Discussion-Oct 13

• What are some ways an instructor can offer positive reinforcement to students who are not problems and are a delight to have in class?

• Would it be fair for a professor to drop a student in the first week or 2 of class if he/she feels that the student is unprepared for the material, especially in upper division classes where another student might need the class more?

• I think we've covered many of these areas in prior discussions, and there have been many good pointers on how to deal with problem students. However, how easy is it to remember them when it comes to being in a classroom and you're nervous enough starting out? Also, the chapter mentions the "attention seekers" in class, but what about during office hours?  Do some stop by all the time and monopolize that time as well?

• When we ask students to be prepared for class, shouldn't we have ways to assess for this, ie quizzes, and disscussions about reading? In addition, Dr. Wickelgren, how do you address this issue of being prepared for class when there are no reading or homework assignments on a regular basis?

• Is it every okay to ask a severe problem student to withdraw from your class?

• McKeachie discusses alternatives when dealing with an angry student in class. He lists as a second alternative, "Present the issue to the class and ask them how they feel about this". McKeachie states that one of the dangers is that no one in the class will back you up. I think that the alternative is worse, that everyone agrees with you, the professor, and then the angry student is isolated even more and made to look really idiotic. I would be afraid that it would set the student off even more.

• What do you do with an extremely angry student that won't calm down in the middle of class due to recieving a poor grade on an exam? Do you bear with it and deal with the problem after class, or do you call him/her out in front of all the other students?

• Our author mentions that it might be helpful to offer extra credit to the more experienced students who tutor struggling classmates. Although this, at first, seems like a good idea, it also sets up a situation that, in my opinion, is severely unfair, since struggling students would be unable to obtain the extra credit points themselves. What would be some ways to make this type of strategy fair and effective for everyone?

• Do problems between particular students ever arise in a form that the proffessor must address? What is the best way to handle those type of problems (ie students upset with each other vs. the professor)?

• How responsible is a professor for giving students remedial material that they should already know before taking the class?

• The author only mentions briefly the issues that olderreturning students may face. We have a lot of returning students at CSUS - what are some issues that commonly come up? How do you integrate that perspective into a class otherwise full of 18-year-old freshmen?