upcoming: negotiating student expectations about freedom and responsibility (march 15)

posted by rhett mcdaniel on tuesday, march 8, 2011 in events.

time & date: 4:10-5:30 p.m., tuesday, march 15
facilitators: derek bruff, assistant director, cft
audience: faculty, students (undergrad and graduate), and staff

if students expect to show up to class, take a few notes, and figure the material out later, but instructors expect students to engage during class with the material through discussion and activities, then students can feel that instructors aren’t “teaching” and instructors can find leading class a painful process. and if instructors view attendance policies as helpful encouragements to students to engage in a useful activity (coming to class), but students see such policies as “big brother” intrusions in their ability to take responsibility for their own decisions, resentment can grow for all involved.

students and teachers come to class with sometimes very different expectations about each other’s responsibilities in the teaching and learning process and about how much structure and freedom are appropriate in a given course. join us for a roundtable discussion among faculty, students, and staff about ways to negotiate conflicting expectations around the freedom and responsibilities that teachers and students have in the classroom.

this conversation is part of the cft’s ongoing work on the topic of student and instructor expectations for teaching and learning. the conversation is intended as a roundtable and thus exploratory in nature. you may not leave with lots of concrete strategies for negotiating expectations, but you should take away a better understanding of the issues and challenges involved.

register now!