As part of the Faculty Evaluation Packet I am preparing to submit in January 2020, I summarize some approaches I believe contribute to student transformation and retention.

In sharing some of these thoughts in my blog, I am not advocating that everyone adopt these strategies into their own classrooms. Some of the flexibility I enjoy while teaching English and history is not shared by my foreign language or some other colleagues. Also, not all strategies work for all professors. But I hope that I will provoke thought and encourage others to share some of their strategies in the comments.

Students as Co-Creators

Depending on the class, I allow students to choose some or all of the major assignments that they will use to meet the course competencies. I also design sections of the course around their interests.

For example, last winter, my film students wanted to make short films. Creating films is not one of the required competencies. However, because of their interest, I re-designed my lessons so that they could make their films while also completing all the course competencies.

Equivalent vs. Identical Work

Students in my classes do equivalent but not necessarily identical work.   For this process to work, I make sure that everyone knows what everyone else is doing.  Generally, most students are working on the same assignments, but the ability to make modifications is an important component of the course.

Life Gets in the Way

My classes are built on the assumption that sometimes life gets in the way.  We all get ill, experience deaths in the family, have car problems, get snowed in, and so forth.  If a student contacts me within 24 hours of missing a class or a week before they know they will miss a class, I will work with them to make up assignments.  I do not ask students to document the reason for their absences. When a situation is more personal than they might want to share with their professor, a student will simply say “Life is getting in the way.” 

“Life gets in the way” is not unlimited. If life too frequently getting in the way, I will ask students enough questions so that I can make a referral for them to get appropriate assistance. Unfortunately, sometimes the referral is to help them submit an extenuating circumstances withdrawal for the course.

Classroom Geography

Each day, students move the tables in the classroom into what I call “islands.” Four to six students sit around each island. Because they are sitting together, they bond with their colleagues. Islands facilitate class discussions. Often, I will ask students to discussion something around their islands before having a class discussion.

An unintended consequence of seating students around islands is that when I get email that life has gotten in the way, I am usually told that one or more of their colleagues with whom they sit will caught them up. Class discussion are better and I generally don’t need to do anything to catch up students who missed class.

Flexibility

The courses I teach have a great deal of flexibility which students can take advantage of when “life gets in the way.” If a student has difficulty, I will work with them on a comprehensive schedule by talking about their other courses as well as mine. Academic coaches, counselors, and others who work with students know of this flexibility and take advantage of it when working with my students. For example, if a student is ill for a week, they can get caught up in a class such as math before working on my class.

More Ideas

Last week, I learned that my forthcoming Promoting Student Transformation at the Community College will be published on 3 February 2020. In the spirit of Open Educational Resources (OER), my publisher will make the book available online for free. In the book, I expand on some of these ideas and include others. I will share more details as they become available.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Image Credit: The Transformed Classroom, from Promoting Student Transformation at the Community College (HASTAC, 2020).

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