by Glenda Denicolo, Ammerman Campus Coordinator, New Member Mentoring Program
Editor’s
Note: SKG here! Lest you become weary of hearing from me (and enduring my
flagrant abuse of parentheticals and exclamation points), I thought that
occasionally I’d mix things up on the blog by bringing new voices to you. I’m
especially pleased to announce that our first guest post comes from the
Ammerman Campus’ New Member Program Coordinator Glenda Denicolo, who makes me
exceedingly jealous by being one of those people who can master the languages
of math and science while also excelling at the written word. Enjoy!
I was asked to write something about my
experiences in the college, and most recently what is on my mind is the “art”
of professor-student interaction in class. By no means I intend to tell you
what to do in class – we all have our very valuable academic freedom. I just
want to share what has worked for me.
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| Caumsett Hall, Grant Campus |
I love stories
of war and strategy, so I have this irresistible impulse to use them for
comparison. The classroom is not supposed to be an inhospitable place like a
battlefield, even though I bet, at some point during the semester, all of us
will eventually detect an atmosphere of mutiny in class (for example, after a
test). This is first and foremost the battle against lack of sense of
responsibility, and ignorance of the rules. These are some of the “strategies”
that have helped me ease the tensions in class, and move through the semester
much more smoothly and enjoyably with my students.
The most
efficient strategy I have adopted soon after I started teaching at SCCC was to
write a well tied down course outline. I have improved it over the years,
worked on constraining several loopholes students were still able to find,
included a disclaimer that contains a pep talk about taking responsibility for
their results and grades. Nowadays I even ask my students to sign a slip at the
end of the outline attesting they are aware and understand all the information
contained in that document. Our department chair says I have a lawyer-proof
outline, which I find pretty funny. These well-established “rules of the game”,
or “our contract” (!), as sometimes I explicitly refer to it in class, have
straightened up the students’ expectations about my class, and calmed down the
nerves in general. Of course little reminders need to be administered during
the semester, and at strategic moments as well. It works for me.
A website for
the class has also proven to be a very important and rather strategic tool. It
may be in D2L, or hosted at a college server: I use both. I post a list of
relevant books available at the library on reserve; the schedule for our
student Help Center; my schedule; link to the Physics Club website; links to
other websites pertinent to the class. The grades are posted in D2L, avoiding
FERPA issues (otherwise we basically we cannot communicate grades/performance
unless face-to-face with students). This tool has been important for my
classes. It places the charge on the students again: they are responsible for
keeping track of their own progress at all times during the semester.
The next best strategy, I would say, are
weekly assignments, which are to be collected and graded. The more feedback a
student gets, the better his/her performance. Also, students will have fewer
complaints because practice will really help them understand what you want. I
am very aware that it can be a lot of material to grade every weekend. I have
been using online homework assignments lately, for certain classes. My homework
assignments are all about solving problems, so sometimes I roll a die in class,
in front of the students, and select only one question to carefully examine and
grade, while I make sure students receive the answers and solutions to all
other remaining questions as well (this is mostly done in higher level courses,
not entry-level classes). There is no easy way out with laboratory reports
though; I must read everything.
I was writing
this on the weekend of my birthday, which I celebrated with a Sunday brunch. We
do not consider ourselves brunch aficionados (ha!), but my husband suggested
–as this blog can contain all sorts of information (like the edition of the
Underground) to help you adjust to SCCC and surroundings, that I post a list of
our top brunch places so far. Hey, a battle soldier needs to rest too! Here is
the short list:
- Mirabelle Tavern, Stony Brook
- Danfords Hotel, Port Jefferson
- Lombardi’s on the Sound, Port Jefferson
- Windows on the Lake, Lake Ronkonkoma
- Cooperage Inn, Baiting Hollow (for this and the next: thank you, Chris Scott!)
- The Milleridge, Hicksville
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