Helping your students cope with tragedy

Helping your students cope with a tragedy like Virginia Tech

From Huston, T. A., & DiPietro, M. (2007). In the eye of the storm: Students perceptions of helpful faculty actions following a collective tragedy. In D. R. Robertson & L. B. Nilson (Eds.) To Improve the Academy: Vol 25.Resources for faculty, instructional, and organizational development (pp.207-224). Bolton, MA: Anker.

Quick summary of Huston & DiPietro's (2007) results:

-On one campus, in the days immediately following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, students reported that only 62% of their professors mentioned the attacks at all; the remaining 38% went on with the course material as though nothing had happened.

- Many students typically found an instructor's complete lack of response frustrating or disappointing. A few students did not care whether their instructors did or said anything, and a few said "doing nothing" was appropriate. But most students wanted their instructors to show some acknowledgement.

- In most cases, students found it *helpful* whenever faculty tried to acknowledge the tragedy in some way (one minute of silence, a short or long discussion, offer to review the material again later, read an inspirational passage, mention counseling services, etc.).

- The only response that was truly *unhelpful* was when faculty" acknowledged that the attacks had occurred but said the class had to go on, with no mention of extra help." Students were often frustrated when faculty said "there is nothing we can do.”

The following excerpt is taken directly from the TIA article (Huston & DiPietro, 2007, pp.218-220)."Implications for Faculty. The results indicate that from the students¹ perspective, it is best to do something. Students often complained when faculty did not mention the attacks at all, and they expressed gratitude when faculty acknowledged that something awful had occurred. Beyond acknowledging a tragic event, faculty would be well-advised to take the extra step of recognizing that students are distressed and to show some extra support, such as offering to grant extensions for students who request them. Cognitive research informs us that working memory capacity is reduced in times of enhanced stress so students are less capable of learning new material (e.g. Arnsten, 1998).Offering extensions or the opportunity to review the material later is one-way to accommodate students¹ decreased capacity.

It is perhaps a surprising relief to learn that an instructor's response need not be complicated, time-intensive, or even personalized. Responses that require relatively little effort, such as taking a minute of silence or offering to review material later in the course are likely to be viewed as very helpful by most students, so faculty should not feel pressed into redesigning their course. Faculty responses that required high levels of effort were also viewed as helpful, so those who wish to use the lens of their discipline to examine the events surrounding a tragedy are encouraged to do so. A repeated issue that appeared in students¹ comments was that they appreciated when an instructor responded in a unique and humane way, so faculty should not feel pressured to homogenize their responses.

First Day Checklist

Checklist For The First Day

adapted from Delivee L. Wright Teaching and Learning Center, University of Nebraska.

* Am I energized to be enthusiastic about this class?

* Do I have an ice-breaker planned? How will the students and I get to know each other and build trust?

* Have I started the students participating in a way I want to encourage all semester (ie, a discussion, if I want discussion, a brainstorm, asking questions, warm-up explorating for the upcoming topic, exchange of ideas, problem-solving, group work?)

* What class atmosphere and expectations about particpation and teamwork does my first day's lesson establish?

* Do I have a way to gather information on student backgrounds, interests, expectations for the course, questions, concerns?

* Is the syllabus complete and clear?

* Have I outlined how students will be evaluated?

* Do I have announcements of needed information ready?

* Do I have a way to start leaming names?

* How can I best use or adapt the physical arrangement of the classroom space to increase student engagement? (more chairs into a circle, ask students to move forward -- leaving the back rows empty)

* Is my name, course title, and number visible, on the chalkboard or elsewhere?

* When the class is over, will students know what they need to do, what their roles and responsiblities in this class will be?

* When the class is over; will students want to come back? Will you want to come back?

Engaging Evaluations: Helping Students Consider Their Learning

Engaging Evaluations: Helping Students Consider Their Learning

Cassandra Fraser, Cavaliers’ Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Chemistry

(Teaching Concerns Newsletter - University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center)

"For several years I have been frustrated with the conventional approach to course evaluations, primarily because they didn't seem to fit what I was trying to achieve in the classroom. Traditional evaluation questions tend to focus on students' perceptions of course mechanics, suitability of the curriculum, and the extent to which these are delivered in a comfortably familiar manner. Yet I'm much more interested in providing students with a challenging learning experience, in establishing genuine connections, and in encouraging them to take an active, self-reflective role in their learning, by considering their particular talents, goals, and learning styles. In adapting recommendations from the Teaching Resource Center to my own course, I have developed a highly satisfying and informative process that you might modify for your own purposes.

