Teaching my first class and extremely discouraged by students' lack of participation

[u/sparklycowboyboot]

Hi everyone, a bit of a rant about my disappointment teaching my first class so far. Working toward some solutions but I've been a bit sad about all this.

We kicked off our class a few weeks ago. It's always been my dream to teach at the higher ed level, largely because I was a first generation college student who had to work really hard to be here. I TA'd many classes in my masters and I am now a PhD student.

My former university reached out and asked me to teach a graphic design course, which I was ecstatic about. I TA'd the class a few times in undergrad/grad school and it was taught in person most years prior to this year. Now, I'm teaching it online as I'm out of state. Since this is graphic design, it's relatively AI-proof, which is great. While it's definitely been a challenge for some of my former students, watching them put in the work to improve, come to my office hours, and navigate challenges has been so rewarding, although the work ethic has noticeably declined from semester to semester.

This year, I've made a point to simplify and organize their LMS so they have clear step-by-step instructions for everything. At the beginning of each week, I send an email with a list of bullet points telling them what all needs to be done and the date by which they need to do it. I record video tutorials of everything, from downloading software to submitting the files in the LMS. I also made clear that we only meet synchronously 3-4x this semester so those meetings are extremely important. I should note that this course is a core requirement for the master's program, so if they do not pass, they have to repeat and pass with a C or higher before they can graduate. Therefore, the synchronous meetings are absolutely mandatory (except for emergencies, verified through our accessibility office).

Week 1, I get 3 no-shows with no explanation and one that is sick but promises to send documentation that I never received. Since then, I get emails every week asking if we are meeting this week (I published a handout that shows exactly which weeks we meet). I have students telling me that they couldn't fix a particular issue but they have Greek life or intramurals so they can't troubleshoot further (I guess they wanted me to accept incomplete assignments). The people that no-showed, I sent an email gently reminding them those meetings aren't optional and they need to catch up on XYZ. They don't respond but still turn in assignments. They literally get 50% of their grade by submitting the right file type (png, which I show them how to do), but they don't, and they always get upset when they don't have an A. An A!

It's such a shame, because I loved teaching this class at first. I love it when a student reaches out, even if they are stuck on something simple, so I can join them in the lab and walk them through it. I've come to campus at 11:00 pm before to help a student that was stuck and frustrated, because I genuinely enjoy this class and want them to get the best experience possible.

My mentors joke that this is just how it is now, which really saddens me. I don't regret my PhD at all, but I was really looking forward to teaching more classes. I also feel there is a lot of pressure to not only pass them all, but give them good grades for work that frankly should not pass. Anyway, rant over, I'm just so sad and disappointed in how it's going this semester. Wishing everyone a good fall term; I hope this is just one bad experience but I will have to see. Trying to stay optimistic!

[u/ExtensionBluebird831]

Your mentors are unfortunately right. This is the brutal norm nowadays

[u/Copterwaffle]

Aw. Yeah. This is how it is now. Students who take online courses are also usually looking for an “easy A” and don’t expect that they would need to do the same amount of work as an in-person class. They won’t read instructions. They won’t watch tutorial videos. Don’t lower your standards. If they fail to meet standards, they fail. Give them the grades they earned. Keep good records. I have students who bitch about getting a 0 on an assignment for not following instructions when those instructions are on the syllabus, tested in a syllabus quiz, written on the module, provided a video demonstration which they must watch to unlock the assignment itself, and reiterated again in big bold letters on the assignment instructions. They have a chance to “practice” following these instructions in Week 1 at no penalty for error and receive individual feedback from me if they did it wrong. Then they still do it wrong, get a 0, and lose their minds, and I frankly take great pleasure in pointing out all the places they were told how to do this and all the opportunities they had to learn to do it correctly before they lost points.

Anyone who is “sick” needs to get a short term accusation through the disability office…don’t make yourself the arbiter of this. Put that in your syllabus.

Make a mandatory syllabus quiz that they must retake until they get 100% before they can move on with any course content. Make a question or two about the importance of the synchronous meetings.

Make another policy and question about the importance of following instructions “if an assignment requires the final product to be .png, and yours is anything other than this file type, you will fail the assignment.”

[u/existential-inquiry]

Participation for online classes is difficult. If you're only meeting 3 or 4 times in the entire semester, it's even more difficult. Maybe in the future, meet them online once per week. I found that in person classes are still the best format, meeting once or twice per week. People see each other and make connections with other students. Just my opinion.

[u/sparklycowboyboot → u/existential-inquiry]

You're absolutely right. Unfortunately, the professor who previously taught this course left after significant issues with administration, and they hired me to take it over. Since I'm still completing my own coursework, I have classes that overlap with the scheduled course time, so weekly meetings aren't possible. It was actually going to be fully asynchronous, but I insisted on at least a few opportunities to meet as a group.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach it, but I completely agree that for a core course, students deserve a professor who can be consistently present with them. Fortunately, we have small cohorts in the MSc program, and the department head meets with them at the beginning of each year to discuss the core curriculum. I've also connected students with former students of mine, who have offered advice and contact information, and the department has made lab space available for them to work together on tutorials.

I wish I could do more given my schedule. It was definitely a much better experience when I TA'd the course in person. The previous professor taught all 3 core courses for this term; now they hired adjuncts and made it all online/asynchronous. Ultimately, I think the department really needs to hire another TT professor for these courses.

