So it begins... the fall semester thread

[fishbrains]

Ugh.

I already have a student who uses ZERO punctuation in emails and uses a demanding tone. I know it's easy to misinterpret tone through email (zero facial cues, unlike a direct interaction). It's just annoying and I am trying to keep my cool and not lose my mind. Did I mention that we just started?

How about a line in the syllabus saying: "Ungrammatical emails will be deleted."?

Ha! Ha! Ha! They would have my head. Also, it would be highly frowned upon considering our campus culture.

Then how about a standard reply: "totally yes no good luck"?

I've found that if I hold my screaming, red-faced, soiled-diapered granddaughter in my arms while reading them, I can understand 25% of these emails. The other 75%? I think my granddaughter's first words will be, "What the f*ck is that?"

[the_geneticist]

Classes don't even start for a few more weeks (hurray for quarters!) and I'm getting the "will there be an online/remote/can I pass without ever going to class" emails.
And a student demanding, not asking, for early access to the class LMS and syllabus.  To "be better prepared" for a nonmajors course with no prerequisite classes.
It's going to be a long Fall.

[Puget]

One week in and I already know who my high maintenance frequent fliers are going to be. Never fails.

[Liquidambar]

This semester I'm teaching a class for the second time.  I was looking forward to seeing what the discussion dynamic would be like without that one awkward student who monopolizes discussions.  Except now I seem to have his clone this semester.

[Puget]

This semester I'm teaching a class for the second time.  I was looking forward to seeing what the discussion dynamic would be like without that one awkward student who monopolizes discussions.  Except now I seem to have his clone this semester.

These students are often on the autism spectrum or otherwise not neurotypical -- with a little coaching you can help them learn not to do this and make life better for them, you and the rest of the class. They are usually self-aware and want to work on this too. Meet with them privately. Tell them you value their contributions but want to make sure that everyone in the class has a chance to talk as well. Ask how you can help them remember to give space for other students to talk.  You can come up with a plan for how to cue them in class to stop monopolizing without embarrassing them.

[Liquidambar]

Thanks for the suggestions, Puget.  I tried some of that last semester without much success.  The student was immune to embarrassment, so that part wasn't a problem, but there wasn't much change throughout the semester despite my coaching.  This semester's student strikes me as closer to neurotypical, so I'm more optimistic that we can work out something.

My department is going to have a training this semester on working with neurodiverse students.  It'll be run by faculty from our Psych department who research this topic.  Hopefully I'll get some good ideas from that too.

[Puget]

Thanks for the suggestions, Puget.  I tried some of that last semester without much success.  The student was immune to embarrassment, so that part wasn't a problem, but there wasn't much change throughout the semester despite my coaching.  This semester's student strikes me as closer to neurotypical, so I'm more optimistic that we can work out something.

My department is going to have a training this semester on working with neurodiverse students.  It'll be run by faculty from our Psych department who research this topic.  Hopefully I'll get some good ideas from that too.

Yes, doesn't always work but often does in my experience. They often need you to be really direct about it as they miss more subtle social cues.

So far this semester, I've had a student email me expressing concern about group work because he knows he tends to monopolize group discussion and alienate his group members (yay for self awareness!). I coached him on how he could talk to his group about how this was something he was working on and ask for their help in alerting him when he started doing this, so they know it is OK to give him direct feedback. These are such important skills for these students to work on in the relatively safe environment of college before they have dire consequences in the workplace. They can do it, just not in exactly the same way neurotypical folks do.

[Zeus Bird]

I suggest, if you haven't tried this already, structuring discussions in such a way that free-form conversation alternates with round-the-table sharing in which each student gets to hold the floor for a minute or so to contribute to the discussion.  Often the dynamics in the classroom are mutually reinforcing, as some students react to the overcontributors by contributing less and less.

[FishProf]

Opening day meeting.  4 minutes in ..... and I'm done.  Wrap it up people I have classes to prepare for!

[apl68]

Thanks for the suggestions, Puget.  I tried some of that last semester without much success.  The student was immune to embarrassment, so that part wasn't a problem, but there wasn't much change throughout the semester despite my coaching.  This semester's student strikes me as closer to neurotypical, so I'm more optimistic that we can work out something.

My department is going to have a training this semester on working with neurodiverse students.  It'll be run by faculty from our Psych department who research this topic.  Hopefully I'll get some good ideas from that too.

Yes, doesn't always work but often does in my experience. They often need you to be really direct about it as they miss more subtle social cues.

So far this semester, I've had a student email me expressing concern about group work because he knows he tends to monopolize group discussion and alienate his group members (yay for self awareness!). I coached him on how he could talk to his group about how this was something he was working on and ask for their help in alerting him when he started doing this, so they know it is OK to give him direct feedback. These are such important skills for these students to work on in the relatively safe environment of college before they have dire consequences in the workplace. They can do it, just not in exactly the same way neurotypical folks do.

I've been that person, though not (I think) as egregiously as some.  It takes time to learn to turn that down.  I managed to do so without very much direct intervention, but I can easily see how in some cases it would be helpful.  Those who do such things aren't trying to be jerks.  They're just talking about something they're interested in, and really want to put out everything they know, and perhaps they're even kind of passionate about it.  And in the process, without really meaning to, they suck all the air out of the room.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I could tell you all stories about some of the comments I get in my Astronomy lectures. Here's one...

Recently, we discussed Kepler's Laws (basically characteristics of planetary orbits) and I pointed out that distant planets take longer to orbit the Sun than the Earth does. So, a 'year' on those planets is a lot longer than a 'year' on Earth (a 'year' being the time to make one orbit around the Sun). And so, I mentioned that most of them are less than a Saturnian year old (Saturn takes about 30 years to make 1 orbit). Now some of them thought that I meant they would age slower and live longer and almost be immortal. No, no, that's not what I was saying at all. SMDH.

[apl68]

I could tell you all stories about some of the comments I get in my Astronomy lectures. Here's one...

Recently, we discussed Kepler's Laws (basically characteristics of planetary orbits) and I pointed out that distant planets take longer to orbit the Sun than the Earth does. So, a 'year' on those planets is a lot longer than a 'year' on Earth (a 'year' being the time to make one orbit around the Sun). And so, I mentioned that most of them are less than a Saturnian year old (Saturn takes about 30 years to make 1 orbit). Now some of them thought that I meant they would age slower and live longer and almost be immortal. No, no, that's not what I was saying at all. SMDH.

So the Silicon Valley tech bros aren't really trying to get to Mars--they're really planning to keep going to Saturn so that they can realize their dreams of immortality!

[Parasaurolophus]

We're starting soon, and I still have to come up with new prompts for my timed essay experiment, and cobble together some quizzes and midterms for the classes which have to have them. And record four introductory videos. Ugh. Guess I'll start doing that... soon.

[mamselle]

Do you ever use visual prompts?

My 9-yrst old music theory student kept me five minutes after class showing me the three pages of a story he wrote based on a picture of a polar bear coming out of a subway train.

The instruction was for three sentences, but he asked if he could take it home to keep working on it, and it's not done yet.

Of course, it's titled "The Polar Express..."

Just thinking outside the box...might be fun and different....or maybe you already do this...

M. 

[FishProf]

I am in a holding pattern, as our Student Accessibilities office just informed us that NOT ALL of the students with ADA accommodations have been issued letters yet, and that they would be working on that next week.

So, I HAVE TO provide the accomodations, but I CANNOT do so without the letter.  Classes start Tuesday and quizzes start right away (Syllabus quiz primarily).

So what are we supposed to do?