tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post60715060677975391..comments2024-03-14T04:16:20.472-07:00Comments on In Socrates' Wake: The 'Over-extended Student' and Meeting Student ExpectationsMichael Cholbihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-82709661358784851482008-08-22T18:31:00.000-07:002008-08-22T18:31:00.000-07:00I don't think it is the professor's responsibility...I don't think it is the professor's responsibility to accomodate the overextended student. The overextended student is responsible for recognizing the consequences of her choices, and I think most overextended students recognize this. I knew, even during those years when I worked so hard, that I could have performed better in many of my courses if I took fewer per semester or cut down my work hours. It is very much a conscious choice to accept that additional burden and the consequences that come with it, and if one's choices (given one's desire and abilities) entail that one can only get into a second or third tier graduate school rather than a top-tier school, well, that's the consequence of those decisions.<BR/><BR/>I think the unfortunate source of your student's expectations that an intro-level course be easy might just be the fact that in nearly every other academic subject, they always are. One of the main things that initially drew me to major in philosophy is that the content of my papers mattered as much as their grammar and structure.<BR/><BR/>One tip I would pass on to any third-year or fourth-year overextended students is to try to take two or three courses from the same professor in a single semester. (I never planned it, but this worked out very well for me twice.) The professor will tend to schedule papers at different times for each course to ease his or her own grading burdens, which can help to avoid having multiple assignments due the same day or week.Kevin Schuttehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04562007179161022792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070355695530434450.post-54926348670562937252008-08-19T13:59:00.000-07:002008-08-19T13:59:00.000-07:00John, thanks for this very timely and thoughtful p...John, thanks for this very timely and thoughtful post. I would say not that the traditional students are on the decline so much as the non-traditional are on the rise, but that's a small point. <BR/><BR/>You're certainly right that communicating clear expectations to students and adopting professional standards is the best way to deal with overextended students. At the same time, I wonder how many students really are overextended as opposed to, say, lacking dedication or focus. I suspect that many students manage to find time to surf the Web, text one another, etc., yet are surprised to find themselves 'overextended'! And I would echo your points about flexibility: In most cases, students don't have to take the course I teach, or if they do, they can take a section at another time, or enroll at another university, etc.<BR/><BR/>In light of this overextension, I think we need to help students make choices about managing their time and energy, and I worry that sometimes we (collectively) put students in impossible situations. Let me give an example: It strikes me as crazy that universities have a final exam week, or a week when midterms typically occur, so that students have to prepare for exams, etc., in all of their courses at once. I've not studied the question, but I suspect that bunching together tasks in different courses leads to more cramming and less learning. To avoid this, I often structure my classes so that students have many choices and options as to which tasks to complete: they write a final paper or take a final exam, or there's a weekly writing assignment but students have to complete six of these during the term, etc. This way students can space out their academic work in a more manageable way. Of course, some students blow it when given this amount of choice, and end up failing. But many students respond positively to the chance to organize their time more on their terms rather than ours. Just a thought ...Michael Cholbihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02012523929044363216noreply@blogger.com