More than 600,000 adjunct instructors areteaching in American colleges anduniversities, and the number is growing.But, until recently, little was known aboutthis unheralded work force. In 1993 JudithGappa and David Leslie published TheInvisible Faculty, which categorizedadjunct faculty into four groups: experts,who maintain full-time professional jobs inaddition to teaching; aspiring academics,who are ultimately looking for full-timeteaching positions; career enders, whoteach as a transition into retirement; andfreelancers, who opt for the freedom ofcareers cobbled from multiple part-timejobs. Nationwide, experts make up almosthalf of all adjunct instructors.

Although sometimes viewed as an itinerantarmy, the adjunct workforce is actuallyquite stable; indeed, 30 percent of the

adjuncts Leslie and Gappa surveyed hadbeen at the same institution for more than10 years. Still, many part-time instructorsare hired on short notice. With little morepreparation than being handed an oldsyllabus, they are plunked down in front ofa class and expected to survive.

At a recent series of CTSE-sponsoredseminars, consultant Richard E. Lyons ofFaculty Development Associates askedHofstra administrators and faculty toconsider the needs of a new adjunctprofessor. These needs range from thepractical to the pedagogical: from where topark and how to log on to the University e-mail system to how to reach a group ofstudents who may be very different fromthose the adjunct remembers from hiscollege days. An adjunct professor is likelyan expert in her field, but may not befamiliar with the department’s goals, howher course fits into the overall program, orhow to use active learning strategies andintegrate technology seamlessly into herteaching.

Lyons, who is editor of the 2007 book BestPractices for Supporting Adjunct Faculty(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass), encouragedhis audience to consider the costs of notproperly supporting adjuncts. These mayinclude subjecting students to suboptimalteaching, failing to prepare studentsproperly for subsequent courses, and

Official CTSE Newsletter Fall 2009 Vol. 6, No. 1

Caring for Adjuncts Does Hofstra give its part-time faculty members the support they need?

CTSECTSE

1

CENTER FOR TEACHING ANDSCHOLARLY EXCELLENCE

IN THIS ISSUE

From the Director: Susan Lorde Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Science Education in the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Test Banks for Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Teaching the Reluctant Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Laying the Groundwork for Civic Engagement . . . . . . . . . . 6Managing a Rowdy Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Split Infinitives and Other Rules You Can Break . . . . . . . . 10

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Caring for Adjuncts continued from page 1

lowering student retention. A part-timerwho is not familiar with the institution’srules and practices may inadvertently giveincorrect information to students, and createfires that the chair or other leaders must thenextinguish. On the other hand, well-supported part-timers can lend a programup-to-date professional expertise andenhance connections with the community.

At a meeting with Lyons, many chairspointed to programs to help orient newfaculty and keep them connected with thedepartment. Faculty Computing Services,for instance, offers a summer orientationthat is open to all faculty (which includesan orientation to library services as well ascomputing services). Most CTSEprograms are available to all faculty, andsome departments host regular get-togethers for part- and full-time faculty andtheir spouses and partners.

In addition to institutionalizing “pockets ofexcellence” already in place at Hofstra forsupporting adjunct professors, Lyonsencouraged attendees to consider other

initiatives. These might include: systematicorientations using online approaches, such aslinks to useful forms; mentoring programs;and systematic recognition for excellence inteaching. “Common needs of part-timers,”said Lyons, “include a grounded orientationto the institution, a basic teaching tool-kit[how to use contemporary teaching toolssuch as problem-based learning], and a senseof belonging.” Indeed, many adjunctprofessors who attended Lyons’ lunchtimeseminar agreed that they would havewelcomed a more comprehensive orientationwhen they started out.

“When people feel well-prepared andsupported by their instructional leaders,”says Lyons, “they will do a better job andbe more loyal.”

A former professor of businessmanagement, department chair, andinstructional dean at Indian River StateCollege, Richard E. Lyons is also the authorof Success Strategies for Adjunct Faculty(Allyn & Bacon, 2004), The AdjunctProfessor’s Guide to Success (Allyn &

Bacon, 1999) and Teaching College in anAge of Accountability (Allyn & Bacon,2003).

Dear Colleagues,

During the spring semester, the CTSEpresented a video program about theefficacy of honor codes in encouragingacademic integrity at universities. In theprogram, Gary Pavela, a professor at theUniversity of Maryland and recentlyappointed director of Syracuse University’s

Academic Integrity Office — who haspublished widely on academic ethics —indicated a variety of ways faculty coulddiscourage cheating and encourage integrityin their classrooms.

Statements about academic integrity onsyllabi and, particularly, at the beginning ofexams can be effective in reducing cheating.It is helpful to discuss these statements so thatstudents understand the importance ofacademic integrity to our profession and toacademia in general. Dan Ariely, professor ofbehavioral economics at MIT, has said,“When we are removed from any benchmarksof ethical thought, we tend to stray intodishonesty …. but if we are reminded ofmorality at the moment we are tempted, thenwe are much more likely to be honest.”

Of course, merely talking about academicintegrity will not necessarily accomplish it.

Assignments should be designed to makecheating less likely. They should make clearwhat kind of research, collaboration, andcitation is required and permissible so thatstudents do not engage in “negligent”plagiarism. Sometimes students do notintend to deceive, but rather do not know therules of attribution.

