Our advisory early grades for 100- and 200-level classes are due this week. We are required to report on student progress in the fifth week, which can be either a letter grade, or a progress report (so-and-so has been coming to class, bubbaloo has missed the only exam we have had, etc.). In all my classes I have given some graded feedback so it should not be too difficult to enter some feedback in the next couple of days.
As a result of the looming student progress reporting requirement I spent time on Thursday afternoon contacting those students who had missed classes or who were doing particularly questionable work (either those who were really closing in on a failing mark, or those who for whatever reason had raised concerns).
Follow me below the orange napkin fold for some thoughts on contacting students who may be "at risk" early in the semester.
At this point in the semester (just over 1/4 of the way through) it is too early for me to know who is going to do brilliantly in any given class, and I love it when students grown so much over the course of the semester that they end up with well-deserved As by the end. But I can see warning signs for those who might not be doing very well, and early intervention is something I think is a very useful approach.
It isn't just grades (although bad grades can be a warning sign). Sometimes if a student is taking a new class in a department he or she has never investigated before it may take a while to figure out how to land right side up. And I do drop a couple of quizzes and in some classes a test as well, so there is a chance to figure out how to study and report content in a timed situation. I don't worry so much at this point in a large lecture class if someone is showing up, making an effort at the quizzes, and potentially is improving. However, if a student has missed one or both quizzes, or has not been coming to class on a regular basis, then I will email through a university system that automatically goes to the advisor as well. What then is interesting is I get to find out who the advisor is. In some instances this can tell me if a student is considered at academic risk, or if the student has just recently switched majors, or is a transfer student new to the university. These kinds of things can be helpful when I talk with the student. And if the student chooses not to respond to me, I will, in some situations, contact the advisor directly. The idea of a teacher being in loco parentis makes me uncomfortable, but if I find a student threatening to me or in class, or disruptive in other ways, and there is no response to my emails, I have been known to contact the advisor directly. Last year it turns out that one student about whom I had concerns did not checked his email more than once every couple of weeks, which explained why he had not received updates on class assignments.
I don't always hear from students after I email them, but the six to eight messages I sent out on Thursday afternoon got to all of these addressees that afternoon because each student responded. That was a particularly productive afternoon. One student had not officially dropped the class, and did so immediately, but the others all responded and made appointments for Friday and Saturday. And I met with five yesterday.
Several of the students were in a class that requires discussion (200 out of 700 points over the course of the semester). They came to pick up written assignments, talk with me about how to participate in class discussion, and/or express doubts that they were in the right class. Each student has his or her own issues, but I like the opportunity to meet with the ones who are potentially needing a bit more support and always find the times when I can offer them help successfully some of the best experiences I have in teaching.
The discussion on Friday included techniques for participating in class discussions. Some of the students in the class are nervous because other students seem really well-informed and smart, and this intimidates those who are not necessarily as comfortable with expressing themselves. This nervousness can grow quickly to be overwhelming, and I have had students in classes like this burst into tears because they are so afraid of being wrong or something else that makes it impossible to talk.
I know this kind of anxiety, and I know how I got over some of my nerves (mostly just through the passing of time). I have learned since my undergraduate days that even if I don't like doing things when I am not sure I will be okay or at least competent at them, that it is usually better to take a leap and try. Try to participate, try to have opinions that can be supported. Sadly there are times when I prove myself really stupid, but then eventually I can find sometimes I say something that isn't all that bad. But I have a lot more years of experience than do my students and therefore I have faith that it is usually possible to recover from one disaster. I can tell students this but I don't really expect them to believe me.
So I have suggestions that might be more productive than just sympathy. Prepare statements reflecting their ideas on the readings, and speak at the beginning of the class so others have not already said everything you are planning to say or think about. Volunteer -- it is really scary, but if you are in control of the timing, it can be a bit less scary. I often assign discussion leaders in advance, so I recommend contacting the leaders and asking them if you can feed them questions that are specifically designed for you to answer. I help the students come up with topics to talk about. I don't really care if things are planned in advance, but I do want them to work with the class to help the discussion advance (in whatever direction -- I very seldom interfere -- I want to see the way the students interact with each other and the material they have read). One of the best ways to work on getting over anxiety is to figure out a new way to try and take control over the situation. Setting up a question that the discussion leaders will ask you is a great way to start taking control. And the discussion leaders are usually quite happy to take a suggestion from the class, because it guarantees they will ask a question someone will want to talk about.
This is an example where empathy can be a useful tool for a teacher. More than sympathy, empathy can help you figure out not only what a student is feeling, but what might help that student do what needs to be done. In these cases, taking control, knowing the positive outcome before going into a situation, can be the ticket to success. And once one thing has worked out, I am hoping the techniques applied can be translated into another setting, and another assignment. If it doesn't work, empathy can also help me figure out another approach. It may make the student more comfortable with talking to me, and I hope that will translate to more useful conversations.
And there is a certain sympathy element as well. I try to listen carefully to what the students are saying to me. And of course I keep Kleenexes in my office for those occasions where they are required. My hope is over time they will become less and less needed.