbal notice of room changes, special meetings, or assignments.
• Offer to read written information for a person with a visual impairment, when appropriate.
• Identify yourself by name, don't assume that the student who is visually impaired will recognize you by your voice even though you have met before.
• If you are asked to guide a student with a visual impairment, identify yourself, offer your services and, if accepted, offer your arm to the student's hand. Tell them if they have to step up or step down, let them know if the door is to their left or right, and warn them of possible hazards.
• Orally, let the student know if you need to move or leave or need to end a conversation.
• When communicating with a student who has a vision impairment, always identify yourself and others who are present.
• Do not pet or touch a guide dog. Guide dogs are working animals. It can be hazardous for the visually impaired person if the dog is distracted.
• It is not necessary to speak loudly to people with visual impairments.

Life After Death By Powerpoint

Check out this video by Don McMillan titled, "Life After Death By Powerpoint."   It's very funny but does make the key points that bad powerpoint slides are:

• Too wordy
• Contain spelling errors
• Use bad color schemes
• Have too much data on a slide
• Use distracting animation
• Have too many bullet points (hmmm....)

Tips On Improving Your Powerpoint Slides

Scott Elias has an 18 minute slideshow on how to make your powerpoint slides more effective by addressing issues of content, delivery, and design.  He aims his remarks towards teachers but the information would be just as useful for our students who are making presentations in our classes. 

Thanks to Mike Sansone for blogging on this great resource.

Here's A Review Technique For Your Class

I tried using a "Wikipedia" approach to reviewing class notes last week. We had been discussing various motivational theories the class before.  I put the students into teams, assigned each team a different theory, gave each team a marker, and had them write everything they could remember about the theory on the board (this was a small class of 24 students).  After a few minutes, I had them switch to another team's area on the board and with a different color marker, cross out anything that they did not agree with or add anything else they thought belonged there.  I did this a couple more times and then we discussed the theories.

In a larger class you could send up a representative from each team to write on the board.  Or the teams could use flip chart paper at their desks.

The students really enjoyed the exercise and I think it will benefit them in learning the material.

How Do I Teach A Really Small Class?

Dear Dr. Kirk:

I enjoy your articles immensely.  I have a question that I haven't seen addressed in your "Ask-Dr-Kirk" e-letter.  I am teaching a 'tiny' (4 student) undergraduate section this Spring ("Crime and Victims").  We all say we want smaller classes, but this presents itself as a challenge to me.  With such a small group I'm somewhat nervous about what the dynamics will be and how best to approach the semester with them.  My materials are prepared for a class of at least a dozen, but this term, for a variety of reasons, there are only 4 in the class.  I'm thinking of doing it even as a one-on-one kind of tutorial/independent study approach, but I'd rather not have to do that.  If you have covered this situation before, I'd love to know some of the feedback you've gotten.  I can't seem to find any articles online in general periodicals which address this question.  Thanks--and keep inspiring us!

Dr. John R Gehm (University of Sioux Falls)

Dear Professor Gehm,

Thanks for the positive feedback.  Re your question, we think we would like smaller classes but there really needs to be a critical mass!  I haven't had a class quite that small but occasionally will have one of 12 or 14 students.

Some of the challenges are that you usually get through the lecture materials faster; you have more class time as presentations and discussions don't take as long; absences are more notable; and it can be difficult to do some of the group activities.  In addition, I think it's harder to keep a serious learning environment as the class tends to be so informal.

I would develop a list of activities and application exercises for those days that you finish up early.  I also might treat the students as teaching assistants or interns.  The students could bring in relevant newspaper or journal articles, do internet research, interview people in the law enforcement field, etc., and "teach" the rest of the students.  They could also develop a class portfolio of informational sources and maybe write their own cases/scenarios that could be used as teaching tools.

With your permission, I am putting your letter on the blog.  Has anyone else out there experienced such a small class size or have any ideas of what Dr. Gehm could do?

Good luck with your class.  Let me know how it goes.

Dr. Kirk

You Can Learn A New Vocabulary And End World Hunger Too!

Freerice.com is a website that tests your knowledge of vocabulary words.  It's fun to do and even comes with their warning that, "This game may make you smarter [and] may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance..." 

Even better, each time you correctly identify a word's definition, FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.  This is made possible by advertisers on the site.

Thanks to James Maher for sharing this site with me.  I'm up to level 41 and am sending the challenge out to Kenneth Davis, Patti Digh, Timothy Johnson, Mike Sansone, Terry Starbucker, Liz Strauss, and Mike Wagner. Let's help end world hunger and get smarter too!

What Is In Your Students' Water Bottles?

Recently I wrote about students using their water bottles to cheat on exams.  I had a very successful professional email me that:

"I thought I would confess to you privately that in high school, I had a drinking problem and as we weren’t allowed to carry drinks into class, I drank vodka (1/4 vodka, 3/4 water) all day.  It’s never a bad idea to check the water bottles!"

Some universities have a policy that food and drinks are not allowed in the classrooms.  This is a good reason to follow that policy.

