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Show lessons, Fail 2003 page 1 7 work, but what about in the classroom? Gary Lindstrom has been teaching courses in computer science for 25 years. Lindstrom believes the approach to motivating students is much different at the University of Utah than at other colleges. "Students here have so much going on. They have responsibilities with their jobs; they have responsibilities with the families, or with their church. School is not the only thing they have to worry about." He says that this leads to students being extremely focused on grades, "They want to know exactly what they need to do to get their A." Lindstrom has structured his courses around the students' focus on earning a grade. He creates homework assignments that are "challenging and instructive," and account for a large percent of the student's grade. This "motivates the students to learning, by using the grade as the incentive." They work to earn their grade but also gain practical skills in the process. Lindstrom admits, "In the long term it's not really going to matter what grades you got in college. It's hard for students to see that" and that is why he tries so hard to make sure a student's grade is a reflection of actual learning. If employers don't care about grades then what are they looking for? Graduate teaching assistant Russ Wood worked at KSL radio for 22 years, and recently decided to become a doctoral candidate. Wood's position is unique. He is simultaneously a doctorate student, a radio journalism instructor, and a member of the local media working world. Wood's experience in human resources helps him teach students what employers are looking for. "My assignment [as a course instructor] is to give the students the skills to be able to do a radio job." Wood points out that every business is going to have a different way of doing things. He says that employers want you to be able to learn their system, to follow directions, and perform. "I grade students on how well they can follow instructions and their ability to apply the skills that I have taught them. That's what they're going to have to do when they get a job at a radio station." Wood doesn't want grades to be the student's main concern. On the first day of class he tells the students "that they are starting with an A." From Wood's experience as a student, he has come to value clear expectations set in early class meetings. Often times he believes more time is spent trying to discover what the instructor wants than on learning the material. He has tried to change this when teaching his own courses. "I let the students know exactly what they will be graded on. If they know the criteria they can focus on meeting it." Wood discusses the advantages of learning real world skills in the classroom before you ever get to the real world. "You're going to make mistakes, everybody does. The difference is that in a classroom I can help the students fix them without having a boss yell at them." Doug Boudreaux was yelled at by his first boss and it has impacted his teaching style. Boudreaux is a full-time public relations director at lasis Health Care, and teaches public relations courses part-time at the U. "I am going to be very critical of students' work. My boss is critical of me. If I just pat everyone on the head and give them a B they are not going to learn anything." "A good instructor is one who cares whether or not I learn," says computer science major Jonathan Wicks. Though grades are important for getting scholarships and getting accepted to graduate school, Wicks says, the skills learned in a course will be of most benefit for students outside of the classroom. "I want to get a good grade, but I also want to learn," he continues. "Grades don't matter after college, but want you learned while you were there does." Courses such as Radio Journalism prepare students for the real world and require a unique grading system. |
