I write about ten new teaching essays for this blog each year. If you would like me to drop you an email whenever I post something new, just contact me at Jhoyle@richmond.edu. I would be delighted to let you know.
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Although I am in my 53rd year as a college teacher, I still want to get better each and every semester. That goal never leaves my mind. As I have written often, you can never improve without trying something new. It can be a big, radical experiment, or it can be small and subtle. But, if you never try anything new, you’ll be stuck at your current level. Teaching is too important not to work on getting better.
In all of my classes, I give three tests and a final exam. I want every student to have plenty of chances to show me what they can do. Yesterday, I returned Test Number Two to the students in one of my upper-level classes. They earned 3 A’s, 7 B’s, 5 C’s, and 2 D’s. That’s about normal for one of my classes. I’d love to tell you they all deserved A’s, but they didn’t.
I am very aware that some of my students were ecstatic with their grades whereas others were sad and possibly devastated. Handing back a test always leaves me with mixed emotions. I want the happy students to stay happy and I want the sad ones to start thinking about improvements. I don’t want that second bunch to give up and lose all hope.
Students often feel like a small cog in a class, almost invisible, someone the teacher doesn’t really know or care about. I decided to try to change that perception yesterday. I wanted all the students to know that they were real people to me. So, I spent about 30-45 minutes and wrote each of them an individual email talking about what I had seen so far and what I hoped from them for the rest of the semester. I only wrote them 2-4 sentences, but I wanted them to know that I had them on my mind. I wanted to reach out and encourage each of them to make needed change and finish the semester strong.
I wanted to provide encouragement. I wanted to provide a positive future in my class.
The emails didn’t take long to create. I just wanted each person to know that I had high hopes for them. Most of all I wanted them to know that I believed in them.
Here are a few of the actual emails just to show you what I had to say.
“You are very close to making an A but have not quite gotten there yet. In class, you are clearly as well prepared as anyone so you might be a bit disappointed by not having made an A so far. Go back and look at the test -- what mistake kept you from making an A? It's not the end of the world if you don't make an A, but I would very much prefer that you did make an A. Just keep up the good, consistent work and be really careful on the tests.”
**
“I know that you have worked extremely hard in this course and must be disappointed with your grades so far. I am convinced that you are capable of much better work so don't get discouraged. I did comment on the test that you seemed to struggle with the time limit. Come by and see me some time. I'd like to get a gauge on how much that hurt your grade.”
**
“You have
made a C on both tests so far. That is not bad but I'm sure that both you
and I would like to see the next test be a B or even an A. Look at that
test carefully. I know you put a lot of work in so I don't know if more
time is the appropriate remedy. What changes could you have made in your
study or preparation in order to move the next grade up? I'm
convinced that you are capable of a higher grade.”
**
“That was
a truly excellent test, and it was not on easy material. Congratulations!
If you keep up that level of work, you should do great. The real secret
to this class is to see what I want and then do it. You seem to have
reached that point.”
**
“As I
mentioned to you after class, your work has been very consistent. I think
you are more than bright enough to make an A but I think you'll have to get
more focused. There are just other students who walk in every day
prepared to make an A and I'm not always sure that is you. I'm fine with
a B, but you can do better.”
**
Okay, I
suspect you get the idea. Is this a good
idea? I honestly don’t know. I will be very interested to see if this
experiment seems to affect any of the students in their approach to the
class. If I don’t notice any change, I
probably won’t try it again. That is the
nature of teaching experiments. I like trying
things. It keeps me focused on getting
better as a teacher.
**
And,
finally, my new teaching book, Transformative Education, has now been
available for FREE for two months.
Without any type of real publicity, my book has been downloaded at the
following site every 4 hours and 10 minutes around the clock, seven days per
week, for all of those two months. If
you’ve read it, let me know what you think.
If you’ve not read it and want ideas on becoming a better teacher, here’s
the download site.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/375/
I firmly believe educational ideas should not be hoarded. I give this book to you and anyone else who is interested for free. No tricks. It is free. My only goal is to help college teachers become better because I think our planet desperately needs better college education.
Hope you
will get a free download and start reading.
Please feel free to tell anyone you know who might be interested about Transformative
Education.
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