4: Master of Paradox

This practice is the most complex of the four, and it is also the hardest to master. Just when you think you have decided on an approach that works for one paradox, you discover another one to be solved. The discussion below is inadequate to deal with this complex topic, but I hope that it will give you some insight into this part of the 4 Connections.

 

The High Expectations/High Support Paradox

This is one of the most important paradoxes faculty will face: how do I maintain high academic standards and still support students? We care about our disciplines - that is why many of us became teachers. Holding high standards is important to us and to the positions that we hold. You don't need to "dumb down" the curriculum or compromise your standards in order to support students well. Keep your expectations high.

When students struggle, you do not need to make the content easier; your job is making learning the material easier. That comes in the form of different explanations, more examples, individualized instruction, better study skills, conversations, peer-to-peer instruction, active learning, effective contextualization and schema, and many other pedagogical approaches. In order words, if students are struggling, your response is teaching. You can keep your high standards if you also offer high support. 

Two approaches to mastering this particular paradox are TILT and UDL. You can find an entire module here in the TLC ProD course devoted to TILT. Follow this link for more info, or see the references at the bottom of the page.

UDL is Universal Design for Learning, and it supports all users by designing learning opportunities for all users, including those with different access needs. It emphasizes flexible learning resources  and proactive approaches, rather than reactive processes of giving special accommodations to particular individuals. A good example is closed captioning. It can be seen as an accommodation for those with limited hearing, but it benefits English language learners by providing written words as well as spoken words, and it benefits those who view a recording in a noisy house or bus ride. Designing your courses with all learners in mind is at the heart of UDL. Here's a good resource from Michigan Tech's CTL Links to an external site..

You will also see some helpful ideas from Lake Washington below. 

The Strict Rules/Reasonable Human Paradox

Having a clearly structured course with information about due dates, late policies, and more sets students up for success. At the same time, many students fail because of issues that have NOTHING to do with learning the material.  Non-cognitive/academic challenges that impact their learning can include poor health, financial stress, work demands, disruptions in childcare, and so many more. Dr. Cia Verschelden writes about the "bandwidth" concept, that there is only so much mental bandwidth that humans have.  If stress takes a significant part of our mental bandwidth, it means there is less available bandwidth for learning. Read an interview with her here Links to an external site., or borrow the book from the TLC PD library. 

So, you have to decide how you are going to address questions such as: "When should I make exceptions to my due date, late work and other policies?" The 4 Connections approach argues that making exceptions for students in distress - especially those who have demonstrated an ability to learn the material when they weren't in crisis - is part of a successful teaching toolkit. If you use the "reasonable human" approach, you work with students who have life get in the way of their learning. 

Please note, I am not making an argument that students don't need to do the work of your course. Many people who make exceptions to their course policies offer extensions or additional support rather than giving students passing grades for missing assignments or incomplete work. Making "reasonable" accommodations looks different for different people, but I haven't met many faculty who argue that passing students who don't do the work is good practice. 

Ultimately, it is your responsibility to make decisions about bending rules, but being a reasonable human when circumstances warrant can make the difference between succeeding and failing for some people. Ideas below from Lake Washington might also be helpful here. 

 

From Lake Washington: 

Alternative Grading Processes

Faculty approach grading many different ways to build in flexibility from the beginning of a class.

  • Contract-based grading : Outlines a set of criteria/expectations student must meet to earn a 3.0 in the course (additional activities earn a 4.0). For example, a contract may state that students must attend every class session and contribute to discussion though sharing and listening well; they must submit all assignments on time; they must meet with the instructor during office hours, etc. All of these are practices that the most successful students do. The idea behind contract-based grading is that if students do these things, they will meet the outcomes of the course.
  • Dropping the lowest test or paper score.
  • Awarding the grade earned on cumulative/summative work at the end of the quarter as opposed to weighting earlier work equally. The next bullet point is one way to implement this approach.
  • Portfolio-based grading: Students submit a collection of coursework, designed specifically to show how outcomes have been met, at the end of the quarter. If the portfolio demonstrates their learning well, the instructor adjusts their overall grade to reflect where they emerged in their learning (thus, not penalizing students for struggling early in the learning process).

Building a Classroom Community

On the first day of the quarter, have students set the behavioral expectations for the course. Ask them, "What can you do to learn best in this class and to help your colleagues learn well, too?" Record their responses. Then ask, "What can I as the teacher do to help you learn best in this class?" Negotiate and explain when an expectation needs to be adjusted or cannot be met (e.g., no homework ever!). Compile a final list and ask students to agree to it - a great way to do this is to add it to the syllabus before they sign a final copy. Sign a copy yourself. Revisit the expectations you all agreed upon as needed. Ownership in the norms of the classroom community helps address behavioral concerns before they start and encourages students to take responsibility and express authority for their own learning.

Setting High Expectations

Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT)

Providing Flexible Support

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Faculty Guides for Working with Students

Doing a Bit of Both

Contract Grading

Flipped Classroom

References

Loes, C., Saichaie, K., Padgett, R., & Pascarella, E. (2012). The effects of teacher behaviors on students’ inclination to inquire and lifelong learning. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(2), 22. https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2012.060207 (Links to an external site.) 

Lundberg, C., Kim, Y., Andrade, L., & Bahner, D. (2018). High expectations, strong support: Faculty behaviors predicting Latina/o community college student Learning. Journal of College Student Development, 59(1), 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2018.0004 (Links to an external site.) 

Winkelmes, M.-A., Bernacki, M., Butler, J., Zochowski, M., Golanics, J., & Harriss Weavil, K. (2016). A teaching intervention that increases underserved college students' succees. Peer Review, 18(1/2). https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2016/winter-spring/Winkelmes (Links to an external site.)

Winkelmes, M.-A., Boye, A., & Tapp, S. (Eds.). (2019). Transparent design in higher education teaching and leadership: a guide to implementing the transparency framework institution-wide to improve learning and retention. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.