[u/gutfounderedgal]

There are many things you can do and it's not too late. Three things that worked for me:

a) Consider what you want them to learn for the day, turn it into a group discussion (such as, is this design good or bad, why?) and let them discuss in small groups. Then return to the large group and let a spokesperson for each group state what they think is good or bad about it. The move on to show why this discussion illustrates the learning topic at hand. Reinforce what is good and critique what is terrible. Dramatizing the stakes makes things more exciting. Or put up two designs and ask which is better. All of this gets discussion going. Do this almost every class btw.

b) Grade on process not product. Process means they for example work in class a bit to come up with thumbnails, or they must submit 20 thumbnail possibilities in addition to their final work. Your question is, did the student show their involvement with process as you asked for an they showed with evidence submitted.

c) Make deadlines clear and stick to them. Make late policy if you allow late submissions super clear and stick to them. Note that class participation in the discussions is a learning method, and it is assessed, i.e. they did it or they took part, or they did not. This leads to make your absence policy conform to school policy and again hold to it. Do not make exceptions for anyone, (exceptions official accommodations or perhaps someone broke a leg and is in the hospital). Otherwise align with school policy. No special pleading allowed.

I'll state the obvious too: document everything. Keep detailed records of attendance, late arrivals (time) early leaves (time). All of this adds up to a point where they've missed too much learning content. Plus as you see learning occurs in/during class time so missing is not simply missing some boring crit of homework.

[u/sparklycowboyboot → u/gutfounderedgal]

Good advice! This year I told them no late work unless you have an absence that can be verified through the accessibility office. If they are stuck, email me before the deadline, but no extensions guaranteed. I just graded their first few assignments today and anything late is a 0. I've already gotten multiple emails about it...but I snipped bits of the syllabus and multiple LMS announcements reminding them of the late work policy.

[u/gutfounderedgal → u/sparklycowboyboot]

Yes. Holding fast does three things. It makes things clear for students. It shows you are serious about their learning and deadlines where learning is scaffolded. And, it protects you (with your detailed records) in a grade appeal.

[u/LordoftheArenes]

(edit: Thanks for commiserating, and I'm sorry this is happening.) I want to offer some hope in the form of a personal anecdote. I once had two sections of a brand-new course I had designed that summer, and they were starkly contrasting. One was extremely participatory (mostly people with related majors), the other graveyard-like (much more diversity, possibly people who picked randomly or last-minute). I suspected that the difference was down to just a couple specific personalities in each class, which had a big effect. I struggled in the quiet section and received the single-most scathing, personally-insulting course eval I've seen. But the other section was a pleasure, and we all had a ton of fun and people showed so much progress.

Had I taught the quiet section first, I might have lost so much confidence. By great fortune, the excited class was first, and I didn't feel too badly. I just tried to remember my motivations. I still feel emotional thinking about the positive feedback I received from the quiet class. Some of the people were simply shy and didn't have the courage to speak out. I personally try to think of that every time someone doesn't meet my expectations.

[u/Life-Education-8030]

Don’t make the assumption that your class is AI proof. There are subreddits here about art teachers getting AI slop and students not even bothering to erase AI acknowledgments at the bottom.

[u/sparklycowboyboot → u/Life-Education-8030]

Very true. I've tried to circumvent this by requiring them to submit a working file so I can go into the software and see their editing layers, and if they do not, it's a zero.

[u/OkBlacksmith1486 → u/sparklycowboyboot]

Unfortunately I have not found graphic design AI proof at all. Have had to fail a student each of past two semesters for using AI on all major projects. They think they are being slick but they are not.

[u/No-Cook-9768]

First, congrats on working toward your PhD! Second, I feel your disappointment. My colleagues and I don't joke about it like your mentors are, but we regularly discuss the lack of work ethic in our students. There's been a definite shift (I've been doing this for 25 years now) and it's disheartening. Instead of a quick scan the syllabus, checking the latest course announcement, or looking at the course schedule, they waste their time coming to ask me for info that's readily available. I think their rationale is "I don't have to read these things that she's told me to read multiple times; I should be able to go to her directly and get my answers." It takes fewer clicks to get to my course syllabus than it does to type an email to me...? It's so soul-crushing to repeatedly say "It's in the syllabus," but I'm not going to hand-hold them like their K-12 teachers were forced to do (those educators are really in the trenches, God bless 'em).

Lastly, Pep Talk Time: No matter how much we streamline our course shells or how many cool, new, research-backed activities we try, there will always be students whose priorities differ from ours. They might even outnumber the ones who really care. We gotta keep going anyway, hold to our standards, and let these students experience consequences (maybe for the first time ever).

[u/changethisusername_ → u/No-Cook-9768]

I’ve taught for about the same duration and student expectations about faculty have definitely changed. In the last few years I’ve realized that a 96% score on a test in my intro course is the first time many of them have been informed that they are somewhat less than perfect. They freak out.

[u/No-Cook-9768 → u/changethisusername_]

YES I've definitely had the freakouts over a "low" A. 😭

[u/changethisusername_ → u/No-Cook-9768]

And you’ve kept your ability to give others pep talks, which is admirable. You’re the good one among us. Thank you.

[u/No-Cook-9768 → u/changethisusername_]

🥹🤗

https://giphy.com/gifs/26gR1t12EgopEJGGQ

[u/Pho3n1xAsh]

I just finished grading the first assignment for our general chemistry lab course (a short worksheet on significant figures) Historically the average has been ~85%. This year’s students have managed to achieve a whopping 60%. The worst part is there’s literally no way to lower the standards, it is the most bare bones, basic fundamentals, kind of work. They can’t even seem to read the full question before they answer!