In Fall 2003, I replaced my midterm and end-of-semester evaluation forms in CHEM 281 (Honors Organic Chemistry II; enrollment = 60) with a three-part invitation to students. The questions posed to students at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester are designed to help them think deeply about the course, their role in it, and how this learning experience relates to their broader goals and interests. Additionally, it gives me invaluable feedback on how well I'm teaching and on how well we are all meeting our goals, in terms of students' mastery of course content, problem-solving skills, and increased confidence when facing tough challenges. At the start of the semester, I asked students to respond to this inquiry about what they brought to CHEM 281 and hoped to get out of it:

1) Interests (Academic/Other)

2) Background, Experience, Personal Qualities: (What do you bring to this class?)

3) Goals: (Why are you taking this course? What do you want to learn? What

do you hope to accomplish? What would you like to work on?)

Students' detailed, honest responses clearly indicated their desire for engagement and their eagerness to connect the course with their lives more generally. Typically, I looked up individual photos on Toolkit as I read comments, so that I could associate faces with stories and names. I was so moved by their sincerity and all that they shared that I responded to each student's initial message, some with only a few words but many with substantive comments and additional back and forth. Thus I established a genuine connection right from the start, offering encouragement to students apprehensive about a demanding course, as well as academic advice about programs, grants and other special opportunities. More than one student expressed gratitude for the process:

I just want to say how impressed I was to get a reply from you . . . (I)t meant a lot to me to know that you really took the time to read about our interests and share your opinions. I look forward to getting to know you in the months to come. Your comments definitely made me feel like I am doing the right thing taking this class, even if it will be 'intense.'

Later, when students asked me questions and introduced themselves, I would say, "Please remind me of your story," to which they would reply, "I am the one who grew up in California, who plays hockey, who wants to study neuroscience, etc."

At the midterm, I asked students to think about the course in light of their personal goals, and they took this evaluation seriously, too:

1) Go back and review your goals for the class that you submitted at the start

of the semester. Also, think about the course goals that were presented to

you at the start of the semester. How are things going so far?

2) What can the professor do to better facilitate your learning?

3) What can the TAs do?

4) What can your classmates do to better assist your learning?

5) What can you do to improve your learning and ensure that you meet your goals for this course?

I established all-important trust by keeping students' comments confidential. Once they knew that I cared about them and their learning experience, they were honest and direct, even with criticism, without the need for anonymity. Quite the contrary, they wanted me to know who they were and what they thought!

In a tough course such as CHEM 281, I have learned that it is best to ask students to reflect on the experience after they have crossed the finish line and taken the final, not when they are at marathon milepost 25 at the end of the semester (a time students are especially stretched and tired and more liable to swing a few punches). So I sent out the evaluation request just after the final exam, giving students time to respond while we graded exams and telling them that I would not read their comments until after submitting the final grades.

1) Refer to your goals for the course stated at the start of the semester and your progress in your midterm evaluation. Now that the final is over and the semester has drawn to a close, assess how well you have done in

meeting your goals.

2) What have you found most challenging? What would you like to work on improving for the future?

3) What have you found most rewarding? What are your greatest accomplishments this semester? Of what are you most proud?

4) Regardless of whether chemistry will play a central role in your future career plans or not, has your

appreciation of chemistry and the value and explanatory power of a molecular-level understanding increased as a result of CHEM 281 and your efforts this semester?

5) Do you have any suggestions for the professor and TAs that might help us to become better teachers and to

improve this course for the future?

6) Other comments:

This timing gave them a chance to celebrate their accomplishments, breathe a sigh of relief, consider the entire course and how it affected them, and think about what they might work on next.

I assigned 1% of the final grade to successful completion of all three evaluations. This credit, together with my comments about the importance of this activity for their learning process, seems to have done the trick in terms of response rate: all but one of the students responded about their goals; over 92% answered the midterm and final questions—at two of the busiest times of the semester. More importantly, their genuine, lengthy messages were full of self-reflective comments and very good ideas for course improvements. When I encouraged students to complete the final evaluation, I pointed out the importance of evaluations generally, noting that they should approach them with the same maturity and seriousness with which they hope their profs assign grades. I pointed out that, just as grades mattered to many of them for admission to medical school or other graduate programs, evaluations were taken into account for promotion and tenure cases, raises, and award nominations. I think this impressed upon them the gravity of the exercise. Of course, by then, we'd already had two rounds and they had seen the benefits of thinking about the course in these ways.

I can't even begin to tell you how successful this exercise was in establishing a connection with students, in helping them focus on their goals, and in giving them a chance to reflect on their experiences. It has renewed my faith in course evaluations. When students trust that we take them seriously, reading and responding to what they have to say, that belief makes a huge difference to them and their experience in the course. One brave CHEM 281 student who is not even a chemistry major was particularly impressed: I really enjoyed this class as a whole. Even though it was incredibly challenging and really frustrating at times, I'm so glad I pushed myself through it."