It can be helpful to take some simple,practical steps to make it easier for studentsto behave honorably. Faculty can consider:using exam questions that are new orsufficiently revised from old questions ortest bank questions; giving students sittingnext to each other different versions of anexam; being diligent if proctoring an exam;and making copies of exams and tellingstudents about the copies before returningthe originals to eliminate the temptation tochange answers and ask for a “re-grade”because of a grading “mistake.”

Susan Lorde Martin

Richard E. Lyons

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From the DirectorEncouraging Academic Integrity

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For any academic, having unfettered timeto pursue one’s scholarly interests is a gift.A teaching leave recommended by theCenter for Teaching and ScholarlyExcellence afforded me the opportunity totemporarily suspend the demands ofcollege teaching and service andconcentrate on developing sciencecurricula for middle and high schoolteachers. In collaboration with colleaguesat the American Museum of NaturalHistory and Hunter College High School, Iworked on a National Science Foundationgrant with a goal of developing middleschool ecology units based on electronicmaterial from the museum.

The museum produces Web-based ScienceBulletin Snapshots, short digitalslideshows on contemporary issues. Ourproject used scientific data from thesebulletins to create inquiry-based lessonsfrom which students could draw their ownsignificant conclusions. We developed

teacher and student materials aimed atenhancing student understanding of thefollowing big ideas:

1) How the daily lives of people impact theecology of their surroundings.

2) The nature of scientific inquiry:students asked questions, researched aproblem, developed hypotheses,analyzed and interpreted real scientificdata, and communicated findings.

3) The role of abiotic and biotic factors inecosystems, and how they interact.

4) Habitats: how subtle, unintended habitatchanges can negatively impact theorganisms that live there.

5) Why a small population size increasesthe likelihood of inbreeding and thehealth problems that result.

6) How constructing and reviewing graphshelps scientists analyze their data.

Overall, the project’s goal was to developcurricular resources for teachers of grade 7and higher that advance understanding ofbasic science and fundamental ecologicalprinciples, as well as to support schools inusing engaging media to disseminatescientific research.

To achieve these objectives, we completedtwo draft ecological curriculum units forpilot-testing. The materials were designedto be used over a six-day period andincluded an introductory slide show,photographs and background materials,data analysis activities, media produced bythe museum, and pre- and post-activityassessment.

Each module was constructed around aquestion linking daily human life toecology. One module asks the question,“How do snowy and icy roads put theBaltimore area’s water supply at risk?” Theother module asks, “How does being ableto drive between Los Angeles and LasVegas in less than five hours put thebighorn sheep at risk?” The students areasked to use source material to develophypotheses to address these questions.They then analyze real scientific data totest their hypotheses. Finally, they watch

and analyze museum-produced media toconnect the questions that they investigatedto broader ecological issues.

After developing the two units, the principalinvestigator on the grant, Dr. Yael Wyner,taught them to her seventh grade class atHunter College High School. I visited herclass several times a week over a month toobserve the implementation of thesecutting-edge modules. It was exciting to beback in a middle school environment! Byobserving how students reacted to the units,we were able to fine-tune the material.

We then used the museum’s extensiveoutreach and dissemination channels torecruit pilot-testing teachers from schoolswith underrepresented groups. Weintroduced the pilot teachers to thematerials at the museum’s teaching facility.

The racial and ethnic diversity of New YorkCity was well represented by theparticipating teachers and their students.Students were African American, Hispanic,and non-native English speakers, amongothers. Students also represented a widerange of performance levels, includingsome who were taking remedial andspecial education classes and others whowere taking advanced biology. In order to

Janice Koch

Science Education in the City My semester at the American Museum of Natural History and Hunter College High School by JANICE KOCH

Each faculty member can create relationshipsof trust so that the classroom culturediscourages an “us versus them” mentality,i.e., students try to cheat and teachers try tocatch them. The classroom should be apartnership between students and the facultymember. Students should know that thefaculty member values academic integrity andwill work to achieve it in the classroom.

If you were unable to attend Professor Pavela’sprogram and would like to see it, we have madeit available online. You can view the presentationat hofstra.edu/honorcodepresentation.

If you have any difficulty accessing thepresentation, contact Faculty ComputingServices at (516) 463-6894.

Best wishes for a successful and enjoyable fallsemester.

Susan

Susan Lorde Martin is director of the CTSEand the Cypres Family DistinguishedProfessor of Legal Studies in Business.

continued on page 4

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maximize feedback from our teachers, weheld three workshops and developed a Website to facilitate communication.

The goal of the first meeting was tointroduce and orient the teachers to the twomodules, including the option to modify amodule of their choice to a short two-daylesson. The goal of the second meeting wasto hear preliminary results about whatworked and what didn’t, share techniques,and provide encouragement and motivationto complete the pilot-testing. Finally, thegoal of the third meeting was to discuss theefficacy of the modules and how they couldbe improved, as well as to focus onassessment strategies. Teachers were askedto complete evaluations and to administersurveys to their students upon completionof the units. Teachers posted reflections onthe community Web site about whatworked and what needed modification.Many teachers brought in student work, aswell as supplementary activities they haddeveloped for use with these lessons.

Students were excited by the two pilotmodules — particularly the opportunity to

analyze real data. The feedback fromteachers and students was tremendouslyhelpful for prioritizing our goals andstrategies for the coming year.

