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Creating a Supportive Classroom Environment
Why are office hours important?
Informal interactions during office hours provide a stimulating and rewarding extension of the learning process begun in the classroom. Further, such conversations can help reduce the impersonal nature of a large urban university for both students and faculty. Though instructor time is always in short supply, few activities have greater and more lasting impact on students than positive interactions and time shared with instructors outside of the classroom.
Indicate your office hours during the first week of classes and announce frequently that students are truly welcome to meet with you at these and other times. Individually inviting students to visit or adding a friendly comment on a returned paper can help overcome many students' initial reluctance to participate in out of-class meetings with their instructors.
When students come to discuss academic or personal concerns, it is helpful to:
- Be approachable -- because students often feel as if they are intruding, it is important to make them feel welcome in your office from the outset. Pay attention to creating a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere. Use both verbal and nonverbal means to communicate your interest in your students.
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Listen carefully and give students your undivided attention - students often feel that they are wasting your time; by listening and responding thoughtfully, you can allay this anxiety. One way to demonstrate your interest is through the questions you ask of them.
- Be prepared to make referrals -- recognize that often you will be unable to provide the answers or assistance needed. For additional information regarding your proper role as advisor or counselor, refer back to previous sections of this Resource Guide.
How can instructors enhance students' motivation?
To enhance student interest, remember that "you have only one chance to make a strong and positive first impression." The following tips can help instructors establish a more rewarding and enjoyable classroom climate beginning with the first class:
- Get to class a few minutes early and be prepared to stay a few minutes late to chat informally with students -- arrange your schedule to allow enough time before and after class to converse with students. Students commonly view faculty who always appear rushed as "indifferent and unapproachable."
- Attempt to learn as many names as possible -- this might seem like a simple suggestion, but it generally has profound results. Students respond positively when they are addressed as individuals.
- Learn something unique about each student -- this strategy is another way to personalize relationships with students. Learning what other classes a student might be taking, how he or she spent the previous weekend, what his or her personal interests or hobbies are, what kinds of books he or she likes to read, or how many children the student has can help establish a supportive classroom climate. Asking students to complete short biographical questionnaires at the beginning of the semester is an easy and efficient way to collect such information.
- Encourage students to ask questions before, during, and after class -- demonstrate your openness to students' questions by allowing them time to think after you have asked questions. Three to five seconds of "wait time" dramatically increases the quantity and quality of students' questions. Listen carefully to each question and provide a concise response; afterwards, ask if your response adequately addressed the student's concern.
- Recognize and reward students' contributions -- demonstrating an acceptance of opinions and viewpoints other than your own is an essential step in creating a supportive classroom environment. Inexperienced instructors who are wanting to communicate their expertise and command of the subject are often unnecessarily authoritative. Students shut down quickly when they perceive that their instructor does not have an open and accepting mind. Create opportunities to show your genuine desire for active student involvement.
- Provide nonverbal encouragement -- there are several nonverbal ways to help create a classroom atmosphere that encourages positive social interaction. For instance, make eye contact with as many students as possible each day. Moving around the room will help you to engage their interest and enable you to better give students' the nonverbal communication.
- Eliminate stereotypes from class presentations. Often, instructors unknowingly describe or illustrate course material using common, yet false, stereotypes based upon gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc. The classroom is an arena in which students can be taught to recognize and challenge false generalizations. Instructors must become appropriate role models. It is important that faculty avoid depicting authority figures as men and portraying women as subordinates. Generic masculine terms used to refer to individuals of either sex can offend many students and reduce instructor effectiveness.
Research conducted in university classrooms across the country has revealed that instructors all-too-often engage in the following behaviors that influence negatively the motivation and/or performance of women and under-represented student groups:
- asking female or minority students questions that require factual information while asking male students questions that demand evaluation and critical thinking.
- responding more extensively to male students' comments than to the comments of other students.
- coaching male, but not female or minority, students in working toward a fuller answer by probing for additional elaboration or explanation.
- ignoring female or minority students while recognizing male students, even when female or minority students clearly volunteer to participate.
- calling directly on male students but not calling on female or minority students, or calling male students by name more often than female or minority students.
- addressing the class as if no female or minority students were present.
- using generic "he" or "him" to represent both men and women.
- waiting longer for male than for female or minority students to answer a question before going on to another student.
- interrupting female or minority students (or allowing them to be interrupted by peers).
Use humor carefully -- avoid humor or gratuitous remarks that demean or belittle individuals because of their race, religion, or physical characteristics. Also, refrain from sharing negative generalizations about students, no matter how frustrating you personally find their attitudes or behaviors (e.g., calling a class lazy or shallow after having graded a dismal set of papers). Respect the dignity of all students.
