CAN THEY USE THE RESTROOM?

Critically Evaluating Our Classroom PoliciesMichael Westwood, TESOL 2017

SCENARIOS PART I

Take a look at the following scenarios. What would you do in these situations?1. A student leaves class daily for approximately 10-15 minutes.2. A student arrives 2-3 minutes late for class every day.3. A student uses his cell phone throughout the class.4. A student does well in class but never completes online work.5. A student does not purchase the course textbook, instead working with a

partner on all exercises.

GROUP DISCUSSION

• Are these lazy or irresponsible students?• What behaviors do we see that are troubling for educators?• What explanations, other than laziness or irresponsibility, could there be for

the behavior?• What would you do if you were the teacher in these situations?

THE PROBLEM

• There is a general lack of classroom management training provided in the United States (Stough, Montague, Landmark, & Williams-Diehm, 2015).

• Those teaching ELLs face additional challenges, having to make additional decisions about English-only policies, electronic translators, and cultural allowances (Alqefari, 2015; Auerbach, 1993; Cakir, 2015)

• International students bring their own expectations about classroom norms, which are sometimes quite at odds with the expectations of their instructors (Niehoff, Turnley, Yen, & Sheu, 2001).

• A lack of critical evaluation can perpetuate unfair systems that disempower students (Auerbach, 1993; Macfarlane, 2013).

MY BELIEFS

• Due to the effects our policies can have on students, we have an ethical responsibility to carefully consider them.

• Just like other aspects of language teaching, we should not simply follow the same path as more seasoned teachers.

• Our policies reflect our values and beliefs about education.• Policies should consider specific teaching contexts.

TYPICAL POLICIES

• Attendance/Tardiness• Late/Missed Work• Cell Phones• Language Use • Cheating/Plagiarism

REASONS FOR POLICIES

• Student Success• Soft Skills• Classroom Environment• Respect• Institutional Mandates

THE SURVEILLANCE OF LEARNING

• Stakeholder Argument: “We have a responsibility to governments, parents, etc.”• Compliance: “We have a legal responsibility.”• Learner Community: “They need to be responsible to one another.”• Academic Success: “Attendance leads to success.”• Student Care: “They might be having personal problems.”• Real World Argument: “They need to learn this for the future.”• Professional Practice

-McFarlane (page 359)

THE SURVEILLANCE OF LEARNING

“In the context of a higher education, university students should be treated as adults rather than children. Attendance requirements remove choice and judgement about the value of personal time and how this is best spent. This curiously contradicts the oft-espoused commitment of universities that students should become independent learners” (McFarlane, 2013, p. 366).

THE SURVEILLANCE OF LEARNING

“In a broader sense, attendance policies conflict with the basis of student academic freedom in the German tradition of lernfreiheit prevalent in the nineteenth century. This meant that students were free to learn in the same way in which academic faculty enjoyed freedom to teach (lehrfreiheit)” (McFarlane, 2013, p. 367).

GROUP DISCUSSION

Does McFarlane have a point? Where do you agree or disagree?How does his description of lernfreiheit line up with higher education in the 21st century?How have things changed?Do the students he describes resemble our students?

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

• Already navigating new linguistic and cultural waters.• Might not be prepared for this freedom.• Experience inconsistency.

THREE PERSPECTIVES

• To Solve the Skills Gap in Hiring, Create Expectations in the Classroom• It’s Time to Ditch Our Deadlines: Why You Should Stop Penalizing Your

Students for Submitting Work Late• A Failure of Empathy: I Once Learned a Lesson in Empathy That Changed My

Teaching.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

• How much power do you have to create and enforce policies?• What is the purpose of your institution?• What do you expect students to learn, if anything, beyond the course

objectives? Is there an identifiable hidden curriculum?• How at risk our your students for failure? What would be the consequence of

that failure?• What values underlie your decisions (e.g. fairness, grace, consistency)?

PRACTICE

Let’s take a look at the following scenarios. Try to determine not only what you would do in this situation, but also why you would do it. Consider the underlying values and beliefs you have about education.

SCENARIOS PART II

Kendra is a non-traditional Guatemalan ESL student in a first year composition class at a university in the United States. She works well in class, answering questions and engaging with peers, but never checks in on the Learning Management System (LMS). Even after several conversations explaining the significance of the LMS and offering help with the technology, Janet has only taken one out of seven quizzes and has only completed two out of ten forums. She says that she’s “just not good with computers.” These grades can make the difference between Janet passing and failing the class.

SCENARIOS PART II

Agatha is a Japanese student completing a one-semester study abroad opportunity at a university in the United States. She is consistently a top performer in class, asking questions, engaging with peers, and adding critical insights into class discussion. She has never been absent or even late. Unfortunately, she missed the midterm due to oversleeping. A zero on the midterm would lead to a failure of the course.

SCENARIOS PART II

Jonathan is a Somali refugee studying at a community college in the United States. He began his education in Somalia, but finished high school in the United States. He does well in class, but is five to ten minutes late every day. When asked why, he explains that the problem is the bus system, which is always late. According to the syllabus, Jonathan’s continual tardiness should be costing him points.

SCENARIOS PART II

Jack is a Nepalese ESL student in an Intensive English Program in the United States. Jack does very well on quizzes, but struggles to participate in classroom discussions. He often falls asleep in class and seems distracted by his cell phone. In one-on-one conversations, Jack is very polite and promises to do better. Nonetheless, he continues to exhibit the same behaviors.

SCENARIOS PART II

Kelley is an international student from Togo studying at a small rural liberal arts university in North Dakota. The campus is isolated from the town. Kelley started the semester well, but stopped attending class after the midterm break. She returned to class after a three-week absence saying that she was homesick. Kelley wants to make up the homework assignments she missed during her absence.

REFERENCES

• Alqefari, S. (2015). Difficulties of Saudi Arabian Female Students Studying English Abroad. Arab World English Journal, 6(4), 231.• Auerbach, E. R. (1993). Reexamining English Only in the ESL Classroom. TESOL Quarterly, (1). 9.• Boucher, E. (2016, August 22). It’s Time to Ditch Our Deadlines Why you should stop penalizing your students for submitting work late. Retrieved

March 13, 2017, from http://www.chronicle.com/article/It-s-Time-to-Ditch-Our/237530 • Cakir, I. (2015). Opinions and Attitudes of Prospective Teachers for the Use of Mobile Phones in Foreign Language Learning. Contemporary

Educational Technology, 6(3), 239.• Kent, C. (2016, February 17). To Solve the Skills Gap in Hiring, Create Expectations in the Classroom. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from

http://www.chronicle.com/article/To-Solve-the-Skills-Gap-in/235206 • Macfarlane, B. (2013). The Surveillance of Learning: A Critical Analysis of University Attendance Policies. Higher Education Quarterly, 67(4), 358-373.

doi:10.1111/hequ.12016• Niehoff, B. P., Turnley, W. H., Yen, H. R., & Sheu, C. (2001). Exploring Cultural Differences in Classroom Expectations of Students From the United

States and Taiwan. Journal Of Education For Business, 76(5), 289. • Stough, L. M., Montague, M. L., Landmark, L. J., & Williams-Diehm, K. (2015). Persistent Classroom Management Training Needs of Experienced

Teachers. Journal Of The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning, 15(5), 36-48. • Warner, J. (2016, August 2). A Failure of Empathy: I once learned a lesson in empathy that changed my teaching. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/failure-empathy