Do You Know Your Students' Names?

One of the things I talk about in my workshops on teaching is the importance of learning students' names.  I was never good at this myself until I decided to make it a point to practice this skill.  After all, we require our students to learn theories, concepts, terms, formulas, dates, etc.  We should at least do them the courtesy of learning their names.  The students will be surprised and pleased you did and less likely to be disruptive.

Some tips:

• Repeat the name back to the student as soon as you first hear it.
• If a student has a question, ask for his/her name and use it when you answer the question.
• Try to make a connection: Carol has curly hair.
• Use a seating chart so that you can practice connecting names and faces.  Spend a couple minutes right before class looking at the students and chart to test yourself. 
• Consider taking photos of students to help you learn names.

Did You Know There Are Websites For Fake Doctors' Excuses?

I heard today that there are websites that sells fake doctors' excuses to students or employees to use in missing class or work.  I won't print the web addresses here but you could google for them. 

I don't take documentation for missing class...instead I give my undergrad students the equivalent of one week in a 15 week semester that they can miss for any reason.  Any additional absences result in a loss of participation points.

When I went to one of these websites today, I found three misspelled words on their homepage...maybe the author should have gone to class!

Read These Suggestions Before Reading Your Student Evaluations

As you get back your student evaluations from last semester, you might want to read this article from Western Kentucky University's Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching.  A number of professors give advice on how to deal with hurtful student comments.

FAQ’s: Letters To Dr. Kirk About Common Student Issues

I'm teaching a two day workshop at the University of Akron this week and one of the sessions is titled "Ask Dr. Kirk," where faculty can ask me questions on teaching and managing their classroom.  I thought I would share some frequently asked questions below:

• What if I don't know the answer to a student's question?

• How do I get quiet students to participate in class?

• How do I get my students to come to class on time?

• I'm new to teaching and get nervous in front of the classroom.  Can you give me some tips to help?

• I look very young for my age and am having trouble getting the students to take me seriously.

• How do I handle sensitive issues in the classroom such as a student with strong body odor?

• How do I deal with students whining about doing their homework?

• How do I do a good job teaching and have a personal life too?

• My university is switching to doing evaluations online.  Will this affect my rating by the students?

• Can you give me some tips on making grading easier?

More On Civility On College Campuses

We're all talking about the problem of a lack of civility on college campuses.  Yesterday, I posted a sample policy here.  Also yesterday, there was an article about the civility policy proposed at Bergen Community College in New Jersey.  A number of their professors are upset about the policy draft stating that:

"it would make it a punishable offense for a conservative student not to 'embrace and celebrate' the ideas of Michael Moore or for a liberal student not to do the same with Ann Coulter."

This Dean has a better approach to writing a policy:

My proposed code of civil conduct for higher ed, or speech code, if you prefer:

I will separate the speaker from the speech.

As he notes, this acknowledges the student's right to disagree with someone else's speech or writing without making it a personal attack.

He goes on to say,

"If you think they’re wrong, explain why, and be prepared to have to explain back. Just don’t move from “you’re wrong” to “you’re bad.” The former is the risk of any new idea; the latter simply ends discussion."

How To Word A Class Policy on Incivility

Dr. Carriann Richey (Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences) attended the three day workshop at St Petersburg College that I taught last week and shared her school's policy on incivility in the classroom:

RESPECTFUL INTERACTIONS: Respect is demonstrated by being considerate, courteous and professional, and by maintaining confidentiality of patient information. While participating in any university-related activities (e.g., coursework, rotations, volunteer work, etc.), it is expected that all persons affiliated with COPHS will act in a manner that is guided by a respect for other students, staff, faculty, patients and health care practitioners who may have differences that include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Religious beliefs and practices
• Socioeconomic status
• Ethnicity/Language
• Racial background
• Nontraditional medical beliefs and practices
• Sexual orientation
• Physical/emotional disabilities
• Intellectual capabilities

COPHS will not tolerate incivility by any member of the College community.  Examples of incivility include rude, sarcastic, obscene, disruptive or disrespectful behavior, threats, or damage to property.  Students exhibiting uncivil behavior will be reported to the Academic and Professional Affairs Committee for possible disciplinary action. 

You might tweak this to use in your own syllabi or to share with your colleagues.

Does Anyone Use Jigsaw Assignments In Class?

A professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison contacted me yesterday wanting to know if I had ever used "jigsaw" assignments.  I haven't but did find this great explanation of the technique posted by Barbara Tewksbury (Hamilton College).  Does anyone else out there have experience with these at the college level?

Getting Students To Participate

Last October I received an email from a professor asking me how to engage students who will not speak, ask questions or participate in any way.  I responded with suggestions here.

I recently heard back from her:

Happy New Year...I used all your suggestions and......they talked! The small group approach worked especially well. I guess "safety in numbers!"...Thanks Again...

Putting students into small teams and assigning them something to discuss helps create a comfort zone as well as emphasizes that you expect participation.