My experience in New York City, both atHunter College High School and at themuseum, was a wonderful opportunity forme to contribute to and gain insight into theextensive work the American Museum ofNatural History is doing in scienceeducation. My thanks to Yael Wyner, whois now an assistant professor of scienceeducation at CUNY/CCNY, and SteveGano, director of technology for theNational Center for Science Literacy,Education and Technology at the museum,for sharing their work with me.

Janice Koch, Ph.D., was a professor ofscience education at the School ofEducation, Health and Human Services.Dr. Koch also directed Hofstra’s Institutefor the Development of Education in theAdvanced Sciences (IDEAS) and is pastpresident of the Association for ScienceTeacher Education.

To find out how Hofstra faculty can applyfor a teaching leave, visit hofstra.edu/Faculty/CTSE/ctse_teaching_leaves.html.

Science Education in the Citycontinued from page 3

Using resources from the Museum of Natural History, Dr. Koch and Dr.Yael Wyner

developed science curricula that they fieldtested at Hunter College High School.

Test Banks for Sale by JACQUELINE A. BURKE

Technology has made it much easier forstudents to cheat. Students are able to usean assortment of electronic devices, suchas cell phones, personal data assistants(PDAs), and programmable calculators tocheat on tests. Now there is another, evensimpler, path students can take to cheat onan exam. Students can buy or exchange testbanks online through Internet forums orother sites such as Facebook or eBay.

Recently, a professor from Indiana StateUniversity complained to eBay after shediscovered that test banks were for sale oneBay’s site. According to eBay, anyonefound selling test banks on its site can facesanctions, including suspension from thesite. It appears that eBay’s efforts have donelittle to address this issue, however, becausetest banks are still for sale on the company’ssite. Therefore, faculty now have to be morecreative in preparing exams. (See Loughlin,2008, at http://www.tribstar.com/archivesearch/local_story_078213134.html )

The following are just some of the sites thathave test banks for sale, along with sampleposted comments. (Individual names and e-mail addresses have been replaced withthe letter x.)

www.ebay.com

v “Physics, by Giancoli, 6th Edition, TestBank File

The Test Bank is 600 pages and containsthousands of multiple choice questionsand answer key; for all 33 Chapters….

Asking Price: $9.99”

v “Test Bank Test Item File for Principlesof Marketing by Kotler & Armstrong,12th Edition, 2008 copyright.

Asking Price: $49.99”

v “Essentials of Psychology, 3rd editionTest Bank by Nash & Bernstein

Asking price: $34.95”

http://www.topix.com/forum/science/chemistry/T9OIUO53DS8UIHLT0 v Message: “For Test Banks Email

xxxxxxx@gmail.com.” The seller thenprovided a list of more than 30 test banksfor sale, including those for:

Fundamentals of Physics, 7th edition byHoliday

Intermediate Accounting, 12th Edition(UPDATE), Donald E. Kieso, Jerry J.Weygandt

Macroeconomics by Williamson, 3rdedition

v Message: “If you need any of these TestBanks email xxxxxx@gmail.com Willeven trade test banks.”

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2223589499&topic=6465 v Message: “Test Questions and HW

Solutions for Accounting, Business, andFinance Courses

These study aids will almost guaranteeyou get an A.... I have the test bank files

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Over the past 28 years, I have taughtintroductory statistics to students in avariety of majors, from psychology togeneral business. Most of the studentsenrolled in these courses are required totake them, thus presenting the instructor ofintroductory statistics with a formidablechallenge.

Over time, I’ve come to believe that toteach introductory statistics effectively, Inot only have to determine the centralconcepts I want my students to remember,but also — perhaps even more critically —I must address “psychological” concernsand issues of my students. How I attemptto do this may be of interest to otherprofessors teaching required courses andfacing a room full of apprehensivestudents.

“Outing” of the obvious

Students are oblivious to the fact thatstatistics and the application of statistics areevidenced in practically everything they do.I believe this inability to recognize thatstatistics permeate their lives is due not toany intellectual shortcoming, but to theirabject fear of the subject. Therefore, myfirst objective in any introductory statisticscourse is to point out that I am fullycognizant of the following: (1) their fear ofthe subject matter, (2) their ignorance of theimportance of statistics in their lives, and(3) their resistance to understanding thistopic. By doing this, I reflect their“anxiety” regarding the subject matter.

Confronting anxiety

It is important to confront people whenthey are resistant. Therefore, initially, I askstudents to honestly and openly admit totheir fear, ignorance and resistance byraising their hands. We spend some timeaddressing (and chuckling at) the fact thatthe number of students raising hands isprobably an underestimate of the actualnumber of students who are experiencing“anxiety.” This levity serves as an icebreaker during our initial meeting.

Allaying fears

Next, I try to allay their fears. Whenpeople are afraid, it is important for themto realize that they are not alone. So, Ishare with them that when I was a youngperson, I felt the same way they do. In fact,I made a promise to myself that when Iactually (and finally) understood thematerial, I would teach it — in such a waythat would be clear … simply because thisis what I would have liked at the time that Itook my introductory statistics class. (Forthat matter, the same applied to myadvanced statistics classes!)

