My Professors Just Don’t Care! Carl Burns Director, Counseling Center Tammy Pratt Coordinator, Academic Support Programs

7 characteristics of students today Delays enrollment Attends part time for at least part of the academic year Works full time Is considered financially independent for purposes of determining eligibility for financial aid Has dependents other than a spouse Is a single parent Does not have a high school diploma

What we see at UMR Freshman: See groups and group work as a social opportunity Don’t know how to spend quality, effective time on task Have little or no understanding of community Expect learning to be easy because it was easy in HS Know why they are here at UMR Seniors: See groups and group work as an academic network Learned how to better read professor Have UMR as a role model for community Believe they have worked hard to earn grades at UMR

FreshmanSophomoreJuniorSenior years Black and White- factors are very clear, however, decisions are not always sound, successful, nor reliable due to erroneous information or lack of information Fuzzy Issues- factors are not always clear. Seems like too many possibilities and not confident in making sound judgments about issues in their field of study. Ability to identify factors for good & confident decision making in their field of study Things are wrong or right Trying to clarify identifying and using resources outside of themselves Able to predict outcomes, determining best outcome Using resources ‘thinking outside their box’ As a student progresses through college, their ability to solve problems and make decisions develops (these skills are HIGHLY sought after as a professional) Processes

Processes (cont’d) Improvement by ‘working harder’ is not always as effective as ‘working smarter’ Rely too heavily on one’s own inner resources Clarity starts to form and ability to identify interconnectedness of concepts and gain greater appreciation of other resources Developin g confidenc e in their field of study Freshmen can boost their success rate by using more resources, asking more questions, and trying new ways of studying and practicing/homework. Indeed, an investment of time and effort is the cost of learning how to be more effective. In the future ‘working smarter’, however will pay off nicely Looking forward to using their new found wisdom. Anticipating opportunities to practice using concepts and being creative in using resources Able to converse with other professionals/faculty in the field, using terminology, concepts, research references, and other discipline specific knowledge to assist in making decisions regarding their values, beliefs, theories in the field, issues in the field etc. FreshmanSophomoreJuniorSenior years

Problems Students have Courses Skills Responsibility Accountability Motivation Why do I have to do this What is its significance to me NOW

Solutions You Can Offer Skill building Course practices Campus resources Responsibility Show care and communicate that student is responsible Follow up with student when they fail Set standards clearly, refer to them often Give clear consequences and rewards Accountability

l Motivation Solutions You Can Offer Why do I have to do this What is its significance to me NOW Offer opportunity for discussion Encourage external motivation Provide prompt and frequent feedback Communicate how to apply information

They don’t know that… …they are now responsible for their own learning …client service in higher education is different than customer service in sales …there is such a thing as classroom etiquette …self control is essential in higher education

Now What? l Clearly state expectations and follow through with consequences l Teach classroom etiquette and tell students directly what is not appropriate l Express care through communication l Use several different methods to communicate the same thing

And specifically… l Give students a syllabus the first week of class (ideally the first day) »Stick with it as closely as possible; if changes are needed, discuss those with the class in advance and explain why l Vary the learning methods used in the course »Active learning approaches in which students tackle more realistic problems or issues in more “real-world” kinds of ways tend to be more effective –This doesn’t mean lectures are forbidden; it means that a steady diet of 50-minute lectures may not be the best way to promote learning

And specifically… l When students need to do quite a few problems to gain mastery of material… »Strongly encourage the use of group learning approaches in addition to individual study. –Advantages: may save you time, and students tend to gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter l Questions may arise that you’re really not sure how to answer, or you may not even be sure what the “right” answer is. If this happens: »Don’t try to either dismiss the question or try to “bluff” your way through it »Simply say something like, “You know, I’m not sure about that. Let me look into that and we can discuss it next time.” Students respect this approach

Resources for faculty and students l Academic Support Programs (Student Affairs) Tammy Pratt l Counseling Center (Student Affairs) Carl Burns l Learning Enhancement Across Disciplines and Faculty Teaching Resource Center (Provost Office) Ron Bieniek