Seek feedback from the class -- valuable information regarding ways to improve teaching can be obtained by using brief mid semester questionnaires or by having student volunteers informally interview classmates and then report their findings to you. Three simple, yet helpful, questions include:
- What specific things do you like BEST about the way your instructor has been teaching this class?
- What specific things do you like LEAST about the way your instructor has been teaching this class?
- For the remainder of the semester, what specific things might your instructor do to improve teaching/learning effectiveness in this class?
What should instructors know about establishing personal relationships with their students?
The University of South Florida does not prohibit consensual relationships between students and faculty or staff but strongly discourages amorous or sexual relationships where there is a benefit or service rendered, or evaluation of performance. Relationships under those circumstances constitute a conflict of interest and require disclosure to the appropriate administrative supervisor so that arrangements can be made for objective evaluation and decision making with regard to the student or staff member.
What should instructors know about accommodating students with disabilities?
The University may be required to make reasonable modifications to academic programs or provide reasonable auxiliary aids and services to disabled students to assist them in participating in University academic programs. Accommodations such as reader services, notetakers, alternative exam administration, adaptive equipment, and interpreters are available to students through Student Disability Services located in SVC 2043, (974-4309). For more information, consult USF's ADA Policy.
How can plagiarism be discouraged?
One plausible explanation for the prevalence of plagiarism in university classrooms is that it results from student ignorance regarding what plagiarism is and how it can be avoided. Some common reasons why students plagiarize include;
- not knowing how to begin a difficult assignment (and not seeking out-of-class assistance from their instructor),
- placing greater faith in other students' ideas than in one's own work,
- not locating needed library resources early enough to assure their availability,
- not allowing ample time to properly complete a lengthy assignment, and
- believing that plagiarism will not be caught and/or punished.
Other instances of plagiarism occur as the result of student misunderstanding or misinformation; the most common offenses in this category are unknowing violations of proper citation practices. Omitting quotation marks when material has been copied word-for-word from an author and not citing the original author when material has been paraphrased are two frequent problems. While it is essential that students learn to cite their sources properly, footnoting techniques and referencing formats vary greatly from discipline to discipline. Do not assume that your undergraduate students will know the proper conventions and bibliographic forms used in your discipline. Providing clear and detailed directions on the preferred citation format when assignments are given discourages plagiarism.
When planning written assignments, it is helpful to create projects that discourage plagiarism. Original and/or specific writing assignments are less likely to encourage plagiarism than more standard and/or general topics. For example, instead of asking students to discuss Shakespeare's view of tragedy in King Lear, ask them to analyze a specific scene or speech. Also, consider supplying students with an analytic framework for writing a paper that requires original thinking and/or research. Assignments that emphasize or require only information retrieval are easier to plagiarize.
When first discussing a course assignment, describe the consequences of plagiarism. By discussing plagiarism openly, you can both educate students who are confused about the issue as well as demonstrate that you are not afraid to confront the problem.
The Undergraduate Catalog defines and illustrates examples of plagiarism; it also describes the proper procedures to be followed in instances of alleged academic dishonesty. Every faculty member should read this section carefully and become familiar with its contents.
How can other forms of academic dishonesty be discouraged?
Though academic dishonesty is an issue that most instructors prefer not to acknowledge, a number of campuses have reported studies that revealed a surprisingly large percentage of students surveyed admitted to having committed one or more types of academic fraud. Though unpleasant, an instructor's responsibility for establishing, fostering, and maintaining academic standards and values in the classroom should not be ignored. The USF Undergraduate Catalog describes campus policies regarding cheating and plagiarism; these policies are precisely stated and must be followed to the letter in their entirety. Consult and study carefully the procedures described.
The following suggestions should help minimize academic dishonesty in the classroom:
Create positive student motivation -- try to instill in students a positive attitude toward learning rather than encouraging them to think of class assignments as mere "hoops to jump through." Design personally challenging and curiosity arousing assignments and explain why each assignment is educationally significant. Further, let students know that you will read their work with great care and interest.
Prepare your students -- state your expectations regarding proper academic behavior in writing and remind students of relevant issues at appropriate points in the semester. For example, in your syllabus indicate
- whether the use of any resource materials will be allowed during exams,
- whether photo ID cards or special examination books will be required,
- whether students may enter or leave the classroom while an exam is in progress, and
- whether collaboration is permitted when preparing papers. Chances are good that if a behavior is not prohibited explicitly, students will assume that it is permitted.
Minimize temptations -- in large classes that are difficult to proctor during exams, for example, it is helpful to prepare multiple versions of the same test switching either the question order or the sequence of options provided within each question. A second simple strategy to prevent cheating is to print the exam on different colored papers so that it appears as if multiple versions are being used.
Create new assignments -- recycling the same exams or assignments semester after semester encourages students to spend more time seeking out old exams than actually studying.
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