I also try to alleviate fears by providingwork breaks. I tend to be somewhatdemanding of my students ... ok, verydemanding. Statistics can be difficult anddense, and many students require anextended length of time to come to anunderstanding of certain concepts. Thestudents are often fatigued. Therefore, as arule, I try not to extend the teaching of a

particular concept beyond 30 minutes.Students need frequent breaks, particularlyin the extended two- and three-hour classesthat I often teach.

I also attempt to infuse my teaching with abit of levity whenever it is appropriate (ornot appropriate, for that matter). Humorserves as a welcome break in the intensityof focus required to understand difficultmaterial. Interjecting a brief comical (oreven corny) story tends to create activelisteners … and gives me a refreshingbreak as well. Moreover, a little “edu-tainment” makes the time pass morequickly.

I suggest that you interject somethingabout your everyday life. You do not have

Test Banks for Sale continued from page 4

from which most instructors choose theirquestions and the full end of chaptersolutions for a lot of Accounting, andFinance Courses and....”

(This message appears to have beenposted by a student from a veryprestigious university.)

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080720211600AA214nN

v Comment: “Does anybody know where Ican find accounting and finance testbanks and solution manuals?”

v Comment: “… contact xxxxx@yahoo.comhe really helped me out in getting anexcellent grade”

Other sites include:

http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/sell-buy-notes-products-services-etc/47602-test-banks-solution-manuals.htm

http://www.foolsearch.com/question/?q=20090326175649AA955yR

http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.electronics.design/2009-03/msg01746.html

http://www.alibaba.com (An extensive sourceof test banks can be found on this site afterentering the search term “test banks.”)

The Internet has obviously provided studentswith a simple method to obtain test banks.Faculty members need to be aware that theseresources are now easily available to students.

Jacqueline A. Burke is associate professor ofaccounting in the Department of Accounting,Taxation, and Legal Studies in Business anda member of the CTSE.

Teaching the Reluctant Studentby MICHAEL J. BARNES

Michael J. Barnes

Photo courtesy of H

ofstra University

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“Classroom Lessons” highlights examples ofexcellent teaching by our Hofstra colleagues.Each issue, Andrea Libresco, associatedirector for pedagogy at the CTSE, will visita different classroom in search of effectiveteaching techniques that can be appliedacross disciplines. If you have a colleaguewhom you would like to volunteer forobservation (or if you would like to volunteeryourself), please contact Dr. Libresco atAndrea.Libresco@hofstra.edu.

It seems that every week anothernewspaper in a major city folds. Here atHofstra, Newsday is no longer given awayfree to students, and the bins that hold TheNew York Times are often overflowing withunread papers. Thus, it can sometimes feellike a real challenge to engage students inissues of the day. Dr. David Green,associate professor of political science, isup to that challenge. I was fortunate toobserve him in his introductory AmericanPolitics course, taught primarily tononmajors.

Several days prior to the class, the studentsand I were e-mailed a list of eight articlesthat had appeared in the previous couple ofdays in The New York Times (thoughProfessor Green regularly uses other newssources, as well). When I read the articles,I was struck by the diverse issuesrepresented in the pieces: the wideningwar in Afghanistan, a kickback scheme

perpetrated by Pennsylvania judges,Obama’s history-making live Internetvideo chat, a photo and accompanyingarticle about a 2009 Hooverville inCalifornia, the repeal of the Rockefellerdrug laws in New York, Hillary Clinton’sspeech acknowledging the culpability ofthe United States in the Mexico drug trade,the Obama/Geithner plan to regulate thefinance world, and an Op-Ed column onthe economy by Paul Krugman. Iwondered how Professor Green would beable to address all these diverse issues inone class.

It turns out that Professor Green did notexpect to address every issue in detail.Instead, he briefly reminded students aboutthe main point of each article and then said,“OK, that’s the menu. Where do you wantto go?” And students eagerly responded.They weighed in on whether and howAmerica could be responsible for Mexico’sdrug trade, as well as whether Americashould feel the need to apologize to anothercountry — in this situation or any other.The kickbacks article led a student torecount a program she had seen on prisonkickbacks, which, in turn, led anotherstudent to share an article she had readabout Victoria’s Secret using prison labor(to which Professor Green playfullyquipped, “Be careful; we could be wearingkiller underwear.”).

Professor Green encouraged students tomake associations such as those above, yethe also connected the students’ points tolarger questions. When the Three Strikeslaw came up (in the context of the prisonlabor topic), he raised the issue of how sucha law could pass and informed students thatthe prison guards union had been behindthe referendum on the California ballot.The big question then became: “Who isgoverning and in whose interest? Is it inthe public interest?” Clearly, this questionis of relevance beyond the immediate topic.In fact, the question of public interest led tosome comments about agriculture subsidiesthat benefit agribusiness in the UnitedStates, even as they may undermineeconomies and lead to higher numbers of

hungry populations abroad. The power ofagribusiness to affect legislation that maynot be in everyone’s interest led to adiscussion of campaign contributions andcampaign finance law, as well as the extentto which campaign spending ought to becategorized as “speech.”

