LETTING STUDENTS KNOW THEY ARE NOT INVISIBLE

(ESSAY 339)  I recently gave my first test of the semester.  My primary course (Intermediate Accounting II) is extremely complex so every test is a challenge for my students.  I have 71 students this semester so that was a lot of grading.  

My goal for this first test is usually that 50-60 percent of my students make an A or a B.  On this test, 70 percent made an A or a B so I was pleased.  The group had worked hard and seemed to have made excellent progress.

However, 15 percent of the students made a D and another 5 percent made a low C.  That’s a lot of poor work.  I always tell my students, “I will always take half of the credit if you do well, but I assume I deserve half of the blame if you do poorly.” 

Students who do poorly always seem to feel invisible.  “No one really knows or cares if I am struggling.”  I don’t want my students to feel that no one cares.  They still have 80 percent of their grades to be determined.  Nothing in my teaching is more pleasing than turning a D student into an A or B student.   (I probably take way too much credit for turning A students into A students.)

So, I wrote emails to each of the students who did poorly just to give them some advice and make sure they knew that I cared and that they were not invisible.  Each of the emails was somewhat different but below is one example of what I sent out.

The first two students I wrote, emailed me back almost immediately to thank me for touching base and for my recommendation.  It was almost as if they had been waiting for some encouragement.

**

To:  XX

From:  JH

As you know, you made a D on our first test in Accounting 302.  I do not know how you did in Accounting 301, and I do not know what your grade point average is so I'm not sure whether you just had a bad day or whether I should be worried about your grade in 302.  It is important to remember that Test One was only 20 percent of your overall grade, but it was 20 percent and should not be ignored.  You can do better, but we need to get started. 

I'd really like to see improvement over that 69.   I'm not sure but I don't think you've been to my office to ask any questions or seek any assistance this semester.  Always remember that is why I have office hours.  I'm more than happy to help.   You don’t need an appointment, just show up during my office hours.

In addition, I want to recommend that you contact Roger Mancastroppa (he is copied here) who is the Associate Director of our Academic Skills Center.  I suggest that you make an appointment with him to chat about ways that you can improve your learning skills and especially your testing skills.  This is not a requirement.  I just think it might be beneficial.  You seem to work hard, but we need better test results and that needs to happen on Test Two. 

I think one visit (or maybe more) might be a good investment as we look toward making a serious improvement in the remaining 80 percent of the course grade.

If you want to chat about my suggestion, come by and see me.

**

And as I have mentioned previously, in case you are interested, you can watch my 12 minute TEDxYouth@RVA talk about transformative education at:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G20tup61ZxI&t=1s

And, my book on Transformative Education is available as a free download at:

 

https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/375/

 

 

GETTING THE STUDENTS READY FOR THEIR FIRST TEST

(ESSAY 338)  I teach a course that is generally considered to be extremely difficult.  Our first test is next Friday.  Today’s students are always a bit nervous so the first test in a course that is viewed as tough can push their emotions up to high anxiety.  That is not productive.  I want to keep them emotionally involved, but I don’t want them to get scared and freeze up.  Fear is not the goal.  Learning and understanding are the goals.  If done right, testing can be a big help.  

I always stress to my students that the objective is to have a great semester so any individual day, even a test day, is just a small cog in that overall process.  Obviously, I want them to do great on Friday in order to build confidence, but I don’t want them to become devastated in case they have a bad day.  So, a few days ago, I conveyed the following message to them.  I wanted to provide guidance.  I wanted to provide support.  Most of all, regardless of the grade, I wanted this test to improve the odds that every student was going to have a great semester.  To me, that last sentence is a very important aspect of any course if the teacher really wants to move toward greatness. 

At least in my experience, I have found the psychology of working with a group (I have 71 students this semester) is one of the most beneficial and interesting parts of teaching in college.  What are the magic words, what are the key steps, that turn an average class into something that the students will remember for the rest of their lives.  

Here’s the message I sent (slightly edited).  

**

Our first test is in two weeks (2/14). It will count 20 percent of your overall grade for the semester so it is important, but it is not the end of the world if you do not do as well as you might like. 

As I told some of you who were in one of my earlier courses, I call the first test of the semester “spring training.” It’s a chance to see how you are doing so far. 

--Is your approach to the class working well? 

--Should you have spent more time? 

--Did you spend too much time? 

--What changes should you consider going forward? 

People need a chance to gauge whether their efforts are bringing the desired results.   As I often tell you in class, “perfection is never the goal.”   However, I do firmly believe that, “Evolution is a key goal.”  I always want you to be getting better.  Every single day.  

As I have said to you previously, the test will cover absolutely everything we cover in class (or in any emails that talk about accounting) through the end of class on 2/12. I have a good memory and I keep good notes. I know what we have covered.

I want you to know it or I wouldn’t have mentioned it.   

Here are some questions that you might consider. 

--How many hours should you devote to test preparation? (I’d vote for 10-15, but I’d keep a record just to see – that’s never a bad idea.) 

--When should you start? (I’d shoot for 7 days ahead.) 

--Should you schedule out specific times to prepare? (Yes, that’s a great idea. Set up a calendar with expected days and times and then stick with it.) 

--When should you write your two pages of “cheat sheets?” (I’d keep a rough draft as you study and then recopy it on the night before the test as a last minute reminder of everything.) 

--When should you try the questions on last fall’s test? (I’d probably read the test now just to get a feel for the type of questions.  Maybe more importantly, I’d read the answers especially carefully because they show how I would have worked through the questions. Spend some serious time following the process I used. I’ve never been sure that actually working the previous test is much help. It tends to scare students more than help them but I do like for you to read those answers.) 

--Should you study with other people? (That’s always a wise idea. I’d try to spend 30-50 percent of study time in groups.) 

--Should you look around and ask people to study with you if they don’t seem to have a group? (Yes, please, kindness is so important in life – even more important than accounting. Kindness begins with your opening your eyes and looking around for people who could use some help.)

And, finally, just because it is factual information, here are the first test grades of the students who made an A in this course last fall. As you can see by these numbers, a good grade is nice but it is not essential. 88. 96, 83, 97, 92, 85.   That’s two A’s, three B’s, and one C and all of those students wound up with an A for the semester.  I suspect there was some evolution in their study habits after the first test.  

This test is just spring training to help you get off to a good start and determine what changes you might want to make in how you study every day in this course.

**

And, as you probably can imagine, I follow the test up almost immediately with a another email on how to take what they discovered from the first test and then use it to have a much better semester going forward.  If I can, I will add that email to this blog in a week or two.

**

And as I have mentioned previously, in case you are interested, you can watch my 12 minute TEDxYouth@RVA talk about transformative education at: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G20tup61ZxI&t=1s

And, my book on Transformative Education is available as a free download at:

https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/375/