“Feedback by nature must be negative to an extent if it is to be helpful in improving performance. Much of the feedback that instructors give on assignments is to specifically point out the shortcomings of a student’s work and motivate the student toward improvement. Such feedback is intended to be received as ‘constructive criticism.’ However, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘academic performance’
Changing Attitudes about Learning
Posted Thursday, April 1st, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerFollowing up on the previous post, I wanted to write a bit about how teachers might intervene with those students who don’t believe they can learn something, whether it’s math, writing, French, economics, or whatever it is you teach.
Attitude Affects Learning
Posted Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerWe know that what students believe about themselves as learners makes a difference, but sometimes a specific example really makes the point. Here’s a study that does just that. It involved beginning students taking a general chemistry course. At the beginning of the course they took a Self-Concept Inventory designed for chemistry students. Its five scales measure, among other things, a chemistry self-concept, a mathematics self-concept, and an academic self-concept.
When Students are Struggling with the Content
Posted Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 by Maryellen Weimerhad lunch a couple of weeks ago with a group of about 20 math faculty, all of whom teach at a community college. We talked about what makes math so hard for students and covered the usual suspects—students haven’t had enough rigorous math in high school; they aren’t willing to work hard enough; at the first sign of trouble, they bail concluding there’s no way they’ll ever be able to figure it.
Grading Advice for the End-of-the-Semester Crunch
Posted Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerI’m thinking that this week you don’t have time for blog entries that require more than a quick read through. End of courses are such a harried time, so much grading, students lining up for office hours, final committee meetings and with the holidays, there are all those celebratory events at attend. To say nothing of everything that needs to be done at home.
So, take a deep breath and a moment to relax while I offer some simple reminders about grading.
Mastery and Performance Orientations
Posted Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 by Maryellen Weimer“Students with mastery orientation seek to improve their competence. Those with performance orientations seek to prove their competence.” (p. 122)
It’s a quote that succinctly captures how what students believe about themselves as learners affects how they approach learning. A mastery orientation means that students believe that they have some control over factors related to [...]
Student Attitudes about Learning
Posted Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerIt is important for us to remember that what students believe about learning and themselves as learners plays a key role in determining their success as learners. Research evidence is very clear on this issue. If a student believes that no matter what they do, they won’t succeed in a course, even being in a course with a highly rated effective teacher does not change the effects of those beliefs.
A Student Who Needs a Teacher
Posted Thursday, August 20th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerI’m teaching a young woman to knit socks. We don’t have much time as she heads off for college very shortly. This will be her third college in as many years. Her transcript is a hodge podge of courses, many of them dropped and most the rest C’s. It makes me sad. She’s plenty smart enough to be doing well in college, but so far she has not connected with any part of the college experience.
Does Test Anxiety Hinder Performance?
Posted Thursday, March 19th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerMost faculty have seen test anxiety firsthand. It’s that hot, sweaty smell that lingers in a classroom after students have finished an exam. It’s that student who comes to the office to discuss an exam and can answer in detail questions missed on the exam. It’s the student who doesn’t follow directions on the exam or the one who selects the correct option but then regularly changes the answer. Test anxiety manifests itself in various ways and to varying degrees.