This wide-ranging current eventsconversation, undertaken by engagedstudents, and periodically directed byProfessor Green, the guide-on-the-side,took up almost half of the class time(though he indicated that it usuallyaccounts for roughly one third of eachclass); the remainder of the class time wasdevoted to a more traditional lecture on thepowers of the judicial branch. ProfessorGreen feels that the time devoted to currentevents is time well spent, as current eventsbecomes a vehicle for analyzing theprocess by which America is and ought tobe governed. In addition, it is clear thatstudents relish this part of the class where,in democratic fashion, their choices aboutwhich topics to discuss are valued andhonored. While he used to direct theconversation more and have a particularagenda for each article, Professor Greennow allows for free-ranging discussion.The students clearly understand that it istheir responsibility, not only to read and

Classroom Lessons Laying the Groundwork for Civic Engagement by ANDREA S. LIBRESCO

Andrea S. Libresco

David Green

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think about the articles assigned, but also tobe attentive to other issues in the world sothat they can make text-to-text and text-to-world connections with all that they read.

Getting students interested in politics inthis way is one of Professor Green’s goals,but he has a broader agenda as well. “Usingthe newspaper in and out of class makespolitics relevant and can make studentsbetter citizens; it plugs them in,” he says.“I will have done a real service if I can getthem reading the newspaper withregularity; it’s a contribution that can lastforever.” In fact, Professor Green hearsfrom former students who tell him that theystarted reading the newspaper for his classfive or 10 years ago, and it’s now a habit, anecessary part of their day.

It is probably not surprising that ProfessorGreen would emphasize students’connections to the world, as he is on theboard of the Center for Civic Engagement atHofstra and writes a weekly online columnabout political issues. In addition, he hascreated a number of experiential learningopportunities, both credit and noncredit, forstudents, including a course he teaches on-site at the United Nations, and weeklongtrips to national political conventions andthe New Hampshire primaries.

It is worth noting that while he himselfholds strong political views and iscommitted to acting on them outside theclassroom, Professor Green models andencourages a more dispassionate, academic

analysis of issues in his classroom. He seeshis role as one who facilitates thoughtful,analytical discourse and an ability andpropensity to engage in critical thinking,with the hope that civic engagement will bea byproduct.

At a time when more students seekinformation only on the Web, often“narrow-casting” by going to favored sites,Professor Green’s current eventsdiscussions ensure that Hofstra studentsare exposed to a broad range of views.This can help any individual be betterprepared with the analytical perspectivesthat foster engaged citizenship and supportThomas Jefferson’s notion that, “If a nationexpects to be ignorant and free, it expectswhat never was and never will be.”

In his 2008 book, Just How Stupid Are We?Facing the Truth About the American Voter,Rick Shenkman asks: “Are America’svoters prepared to shoulder theresponsibility of running the most powerfulnation on earth? Do a majority knowenough? Care enough? Think hard andclearly enough?... What if the real problemisn’t with [our leaders] but with us?” Afterobserving David Green engage his studentsin thoughtful, reasoned analysis of issuesof the day, I suspect that both Jefferson andShenkman would approve.

Andrea Libresco is associate professor ofcurriculum and teaching in the School ofEducation, Health and Human Servicesand associate director for pedagogy for theCTSE.

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Students discuss the economic crisis with visiting CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

to have great timing, or even be funny forthat matter. Your effort will be appreciatedby your students … trust me. I share storiesabout my family, friends and … sometimes... oops ... my colleagues.

Having empathy, and adjusting yourexpectations

Professionals tend to get a lot of practicedoing what they do, derive benefit from it,and eventually get quite good at it. So theymay forget that others are not as gifted orexperienced as they are. Teachers are no

exception; they often expect that studentscan acquire information and skills morequickly than is actually possible.

It is important to realize that ourintroductory students are just that: studentswho are being “introduced” to an area. Wemust recognize the anxiety (fear,ignorance, and resistance) of our students,and alter our expectations of them and their“rate of absorption.” For some of us, it hasbeen a long time since we were“introduced” to our disciplines.

It can be helpful to remind ourselves ofsubjects that were not easy for us to master.For me, it helps to remember what astruggle it was to learn French. A littlehumility can be beneficial when teachingstudents daunted by your subject.

With a little anxiety management, humor,and empathy, it is possible to get almost anystudent through the first statistics course.

Michael Barnes is professor of psychologyand the quantitative analysis consultant forthe CTSE.

Teaching the Reluctant Student continued from page 5

Classroom Lessons continued from page 6

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Displeased with boisterous students in hisclasses, a professor is visibly miffed. “I’ma professor, not a teacher,” he insists, “andI should not have to discipline students as ifthis is high school.” This hardly seems anunusual complaint. Although the severityof the infractions varies from oneclassroom to the next, most professors havebeen confronted with disruptive behavior atone time or another. And many wonderhow to react, since for most of us this wasnot the sort of thing covered in graduateschool.

At issue is “classroom management” —keeping control of the class so that thelesson can proceed uninterrupted. By farthe most common problem is talking —having side conversations or “calling out”without raising hands. Incidents involvingcell phones have become common, too.Sometimes more serious misbehaviorsoccur (although professors rarely have todeal with fires in the trash can, freshmenstuffed into lockers, and such).

It’s regrettable when students are unruly, nodoubt. But it’s normal behavior, notevidence that the troublemaker is unfit forcollege or destined for Sing Sing. Whenstudents act out, it’s usually not about yourauthority or their lack of respect for you.It’s usually about students trying toadvance their social lives, avoid the lesson,or attract attention. So try not to cock asnoot when students get rowdy. We can

understand their behavior withoutcondoning or tolerating it.

