When you were in college, did you ever ignore assignments that were either being graded directly or were being included in your overall grade? My four composition classes had a blog post due this Monday by midnight. Both sections of College Comp have 25 students - in one section, 22 students posted, in the other, 17 posted. In my Advanced Comp class, only three students haven't posted and two were because I had to re-submit their invitations, so they will likely post before Wed. In my Intro to College Comp course, I have 19 students...only four posted a blog entry. Even after my emailed reminder last night at 8pm. In fact, about four students didn't even respond to the blog invitation email.
I admit, I'm confused by this. The class blog is part of the participation grade, which is 20% of the overall course grade (and this is not only listed in the syllabus, we also went over this in class). And I see the students' names - they accepted the invite and started a profile. My goals and expectations for this semester include helping students improve and expand their writing skills and abilities by blogging (a great idea that my friend, AHab, successfully used in her World Lit class this past summer - and she inspired me to give blogging a try with my students). So far, I count the blogs a success in three of the classes...and I can't wait to find out why so many students in the Intro class set up their accounts and then promptly didn't do the assigned post listed on the class schedule. I can honestly say that once I got to college, I never just blew off an assignment that my professors gave me, especially those that were included in my grade. To me, this indicates high school thinking where homework is quickly becoming extinct (according to my friend, Mo, whose stepson's school has stopped providing any homework).
The upside to the blogs and the students who ARE participating is the opportunity to express themselves in a different type of environment that is so prevalent in contemporary society. Many of them have never blogged and are excited to get some practice. The first prompt was simply a reflection on where they are as writers and what goals and expectations they have for the class. Not surprisingly, many of them share similar concerns such as wanting to increase their creativity with writing, improve their overall confidence as writers, and put more of their individual voices or personalities into their writing (especially in more formal and "academic" writing assignments).
One student wrote that he has trouble starting and wants to know how good writers get started. This prompted a lengthy in-class discussion today about what students mean when they say "good" writers. This transitioned to a related issue - what they define as "the wrong way" (don't use "that," "like," any contractions, "I" or anything creative) and "the right way" to write academic papers. As it turns out, they define "good" writers as successful, memorable, experienced, published writers. When I asked them if they thought that was a realistic goal for a 15 week composition course, many of them nodded yes. I shook my head no, prompting some nervous giggles. I explained that writers who fit that description have been writing for years and that's the only way to get "good." So we discussed more realistic goals - striving to improve in specific areas, but leaving the idea of perfection out of it.
Vocabulary was another big issue that many students raised. They want to know more words so that when they write they aren't repeating the same ones over and over; they want to get away from simple words and become more adept with complex and advanced words so they can "sound smart." Although I hated to burst their bubbles of expectation, I had to inform them that the only way to expand and improve their vocabularies is to read more frequently and more varied materials. In my 10am class, when I asked for a show of hands of how many read a newspaper once a week, only two hands went up. When I asked how many read blogs or online news sites, no hands went up. When I asked how many read a novel or some short fiction each week, about four hands went up. When I asked how many read magazines of some kind weekly, about 2/3 of the class raised their hands. This prompted my explanation that in order to improve vocabulary and acuity with language, they need to pick another type of writing and read it regularly. Relying on a thesaurus is an adequate quick-fix, but doesn't solve the problem. The danger is that they won't understand the nuanced meaning of the word and end up sounding confused and unclear in their meaning. The more diverse their reading, the more skills they will pick up for their writing. No magic bullet there. Some seemed genuinely disappointed.
My favorite is the five paragraph essay complaint, or what one student lamented as wanting to "break out of the high school writing shell." Almost every student raised this issue as a style they would like to get away from and fortunately, I agree. Nothing they will read is in this restricted and confined format and hopefully, they will become more comfortable breaking themselves of this high school habit. This format certainly helps as a foundation for organization and structure, but is really limited as far as helping anyone develop more advanced writing skills.
Finally, the most interesting goal that many students shared was a desire to stop procrastinating. They were very honest about being heavy procrastinators and how much that has hurt their grades and performance in the past. They realize that writing takes time and doesn't just happen, but admit how much they struggle to start projects early and not wait until the last minute. I hope they achieve this goal most of all because if they start early, they will have the opportunity to get substantive feedback from me and their peers on drafts and pieces of projects well before the due dates.
