A student contacted me today three hours after missing a quiz. This student explained that he had certain health issues, and that he had felt bad this morning and passed out, only coming to after class (the quiz) was over.
The clear policy outlined in my syllabus made any skepticism on my part irrelevant. It was nice to be able to ignore Angry Professor, sympathize with the ill student, and point to the syllabus. Taking him at his word, I was also able to give some advice about making use of the Disability Office, which is something he hadn't considered but was clearly eligible for (if he was telling the truth).
I could have been Angry; instead I was helpful. Even though this was a disaster for the student, in the long run I think he got more out of the event and talking with me about it than he would have if I had just let him take a makeup quiz in violation of my policies.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Good job! It's nice to get to be helpful, isn't it? And maybe it really WILL help the student more in the long run.
My syllabus is only three pages, and that's generally considered a bit excessive (at least for a TA section syllabus). I think they actually read it this quarter, though, which is an improvement.
Part of my first-day lecture (in live classes) and orientation presentation (in my online classes) is a discussion of the Disability Office and what it is for. I do get tired of folks trying to use disability as an excuse, but refusing to go get the paperwork done so I can help. :P
My syllabus is around ten pages. I've found students far more understanding and respectful when you point to the policy. I just have to make sure each policy is bulletproof, because if I don't, students will find the loopholes every time. Many of them spend more time trying to get out of their responsibilities than the time they'd have to devote to actual learning.
Why do you need a 15 page syllabus to say that missed quizzes can not be made up?
From a (recently graduated) student's perspective, I find that three pages generally gets the job done. More, and most people in class don't read it at all. Shorter, and you miss vital questions.
The best syllabus I ever saw was three pages and had a "for more information about this topic go to [website]" at the end of each paragraph.
Teaching at its best.
Liz, was the More Information website created by the professor or by the university? Because moving half the syllabus to a website is not a 3-page syllabus.
(I hand out an 8 page syllabus--4 pages of class-by-class, 3 pages of "about this course and assignments" and a 1 page index to the 15 pages worth of frequently asked questions about policies that lives on my website, eg "do you accept late papers? am I graded on attendance? when are your office hours?")
My syllabus is 9 pages. Anything less is uncivilized. I am a perfectionist about clearly laying the nature of the course, requirements, texts with full bib., grading criteria, schedule for the semester, how to read philosophy, et cetera.
Post a Comment