In any instance in which a person hasauthority over others (e.g., professor,parent, employer), the style of interactioncan be placed along a continuum frompermissive to authoritarian, withauthoritative in the middle. As so oftenhappens, the Goldilocks advice applies inthis case. A permissive style leaves youwithout control of the room, and perhapsalso lacking students’ respect. Anauthoritarian style inhibits classparticipation and engenders fear andloathing. Either way, students end uplearning less than they should. A betterstyle is the authoritative one, wherein youstrike a balance between establishingfriendly relations with students and servingas an authority figure.

For some professors, it’s all too easy to gooverboard when classroom managementproblems appear. That is definitely a pitfallto avoid. Students learn much more inclassrooms where they have somesemblance of rapport with their professor.When students feel respected and listenedto, they tend to work harder and achievemore. Avoid doing anything thatjeopardizes this rapport, since your effortsto maintain order may unwittingly diminishstudent learning. For example, yelling atstudents may seem like it shows who’sboss, but it is usually counterproductive; it

may appear to students that your ego hasrun wild and your humanity has run thin.It’s not in a professor’s best interests to bemean, no matter what students have done.

Consider also the psychologicalphenomenon “vicarious reinforcement.”When you single out a student for a publicadmonition, the bad vibes affect allstudents within earshot, not just themiscreant. You are in charge of the tone inclassroom discourse, and you don’t want toestablish one in which students fear gettinginsulted or embarrassed. They willparticipate less, cut class, avoid you, andtrash-talk you in the hall, among otherthings. Because admonitions often causecollateral damage, it’s better to reprimandin private and praise in public wheneverpossible.

Let the small stuff go. Intervention isnecessary only when a disruption isseriously waylaying your lesson (orincidents as such have become chronic).That usually means ignoring a bit oftalking here and there, and chuckling atstudents’ jokes now and then. As a generalrule, do as little intervening as possible butas much as is necessary to keep the lessonon track.

Bruce Torff

Alternatives to Lecture by BRUCE TORFF

What to Do When the Class Gets Rowdy

9

At the same time, intervention is sometimesnecessary. (Otherwise, I wouldn’t be writingthis column!)

For starters, do as much nonverbally as youcan. Use eye contact — a disapprovinggaze sends a clear message. Physicalproximity also works; stand near disorderlystudents, or move students to desks faraway from their partners in crime. Usefulas nonverbal tactics are, I’m not a bigbeliever in the petulant pause (when theprofessor stops teaching, crosses his/herarms, and stands silently in a fit of piqueuntil the class quiets down). This makesyour ego a major player in the room, whichdoes not help you establish rapport or teachthe subject.

But sometimes you have to speak tostudents about their behavior, and that cantake some practice. Linguists call it “code-switching” — when you speak one way toyour mother, another way to your bestfriend, and a third way when pulled over by the police. You may need to learn a

new “code” to do effective classroommanagement.

Here’s a scheme that might help. Considerfour levels of speech with increasingfirmness. At the lowest level, make a calmand easygoing request for compliance(e.g., “OK, let’s quiet down now,” or“Gentlemen, please!”). This is as much acall to order as a moment of classroommanagement.

At the second level, use a firmer tone ofvoice and mention students’ names (e.g.,“Ted and Bill, can we quiet down now?” or“Jennifer, you know you aren’t supposed toturn on your cell phone in class.”).

At the third level, make a direct command:“Angela, you need to quiet down now,” or“Mark, please rejoin us.”

At the fourth level, indicate that there willbe consequences if problem behaviors donot stop (e.g., “If you won’t cooperate, I’llhave to take points off the midterm, and

neither one of us wants that.”). Of course,if the problem persists, you have to makegood, but hopefully it won’t come to that.

Go no further down these levels than youmust, but let your response fit theinfraction. When you have to intervene, andstudents comply, thank them for so doing.“Positive discipline” is when you rewarddesirable behavior, and in general it worksbetter than punishing undesirable behavior.

Done right, classroom management doesnot detract from rapport with students andhas potential to help students learn a lotmore. We benefit from knowing how todeal with the occasional disruptive student— even if we usually don’t have toextricate freshmen from lockers.

Bruce Torff is professor of curriculum andteaching, director of the Doctoral Programin Learning and Teaching in the School ofEducation, Health and Human Services,and pedagogical research consultant forthe CTSE.

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10

I have to admit I’m a bit of a grammarsnob, albeit a very forgiving one. And Ithink I’m more forgiving of my studentsthan I am of my peers. Perhaps it’s becauseI know that people my age actually studiedEnglish grammar in elementary school.(We even used to call it grammar school,but there’s technically another reason forthat appellation.) Kids today just pick upthe rules bit by bit as they progress throughthe various school systems throughout thecountry. Foreign-born students are adifferent breed — some study English as alanguage and are therefore more attuned tothe “rules” of the language and try to applythem, while others are simply thrust intothe melting pot and try to apply the rules oftheir native tongue to English. (Sometimesit works, sometimes it doesn’t.)

At any rate, those of us who respectlanguage can sometimes get so caught upin what is “correct” that we miss the mark;as a result, we run the risk of passingerroneous “rules” on to our students.Reading a piece titled “Got BadGrammar?” that was given to me by acolleague, Rich Pioreck, gave me theinspiration for this article on “rules” thatare wrong.

