Entry 6

This week's readings came at the perfect time. It is the week I will be giving and grading my first exam and about the time in the semester when students seem to have become comfortable with their teachers and classmates. This comfort level in my class is seeming to make students start questioning what I say more, and more and chatting while I am trying to teach, or seeing the classic aggressive, challenging, and antagonistic side of students.
Today, I will discuss 4 of the most useful tips and topics from the readings I can apply to the field of communication and incorporate into my teaching.

Plagiarism

• First Day to Final Grade suggests to combat plagiarism early in the semester by clearly outlining personal and university policies in the syllabus and verbally to the class. It is also suggested to allow students the benefit of the doubt in regards to plagiarism and invite the student to meet with you to discuss their work. Ask the student to talk a little bit about their paper or sources they used. If they can discuss their work knowledgeably, the work may be authentic. First Day to Final Grade also states that teachers will miss a certain percentage of plagiarism and you have to accept that. Signs of plagiarism suggested include looking for work that does not fit the criteria of the assignment, work that is not the usual tone or degree of work a student normally produces, and Googling phrases or sources to find the original work.
• In the field of communication, many assignments are written assignments. Students may feel the urge to plagiarize when they do not have sufficient time to complete assignments or do not give credit where credit is due. These tips can easily be incorporated by checking sources or full electronic copies of assignments online in data banks of papers.
• Personally, I have no tolerance for plagiarism. I do not want my peers to do it and especially students I am teaching. I agree with the text in having students ask me for citation questions. I will do my best to help, and if they do not seek help, I would rather a student cite something incorrectly, but at least make an effort to cite and show the information is not theirs rather than me thinking they used it hoping I would not catch on. Two weeks ago my mentor observed me teaching and sat in the back of the room with what she liked to call the "bummer club" and I will also refer to them as later in the post. One of the students said he was going to get another university's speech textbook and take an example speech from it and I would never know the difference. Of course my mentor told me he said this, so I pulled him aside after class and asked him about it. I was also extra critical of his sources and speech to prove to him how serious I was. For the upcoming speech my students will be giving, they need to have five sources in a 4-6 minute speech. I will have them turn in electronic copies that I can maybe experiment with the Blackboard SafeAssign software. I will also continue to show my seriousness for plagiarism on the first day of each semester when going over the syllabus.

Antagonistic and Challenging Students

• In chapter 14, McKeachie talks about dealing with problematic students, as does First Day to Final Grade in chapter 7. I like both of their suggestions of making instances where students talk out of turn or challenge ideas and concepts the teacher says into teaching moments. Page 173 in McKeachie's text suggests to probe these students even more and give more examples and information. This reminded me of when I was observing Dr. Raile and a student interrupted so Dr. Raile simply gave even more examples, which then made the student settle down. I agree with the text that students who challenge usually have a genuine interest in the topic or think they have relevant prior knowledge or experience.
• Discussion and concept understanding is a big part of communication classes. A lot of theories are difficult to understand, so multiple examples are often given to accommodate to different students' understanding. When students try to give their own examples, it is important for the teacher to correct them if they are wrong so the entire class does not have this example as correct. While discussion is important in this field also, side conversations and students being antagonistic and talking while the teacher is trying to teach should not be tolerated.
• I have recently began to notice these tendencies in my public speaking classes. My antagonistic students are usually the ones that start discussion, which I am grateful for like the book suggests, but sometimes they continue to talk and be disruptive. The "bummer club" likes to talk through class now. I think this is because they are used to the class. I will implement previously said ideas by having them talk to the class about what they are talking about, or standing in silence at the front of the room and wait for them to notice. Demanding the attention of rude students is not a bad thing.

Exams and cheating

• First Day to Final Grade's readings were helpful this week because I will giving my first exam and I didn't really know what to do during the time the students were taking the test. The text suggests from page 131 about proctoring exams to minimize cheating:

-have students move their desks apart
-have students sit every other seat
-make students put all papers, books, and cell phones into their bags and close them
- walk around the room during the exam period, and if you are sitting in the front,
look up often
-if any students are acting suspicious, watch them carefully or stand near them
-ask students wearing baseball caps to take them off or turn them backwards so
you can watch where their eyes are focused
-have two forms of the same exam with the questions in a different order

• I think these tips can be used in the field of communication or any field that gives exams. When students know the teacher is being watchful, they will hopefully be less likely to risk cheating.
• I will implement this in my teaching already on Friday! I was kind of wondering what to do during the exam. I planned on sitting in the front, and I'm glad the text reminded specifically to look up often. I do not think I will walk around the classroom because this is something I hated when I was a student in high school. I hated when it felt like the teacher was breathing down your neck while you were trying to concentrate. My current classroom aisles are also small, so with backpacks it would be difficult to quietly walk around without distracting the test takers. Since the desks are so close together, I may ask some students to turn their desks or protect their answers with their arms.

Lastly this week, I would like to talk about dealing with grade complaints from students

• Page 132 of First Day to Final Grade addresses student grade complaints. I learned that students that complain about their grades usually do so for the following reasons:
  -They are first year students that are not used to getting lower marks
  -Some students will contest just to see if you will buckle and change the grade
  -Students will flirt and try to intimidate a teacher into making a change
  -Complain that the assignment was too difficult
  -Claim they were graded harder than other TAs would grade
  
  I would like my philosophy on grading to be modeled after the suggestion of always being open to discussing grades, but never assuming just because a student is challenging the grade I gave them that I was wrong and immediately have to back down or change the grade. Curzan and Damour state that grades represent mastery of material, and if I do not think a student mastered the material, they earned the grade I gave them for a reason. Giving students time to think about the grade they received and the comments I gave them will also help students that are irritated at first. Giving students a time they can talk to you about grades will eliminate those that rush up after class demanding answers on the spot. Have them come to you with a paragraph of why they think they were graded in that way and why their grade should be changed. This time lapse will also give the teacher time to reflect on why they gave the marks they did.
• I think the suggestion of giving students a specific time to talk about grades can be beneficial in the field of communication or any field. Time will allow people to cool down and think logically rather than jumping to conclusions and making snap decisions when caught off guard.
• I read this and implemented it when I handed my students latest speeches back. I have had an incredibly busy week this week, so I did not want students asking me after class and catching me off guard as to why I graded them in the way I did. I have this weekend to take some personal time since all of my assignments were turned in for the week, and told them I will be glad to speak with any of them on Monday during my office hours after I have had some time to relax and reflect. I also want them to talk in my office so that other students are not around to hear their problems, or my decisions regarding them. In the future, I would also like to put a grade complaint policy into my syllabus. I think that if students are going to contest a grade, I will put the proper procedure right into my syllabus so they know the protocol of waiting a day or two, discussing in private, and doing so within a certain time frame.

As I said before, this week's readings couldn't have come at a better time. The blogs are getting easier to write because the tips are becoming more and more useful at the current time. Here are a few helpful additional readings:
More Grade Complaint Tips
This article gives some new and some of the same tips as found in the text. Grade complaints seem to be something all teachers deal with!
Proctoring Exams
This blog from 2007 gives some humorous ideas that you probably should not do while proctoring exams, but the thought of probably crossed your mind a few times...
APA Citation Help - the Owl at Purdue
Lastly, this is where I often find quick citation help. Directing students here can teach them how to correctly cite their sources in APA style. If you simply give them the answer, they will never learn. Having them search on their own will hopefully help them remember for next time. Also, citing their sources will help against accusations of plagiarism.