Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Distressed and Distressing Students
A few days ago, nineteen people, including graduate students, TA consultants, and a CAPS (counseling and psychological services) staff psychologist met to discuss Teaching a Distressed or Distressing Student. The event, a TA Consultant Open Office Hours that we co-hosted with CAPS, addressed how TAs can identify and give support to distressed and distressing students. Dr. Thomas Roe led what was an informative talk followed by informal discussion. Dr. Roe, the TA consultants and the other graduate students who attended made a number of useful suggestions. First: that when students' work changes without any explanation (from high grade to very low grades on assignments, for instance, or regular to only sporadic attendance), something may be wrong. Second, it is a good idea to communicate with students to find out what's happening with their work, and if they are having problems that they'd like help dealing with, there are a number of places on campus TAs can refer them to (CAPS, the WRRC, and others). CETL can also speak with TAs about the challenges particular students may be facing, and can offer written materials and advice about when it's a good idea to refer the students to CAPS. One attendee told the story of her student at another university who was experiencing a great number of problems; she had personally walked that student to (that campus' version of) CAPS to help her connect with staff there. We also discussed distressing students, especially those who cheat. One thing that came up in the discussion is, cheating is not just a moral failing - there are reasons why students cheat. Usually, because they procrastinate. One way to address this with a cheating student is to ask them to complete and submit assignments one step at a time rather than all at once. This may discourage them from waiting until the last moment, when they may find that all they can do is cheat - or not complete their work. Lastly, we discussed how TAs themselves encounter a number of different teaching-related stresses; Dr. Thomas emphasized that he and CAPS are available to all graduate students for group and individual meetings. The event was informative, and 14 of 19 who attended stayed for more than an hour. Thanks, CAPS! T.A. Consultants look forward to hosting more office hours around campus. Look out for emails about TA Consultant Open Office Hours happening in your department, graduate group, or area of interest. And if you have an idea for a place or center on campus where we should hold one of these office hours (or a discussion theme for the same), email to let us know!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Ask-a-TAC: Answering Questions Via Email
Dear TACs:
How do I tell a student to stop emailing me questions that she could easily answer for herself if she bothered to, you know, open her notes/book or do a google web search or just think back a few days to the lab she just did, without discouraging her from asking questions she really does need my help with?
~ Over-Emailed TA
Dear Over-Emailed:
First, thanks for the great question! Often students do like to use their TAs as a personal search engine, and this can be flattering, but might quickly become frustrating. As a TA we want to make sure we are available to help (as you mention above) but we also do not want to get caught in some question-answering quick sand, right? Plus, an important part of our students' learning -- as we strive to help our students become independent learners and thinkers -- is to help them be able to search out and answer their own questions! So how can we make this happen?
The best learning does not occur in isolation, and letting your students know from the beginning what types of questions you will answer, and how, over email is important. I always encourage my students to get the email address of at least one classmate, that way if they miss lecture someone will have notes for them! Also, if you find yourself, in the middle of a term, answering repeated questions via email about "the answer to #3 is X, right?" or "I don't understand problem A. Can you explain it?" then it's worth taking a minute in class to re-address the issue. Have a discussion about what it means to learn-- mainly, that getting the "right" answer is often less important than understanding how to answer the question.
Without knowing your student personally, I'm going to hazard a few guesses and present a few scenarios. It is very possible that she looks up to you, and sees you as the best, most reliable source of information for matters related to the lab/class. If this is the case, you might want to think about how to instill confidence in her ability to answer her own questions. If the question is something to the extent of "what's the answer to problem 7?" maybe your email might begin with "That is a great question! I really think that if you take a closer look at X in lecture 8 you'll find what you're looking for. Let me know if I can help with anything else." Alternatively, if you're getting questions like "I answered problem 3. Is this answer correct?" you might want to try "I'm so glad to see you are working on the practice problems. What area of problem 3 was particularly challenging to you?" or, pick out a specific portion of their answer and respond with a question "I'm not sure what you mean by xxx. Can you explain more specifically how it relates to the first part of your answer?" Some TAs might feel compelled to flat out say they won't check answers over email, because it creates different levels of advantage/disadvantage among their students, but they are comfortable discussing answers. However, maintaining a positive but firm, uncompromising tone via email is important. Heck, it might not even hurt to wait an extra hour (depending on the question) and write to say, "I just saw your email! I hope you were able to find the answer by going back through your lecture notes. Let me know if you have any other specific questions I can help you with."
