There has been a discussion lately with colleagues about the actions or measures that keep students on track or drive them to withdraw from their courses.
I have been analysing a recent case of one of my students who dropped out of my course just five weeks after the commencement of the semester. I teach this course in the old fashion, that is by just giving lectures with small discussions with me and not between the students themselves.
What happened was that the student felt that he would fail after he carried out the first exam. When I sensed his frustration, I asked him about the problem and he replied that he piled the material up, which is a very common problem. I supported him and asked him to study piece by piece and to inform me of the progress anytime on WhatsApp. Instead, he picked the easier choice and dropped out. So, where was flaw? Was it in my delayed support? Why couldn’t I recognise his trouble earlier?
I am thinking that it’s because of the way my course was delivered. If I had added a group task before the first exam, maybe he would have opened his book and I would have been able to give the proper feedback. If I had initiated discussions between the students, perhaps that would have motivated him to study.
It is time for the traditional-fashioned teachers to rethink of their material delivery and embrace the new approaches in their course design, even if they have fears of poor student evaluations, even if they confront with strong student resistance and even it takes so much time and energy. It is not an easy mission, but it is not mission impossible either.
I started planting Snapdragon flowers with one colour, but after two years I realised that they would be much more pleasant if they were of various colours and so will be my course. Waiting for the yellow to grow up and so for my ability to design collaborative activities.
For those who are interested to have these cards,
You may visit:
https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/abc-ld/
