Evaluation and Assessment | Teaching Practices |Teaching with Technology| Sample Course Evaluation Forms
Teaching Tools
2. Teaching Practices
2.4. Knowing Your Students
Adjusting Student Expectations
Even though our first-year undergraduates have been immensely successful in high school, many faculty and TAs report that in introductory courses students often have little prior knowledge about the topic or field, and what they do know is poorly organized, incomplete, or simply inaccurate. Many students report that they have succeeded academically without exerting themselves very much, and they are surprised to find how rigorous and demanding University of Florida is. Even in the face of their first low grades, some stay confident and may be slow to adjust their study strategies. Some faculty use the strategies below to help students understand the expectations early enough to adapt quickly and develop the new study skills and time management habits they will need to succeed at UF.
Be explicit about your expectations in order to counteract naive or inappropriate expectations students may have. For example, explain to first-year students how many hours of work they should plan for a 9 unit course. Especially in large classes, be very clear about course policies (e.g. when assignments are due, to what extent collaboration is encouraged, how missed exams will be handled) both in your syllabus and in class.
Be explicit about the type of learning expected in your course because some students' high school teachers may have defined learning as memorizing, not analysis, synthesis, or evaluation. You might explain to students that problems won't always map directly from the ones they've seen before because one of the goals of learning is to be able to use concepts and principles in new situations. When you design assignments which include complex problems or questions, you can tell students how it prepares them for similar challenges on exams and later in life. Similarly, if you ask students to work in groups, tell students why you value teamwork and how teamwork skills are valued in the professional world.
Give an early ungraded quiz or exam based on what students should know from prior courses. Feedback on their performance can help them quickly identify areas where they need to review old course material or seek tutoring.
Teach students how to prepare for college assignments and exams. Besides teaching content, we need to provide suggestions on how to master material and help our students to develop the general learning skills they need now and in the rest of their careers. For example, faculty members might make available prior exams so students can see what to expect and test themselves as they study. Or, faculty might explicitly discuss and model the various stages in the writing process. Many faculty put sample exams and papers on the Web.
Encourage students to ask questions or seek assistance as a normal part of the learning process. Let them know that many students spend a great deal of time "spinning their wheels" needlessly and that challenging assignments may require both advance planning and willingness to ask questions. Faculty and TAs can point out the advantages of starting assignments early enough to be able to seek assistance with major obstacles they encounter. Also, reminders about office hours and other resources can make it easier for reluctant students to seek help early.
Help students to acquire better self-monitoring skills to change study and time management behaviors which aren't working. For example, periodically ask students to track how much time they are spending on their assignments and advise students whose strategies may need some improvement. If taking notes is important in your lecture, you might want to demonstrate effective note-taking by providing copies of notes from the first two or three lectures taken by an "expert note taker" (e.g. one of your TAs). Students can then compare their notes to the "expert notes" and adjust their strategy.
Adapted from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University