Having goals and expectations at the start of the semester is one thing, but working to achieve those goals requires commitment, sustained diligence, and a strong work ethic. Hopefully my students, particularly the Intro class, will embrace these characteristics or at least try them on and take them for a test drive in order to bring their goals to fruition.
6 comments:
It never ceases to amaze me how often (and how many) students DON'T look at the syllabus/schedule of due dates and readings. No matter how many times you remind them and tell them where to find this info, some just can't get that part together. It's a trip. As for those who did actually create blog profiles, perhaps you should run the various stereotypes of "Millennials" by them. Maybe you can shame them into caring. Lol.
This blog idea sounds very cool. I'd really be interested to see what the assignments are like and how you incorporate them into the course at large!
I think you're right about the high school thinking part. There's this idea that you can skip doing your work as long as you don't get caught and still have the grade you want. I saw it all the time at South in my survey classes--they just wanted to pass, so they skipped a lot of the reading responses we had to do.
My kids do it every day. I even gave a big speech about it to my eleventh graders today--they decided to skip their assigned reading because they "figured we wouldn't get to it." It's doing as little as possible without getting in trouble.
And don't get me started on homework. I have parents all down my back complaining about how homework cuts into cross country practice.
I also think the blog thing sounds interesting. How did AHab use them for world lit?
Great post! I would love to hear how this goes over the course of the semester. I am thinking about including a blog assignment for part of my composition class next semester...
Outstanding and provocative post.
Interestingly, at the school I teach/TA at, the students consistently do ALL their assignments (although many do so clearly at the last minute...which relates directly to the procrastination issue) while at the same time, and almost unfailingly, doing little, or more often, NONE of the required reading. NONE!
It is very easy to observe, even in my limited time as a grader, that doing the assignments and attending class WITHOUT doing the reading invariably limits the student to a final grade of B- or lower. WHY any student would constrain themselves this way escapes me...unless getting through school with a C, C- average is actually what some of these folks are shooting for...what a timid goal.
I'm glad you were able to use the blog assignment, but I guess I should have warned you that it is fairly typical for them to ignore the assignment. Frankly, it surprises me too. Not only is it a fairly simple assignment, but it's also an easy "A." Do the work, get the credit. I don't grade them like I grade their papers, so it truly is based entirely on completion.
I have students who claim to "forget" about their homework. And, I'll admit, when I was an undergraduate, I was glued to my planner at least for the first few weeks because I also would forget little extra homework assignments (critical reading responses, a lab report, etc.) beyond the "normal" reading load. (Funny how students almost always see anything that is not a reading assignment as an extra piece of homework, isn't it? At least, I have yet to meet a student with a truly holistic point of view about homework.)
And in response to Mo's remark about reminding them about deadlines and due dates: I don't any more. I give them the assignment sheets and syllabus, and that's it. That's the reminder. But it's because of what she noticed--they DON'T care enough to get their acts together. Well, maybe that's a generalization...many students we've encountered don't care. A few do, and I truly appreciate the few. I've gotten to the point now where, after six years on this side of the desk, I just can't give a flying flip more than they do. If they don't care about their academic success, then why should I?
Point in case: I had a student e-mail me last night at 10:30 claiming that I had never gone over the paper assignment that's due on Tuesday (the 21st)...so, he says, he's undoubtedly confused. Of course he is. This student missed two days of class so far. The first day he missed, I assigned the paper. Did he come up to me the following Thursday to ask if there was anything he missed? No. The second day he missed was last Thursday, and I discussed (for 75 minutes) thesis statements and the "so what" question with handouts. He did obtain his handouts today from Thursday, as well as the paper assignment sheet. Will I give him an extension? Absolutely not. Do I feel guilty that he got the assignment sheet only one week before the due date when his classmates have had three weeks? Absolutely not. In fact, as I told him in my response e-mail, it is not my responsibility to tell absent students what they missed--they must seek me out and ask themselves. It is also not my responsibility, also in my policy statement, to remind them of due dates or total number of unexcused absences.
That's my way of telling them to grow up. If they get a transcript back in December that says "FA" for English, guess who won't have to explain it to her parents? My philosophy is that I will only care as much as my students do. If they care a great deal, then I care a great deal. If they care little, then I care little. Although that approach is a bit callous, it also protects the heart.
Hm, I think I meant "case in point" instead of "point in case"...eh, whatever. Just don't give me an F for effort on that one. ;)
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