Myths: Rules We Lived By

Got is wrong. In “Got Bad Grammar?”Martha Brockenbrough complains aboutthe ridicule imposed upon people who usegot, the past participle of the verb to get.The verb to get means “to come intopossession.” Its past tense is got, and its

past participle (the form you would usewith the auxiliary verb have) can be eithergot or gotten. Here’s where the snobberycomes in. Although both got and gotten areperfectly acceptable forms of the pastparticiple of the verb to get, gotten is by farthe preferred form in the United States, andgot has come to be considered theembarrassing relative that people don’t liketo invite to dinner. As a result, asBrockenbrough illustrates in her article, adcampaigns like “Got Milk?” have receivedunnecessary scorn. Since the slogan iselliptical, the subject and verb could just aswell be meant to be “Have you got milk?”as “Have you gotten milk?”

The British, by the way, prefer got! Here’sa quote (by way of Garner’s ModernAmerican Usage) attributed to a Britishwriter, Charles Whibley, regarding theAmerican penchant for the longer form ofthe past participle: “America need notboast the use of ‘gotten.’ The termination,which suggests either willful archaism oruseless slang, adds nothing of sense orsound to the word. It is like a piece of deadwood in a tree, and is better lopped off.”Granted, that was written in 1908 — 100years ago! — but I imagine that Britishgrammar snobs still feel the same way.

We Americans, however, recognize anuance in the use of this past participle thatthe British don’t: have gotten means thatsomething has been obtained, while havegot pretty much denotes possession.Brockenbrough points out that “I got an Aon my English paper” (using the simplepast tense of get) is fine because itexpresses an action in the past, somethingthat you received, but “I got cooties on myhead” (for those readers who were bornafter 1970, “cooties” is slang for headlice!) for the present tense is incorrect. “Ihave cooties on my head,” while a revoltingthought, would be the correct way toexpress that particular dilemma. Or,Brockenbrough says, you could say, “Ihave got cooties on my head,” meaning thatyou have the little buggers (pun intended)in your possession.

Don’t begin a sentence with acoordinating conjunction. Many of mystudents tell me they’ve been taughtNEVER to begin a sentence with and orbut. There is a difference between boringor unexciting writing and writing that isjust incorrect. Coordinating conjunctionsjoin independent clauses, and this meansthat one could feasibly separate thoseclauses with a period. I warn students tobegin sentences with these conjunctionssparingly and only when they wish toemphasize a point:

I really enjoyed my date with the captainof the debate team. And I like the way heconvinced me to go out with him again.

Media is always plural. This one gets mewhere I live! For years I’d been teachingmy students that, while it is often referredto as singular, the noun media is actuallythe plural of medium — and it is. I waschallenged every semester, especially bymy communication majors, so I recentlyreferred to my Garner’s Modern AmericanUsage. Imagine my chagrin when Idiscovered that, yes, media is the plural ofmedium; however, it is increasingly used asa collective noun, and, as a result, can takea singular verb (especially when the nounis preceded by the article the.) Garner adds,“While that usage [the singular] makessome squeamish, it must be accepted asstandard.” Just when I thought I knew allthe rules — foiled again!

None is always a singular pronoun.Here’s another “rule” that just isn’t.Despite the fact that it has often beensupposed to be singular, the indefinitepronoun none can be either singular (notone) or plural (not any).

Example: None of the papers in my bag[is] are graded yet.

In fact, R.W. Burchfield, editor of Fowler’sModern English Usage, notes that none hasbeen used in the plural form since the daysof King Alfred the Great, who used it as aplural as far back as 888 A.D.!

Having a Word with CAROL PORR

Yes, We Can!

Carol Porr

11

You cannot split an infinitive. For yearsand years English teachers (and grammarsnobs) have used this “rule” as evidence oftheir linguistic superiority. An infinitive isa verbal — a verb form — that appearswith the marker to (I like to complain).

A split infinitive occurs when an adverb oradverbial modifier is placed between the“to” and the base form of the verb, thereby“splitting” the verbal (I like to constantlycomplain). The only explanation for thisrule that grammarians can come up with isthe fact that English grammar is based onLatin grammar despite the fact that Englishand Latin are not similar languages. InLatin the infinitive appears as one word,while in English the infinitive is twowords; hence in English we can place anadverbial modifier between the “to” andthe verb. Technically, there is no reasonwhy the mission of the members of theStarship Enterprise can’t be “to boldly gowhere no man has gone before”! (We usethe expression “to more than double” allthe time. How on earth could we expressthat sentiment without splitting theinfinitive?)

In 1998 the Oxford American Dictionaryactually made headlines by declaring that itwas perfectly all right to split infinitives.(On a related note, there are even thosewho frown upon placing adverbialmodifiers between the auxiliary verb andthe root verb, and consider the verb as“split,” as in “I have been greatlysaddened,” or,” I will probably call.” Thesepeople are applying the same Latingrammar rule to English, and it’sunnecessary.)

