Evaluation and Assessment | Teaching Practices |Teaching with Technology| Sample Course Evaluation Forms
Teaching Tools
2. Teaching Practices
2.4. Knowing Your Students
Recognizing and Responding to Students who Need Assistance
The signs of student difficulty are not always easy to detect. As a group, first-year undergraduates have a wide variety of problems adjusting to the responsibilities and opportunities University of Florida presents. Underlying difficulties, such as poor organizational skills, depression, substance abuse, stress-related illness, conflicts with roommates or family, or personal loss, are not uncommon. While faculty and TAs do not need to be able to "diagnose" the underlying difficulties, it is useful to recognize some of the indicators which may suggest that a student could benefit from a conversation with you, his/her academic advisor, your Associate Dean, the Coordinator of Academic Development, or a member of the Student Affairs staff.
Some signs of potential difficulty to watch for are:
- Sleeping in class
- Disruptive behaviors
- Withdrawal or avoidance
- Inappropriate humor
- Cheating
- Frustration with workload and/or grades
- Absence (especially for an extended period)
- Marked drop in performance
- Confrontations with peers
- Poor testing
- Wearing sunglasses in class
- Isolation from peers
Adapted from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University
