Friends and Faculty,
I'll throw out a subject for discussion regarding non-responsive classes. I am still new to teaching (if anyone is ever not, these days - no one speaks of "old salt" teachers, though I know "old pros" exist). As I teach many sections of the same course, I approach my classes with the same amount of enthusiasm and variations on the same lesson plan. Yet, there is always that one "flatliner" class that shows no response, while other classes are lively and engaged.
I have asked teachers of ranging experience: " Do you have this problem?"
Inevitably, they all shake their heads yes, sometimes shrug their shoulders. No one bears a clear explanation for this oddity, this consistent ratio of one droopy class. The general consensus, I think, is that some students simply do not break the social barrier, that they somehow fail to connect with each other. The dynamic is flat, or students are distracted by the time of day (8 am, lunch, last class). Most students are freshmen this year, after all: self-conscious and preoccupied in social settings.
I wonder what you all think of how to remedy this.
I have learned that in writing, workshops help significantly. Conferences, while helpful, drive quiet students further into their shells, as they learn to communicate only with the professor/instructor. Ice breakers help of course, and while I use them at the beginning of term, familiarity and comfort should be the norm from the beginning, not half way through the term. I should require students to delve into peer review, shared work, and group activities from the first day (not the third week), and kept to it.
Attached is a list of assignment ideas that I sent the English Dept (sorry if you are among them) a while back, designed to spruce things up. I was inspired bysome of our colleagues in English who hosted a team building seminar. I include them inhopes that you share some of your own, which is really what I hope for.
So what do you think about "flatiner" classes and how to avoid/enliven/explain them?
Have a great holiday - cheers to you all - get some rest: it's been a hectic but very satisfying term.
Best,
Sarah
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