And another scenario: she doesn't get it, and she keeps writing you with questions she should be able to look up. It never hurts to have a polite heart-to-heart by first finding out the nature of the issue. Is she missing lecture? Did she lose her lab book? Does she not have the email address of her labmates? Does she not use the chatroom? And then perhaps the following is appropriate "I am more than happy to help you understand and explore the concepts we cover in class. However, it is in your best interest to at least try an answer your own questions first before emailing me. I am always happy to help you with logistical questions, but when you ask questions about course content I need to know that you have attempted to find a solution before asking me. Also, I often find it easier to answer questions in person. Why don't you come to office hours or set up an appointment?"
And finally: in all likelihood this student is not lazy or annoying (although it might feel like it). In sending you an email they are demonstrating that they are trying! They may just need some holistic help in targeting their study efforts, or they may not know how to ask a more nuanced question about conceptual links. I hope that you will strive to help them be a confident, independent learner -- as frustrating as it is to have to answer their questions with a question!
Good luck,
Mara, TA Consultant
How do I tell a student to stop emailing me questions that she could easily answer for herself if she bothered to, you know, open her notes/book or do a google web search or just think back a few days to the lab she just did, without discouraging her from asking questions she really does need my help with?
~ Over-Emailed TA
Dear Over-Emailed:
First, thanks for the great question! Often students do like to use their TAs as a personal search engine, and this can be flattering, but might quickly become frustrating. As a TA we want to make sure we are available to help (as you mention above) but we also do not want to get caught in some question-answering quick sand, right? Plus, an important part of our students' learning -- as we strive to help our students become independent learners and thinkers -- is to help them be able to search out and answer their own questions! So how can we make this happen?
The best learning does not occur in isolation, and letting your students know from the beginning what types of questions you will answer, and how, over email is important. I always encourage my students to get the email address of at least one classmate, that way if they miss lecture someone will have notes for them! Also, if you find yourself, in the middle of a term, answering repeated questions via email about "the answer to #3 is X, right?" or "I don't understand problem A. Can you explain it?" then it's worth taking a minute in class to re-address the issue. Have a discussion about what it means to learn-- mainly, that getting the "right" answer is often less important than understanding how to answer the question.
Without knowing your student personally, I'm going to hazard a few guesses and present a few scenarios. It is very possible that she looks up to you, and sees you as the best, most reliable source of information for matters related to the lab/class. If this is the case, you might want to think about how to instill confidence in her ability to answer her own questions. If the question is something to the extent of "what's the answer to problem 7?" maybe your email might begin with "That is a great question! I really think that if you take a closer look at X in lecture 8 you'll find what you're looking for. Let me know if I can help with anything else." Alternatively, if you're getting questions like "I answered problem 3. Is this answer correct?" you might want to try "I'm so glad to see you are working on the practice problems. What area of problem 3 was particularly challenging to you?" or, pick out a specific portion of their answer and respond with a question "I'm not sure what you mean by xxx. Can you explain more specifically how it relates to the first part of your answer?" Some TAs might feel compelled to flat out say they won't check answers over email, because it creates different levels of advantage/disadvantage among their students, but they are comfortable discussing answers. However, maintaining a positive but firm, uncompromising tone via email is important. Heck, it might not even hurt to wait an extra hour (depending on the question) and write to say, "I just saw your email! I hope you were able to find the answer by going back through your lecture notes. Let me know if you have any other specific questions I can help you with."
And another scenario: she doesn't get it, and she keeps writing you with questions she should be able to look up. It never hurts to have a polite heart-to-heart by first finding out the nature of the issue. Is she missing lecture? Did she lose her lab book? Does she not have the email address of her labmates? Does she not use the chatroom? And then perhaps the following is appropriate "I am more than happy to help you understand and explore the concepts we cover in class. However, it is in your best interest to at least try an answer your own questions first before emailing me. I am always happy to help you with logistical questions, but when you ask questions about course content I need to know that you have attempted to find a solution before asking me. Also, I often find it easier to answer questions in person. Why don't you come to office hours or set up an appointment?"
And finally: in all likelihood this student is not lazy or annoying (although it might feel like it). In sending you an email they are demonstrating that they are trying! They may just need some holistic help in targeting their study efforts, or they may not know how to ask a more nuanced question about conceptual links. I hope that you will strive to help them be a confident, independent learner -- as frustrating as it is to have to answer their questions with a question!
Good luck,
Mara, TA Consultant
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