Sunday, August 30, 2009

Welcome Back to School! Student Perceptions

Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape

Surveying your students will reveal their affect, attitudes, and emotional reactions to your course. It may be positive or negative. Let’s put their perceptions into a broader context.

Make believe your first class is a movie premier or Broadway show opening. Your bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, pizza-eating, soon-to-be-sleep deprived, somewhat tech-savvy students are your critics. They are waiting to be impressed. Many may have negative baggage dragged into the room from experiences with previous courses or profs in that subject or from gossip transmitted by their buddies. That baggage may be expressed in your survey results.

Within the first 10 minutes or, most certainly, by the end of class they will have sized up you and your course as a SMASH HIT or a FLOP that should be shut down after opening day or night. They may also have thoughts in between those extremes. They have very specific expectations that usually don’t match yours. We’re both coming from different planets, like, dare I say it? Mars and Snickers!

The moment you step to the front of your class, barriers are erected between you and them. Although they know nothing about you, an emotional distance is created due to your title, age, educational level, or cholesterol level. Remember each new crop of students is just as young as the preceding crop, while you get older and older. You may also create a physical distance if you stand at a lectern far from your students.

You need to break down those barriers that can block any connection between you and your students.


SUGGESTION 1: Instead of standing in front of class as your first class begins, once everyone is seated, enter from the back of the room. That entrance will grab their attention and place them in a state of anticipation on the edges of their seats. Continue to roam the aisles and highways and byways of the room. Stay close to your students to close the traditional physical distance of the immobile lectern lecturer.
More suggestions in blogs to follow.


COPYRIGHT © 2009 Ronald A. Berk, LLC

No comments:

Post a Comment