But old habits die hard. I teach mystudents to avoid placing too manymodifiers between the “to” and the verb, as

in “I wish to quickly and carefullycomplete this project”). I also tell themthat if the construction sounds just as goodwith the adverbial modifier before or afterthe infinitive as it does by placing theadverb between the “to” and the verb, don’tsplit it. If, however, placing the adverbbetween the “to” and the verb (I wish tostrenuously object) emphasizes the pointthe writer wishes to make, by all meanssplit away!

Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.This “rule” dates back to one of the firstgrammar books, again, probably becauseEnglish grammar is based on Latingrammar. So when in Rome, do as theRomans do, but when in England, you canend a sentence with a preposition! If yoursentence sounds better by keeping thepreposition within the confines of the firstand last words, by all means do so, butoften perfectly natural-sounding sentencescontain prepositions at the end of them.Here are some examples from Garner’sModern American Usage:

Correct and Natural• What are you thinking about? • [I saw] the man you were listening to. • ... a person I have a great amount of

respect for

Correct and Stuffy• About what are you thinking? • [I saw] the man to whom you were

listening.• ... a person for whom I have a great

amount of respect

In one of the first columns I wrote for thisnewsletter, I included a famous quip aboutthis erroneous rule that had always beenattributed to Winston Churchill. I must addimmediately that Professor Mark Landis ofthe Political Science Department laterinformed me that the statement was neveractually made by Winston Churchill. (Iguess it’s like that famous Kurt Vonnegutcommencement address that was nevergiven by Vonnegut, or anyone else for thatmatter!) It’s just too good to let go,however. The story goes that when told hecouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition,the famous orator replied, “That is the typeof errant pedantry up with which I shall notput”! (I should have known it was a bogusstatement because every time I see areference to it, the wording is slightlydifferent.) My apologies to Dr. Landis. Ijust had to do it! This is what writing thiscolumn has brought me to!

Addendum: I just heard about a book thatconcerns itself with more of the above. It’scalled Origins of the Specious: Myths andMisconceptions of the English Language.The authors are Patricia T. O’Conner andStewart Kellerman. I’m placing my orderon Amazon now, so perhaps there will be aPart 2 to this piece sometime in the future!

Carol Porr is adjunct assistant professor ofEnglish and assistant director of theEnglish Composition Program. She is alsothe English editing consultant for theCTSE.

“Those of us whorespect the language

can sometimes getso caught up in whatis ‘correct’ that wemiss the mark ... ”

Photo by John M

cKeith

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CTSE Staff and Contact InformationCurrent CTSE Members

Habib Ammari, Ph.D. (Computer Science), 2009-2012

Jacqueline Burke, Ph.D. (Accounting,Taxation and Legal Studies in Business),2007-2010

Timothy Daniels, Ph.D. (Anthropology),2007-2010

Dietmar Heidemann, Ph.D. (Philosophy),2008-2011

Elena Jurasaite-Harbison, Ph.D. (Curriculumand Teaching), 2009-2012

Daisy Miller, Ph.D. (English), 2007-2010

Dorothy Pumo, Ph.D. (Biology), 2009-2012

Ronald Sarno, Ph.D. (Biology), 2009-2012

Andrew Spieler, Ph.D. (Finance), 2009-2012

Daniel Tinkelman, Ph.D. (Accounting,Taxation, and Legal Studies in Business),2008-2011

David Weiss, Ph.D. (Health Professions andFamily Studies), 2007-2010

DirectorSusan Lorde Martin, J.D.Cypres Family Distinguished Professorof Legal Studies in Business 208 Weller Hall Phone: (516) 463-5327Fax: (516) 463-6505E-mail: Susan.L.Martin@hofstra.edu

Associate Director for CommunicationsCarol Fletcher, M.A.Associate Professor of Journalism403 New Academic BuildingPhone: (516) 463-6464 E-mail: Carol.T.Fletcher@hofstra.edu

Associate Director for PedagogyAndrea Libresco, Ed.D.Associate Professor of Curriculum and Teaching128 Hagedorn HallPhone: (516) 463-6543E-mail: Andrea.S.Libresco@hofstra.edu

Senior AssistantJeanne Racioppi, B.A.200 West Library WingPhone: (516) 463-6221Fax: (516) 463-6505E-mail: Jeanne.Racioppi@hofstra.edu

English Editing ConsultantCarol Porr, M.A. Adjunct Instructor of EnglishAssistant Director, Composition Program208 Calkins Hall Phone: (516) 463-5252Fax: (516) 463-6505E-mail: Carol.J.Porr@hofstra.edu

Pedagogical Research ConsultantBruce Torff, Ed.D.Associate Professor of Curriculum and Teaching128 Hagedorn HallPhone: (516) 463-5803Fax: (516) 463-6196E-mail: Bruce.A.Torff@hofstra.edu

Program EvaluatorMarc Silver, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology202F Davison Hall Phone: (516) 463-5645Fax: (516) 463-6505E-mail: Marc.L.Silver@hofstra.edu

Public Speaking ConsultantCindy Rosenthal, Ph.D.Associate Professor and Teaching Fellow,School for University Studies107 Roosevelt Hall Phone: (516) 463-4966Fax: (516) 463-4822E-mail: Cindy.D.Rosenthal@hofstra.edu

Quantitative Analysis ConsultantMichael Barnes, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology 101 Hauser Hall Phone: (516) 463-5179Fax: (516) 463-6505E-mail: Michael.J.Barnes@hofstra.edu