The theme of this essay is that there are times during a semester when students need more than teaching. They need guidance on how to learn and what to do next.
**
The semester here at Richmond is approximately half completed. Our second examination is still three weeks away. Spring break is coming soon. The material we are covering is extremely complex. Some of my students are struggling. Most are tired, both physically and emotionally.
This happens about this time every semester and it is a moment when I fear losing some of my students. They lack energy and enthusiasm and there is no internal urgency to drive them back to work. If I lose them now, I might never get them back. They may simply settle into a rut of mediocrity. Pushing them harder is not necessarily a good answer. I always remind myself of the old saying, “The beatings will continue until the morale around here improves.” On the other hand, I am not a big believer in giving everyone a few days off. Many students simply do not need a time for rest right now. Different students react differently to stress. Forcing them to rest sends a bad message, I believe. “Take a break whether you need it or not” is not what I want to be telling them.
I view this as an important time to guide my students although no single piece of advice will meet every need. I have to remember that these students are about 20 years old and don’t necessarily have a clue about what they should be doing next. They have not been at this point in life previously. It might not be a good time to let them try to figure out the next steps in learning on their own. I often joke that, “Recopying notes becomes a default activity for lost students” because that is something they can do without guidance.
I like to view this point in the semester as a good spot for a half-time adjustment. In sports, teams go into the locker room at half-time and the coaches try to figure out how to get the players to change their approach or tactics in order to do better in the remainder of the game. Students need the same type of leadership.
Consequently, I emailed all of my students this past Friday afternoon. I explained to them that the class seemed to be going well but I realized they might be tired and in need of some direction. I asked them to assess how they were feeling and then I made specific suggestions for what to do over the weekend based on that assessment. Because this advice is only applicable to my class and my students, I will keep the examples rather vague but you can see the message I wanted to convey.
**
To my students:
Okay, if you are truly tired of school or sick of this class and all the material, take the weekend off. We have been working very hard and, at some point, most people reach a point of saturation. If you take the weekend off, try to do other things that will provide you with some rest and relaxation. I do not want you to take a quick break just so you can exhaust yourself in some other way. I need for you to come back to class on Monday refreshed, stronger, and ready to make progress. In life, sometimes, taking a break is the perfect antidote for mental and physical exhaustion.
However, if you are not really tired at this point and you feel confident about the material, then I would suggest spending the weekend going over the practice test that I gave you from last semester. You have the answer sheets. This will provide you with a chance to practice using test questions that I actually wrote and gave to students just like you. Time yourself and get a feel for how well you know the material and how quickly you can turn it into good answers. Look for any holes in your understanding. Self-assessment is never a bad idea and, if you don’t need rest, this is a good way to measure where you stand. You will arrive in class on Monday with an idea of whether you need remedial work before you move forward to our next test.
If you are not exhausted but you are not as comfortable with the current material as you would like, then consider spending the weekend working the email problems I sent you over the last week or so. They were designed to help you understand what we covered in class. Each one has its answers so you can immediately see what you know and what you don’t know. This will help you identify essential areas where you need more work right now. You need to know what you don’t know before you can address those issues. The weekend gives you the opportunity to create two lists, “What I know” and “What I don’t know.”
Finally, if you are not worn out but feel that you are lost, you need some method by which to organize the material so you can get back on track. Simply working complex problems incorrectly is of limited benefit. Recently, I have talked with you about creating three-second questions as a way to identify a basic level of subject matter knowledge that you need as a foundation for learning. Go through your class notes and begin to write down the questions that you should be able to answer without much thought. Then, begin to practice doing them. If you are lost, you need to begin with the basics and start to work your way up. (Author’s note: my students know what “three-second questions” are because I have shown them examples, but, if you want more help, here is some information:
http://joehoyle-teaching.blogspot.com/2019/01/helping-students-before-first-class-and.html )
**
Notice in this email that I have asked my students to figure out where they stand at the moment. I have given them four reasonable options: exhausted, knowledgeable, needs work, or lost. Based on that assessment, I have made specific suggestions. Not, “Work harder,” or “Spend more time” or “Get tough.” For most students, the problem is, “What do I do next? What do I do right now?” My answer is, “Once you have judged your current position, here is how you should spend your weekend.”
Does that help? I certainly think so. Students are free to make their own decisions but I have provided genuine guidance that can help, “Based on your current situation, here is how I would spend this weekend.” A lot of students need that type of direct advice.
Being a college professor is not always about teaching. At key points, it is about guiding.
