LectureFail ?

1. LectureFail? Steven Schwartz, PhD In the last 7 years adjunct at Quincy College, Curry College, Bridgewater State University, Lesley University, Bentley University and University of Phoenix

2. Why do some lectures fail? • Some professors aren’t such good teachers • Some have never had a class in teaching • Their first experience was as a grad student or perhaps after they were hired and walked into their first class ever • Some have never spent the time to learn how to use media effectively • Why?

3. Why do some lectures fail? • Why? • Students have little knowledge of who is actually teaching them • In Massachusetts, as likely as not you are being taught by an adjunct professor • As an adjunct there is little incentive to spend great amounts of time preparing for a class because the teacher has to be another class at another school to teach a different course right after your class • As an adjunct there is little incentive because salaries are the same or less than they were 35 years ago and there are no benefits. Salaries are usually something around $1000/credit hour for the semester. In other words, about $3000-$4000 per course. • As an adjunct we teach because we love our subject, try to stay in academia and convey our enthusiasm.

4. Why do some lectures fail? • Some students aren’t such good learners • Some have never had a class in learning • Their first experience as an undergrad occurs after they were accepted and walked into their first class ever • Some have never spent the time to learn how to learn effectively • Why?

5. Why do some lectures fail? • Why? • Students have little knowledge what learning entails • It takes TIME. I expect students to spend about an hour a day on my course material. Most tell me they average about an hour a week. • It takes TIME. Humans learn most successfully by repetition. I ask my students about the amount of time they spent in high school practicing sports, or theater, or a musical instrument. Most tell me they spent 2 to 3 hours a day on a voluntary commitment. But they refuse to spend anywhere near the same time learning.

6. Why do some lectures fail? • Why? • Students have little knowledge what a classroom is about • I am not an entertainer. It is not my job to keep you laughing or crying but to keep you engaged and learning. • I expect students to try to be engaged. That means: • Put away your damned cell phone • Put away the textbook for some other class • Don’t be constantly yawning or putting your head on the desk • Don’t be constantly chatting with your friends. Ask them about some point you missed but that’s all.

7. Why do some lectures fail? • Why? • My expectations are rarely met • Did you read the material BEFORE you came to class so that everything I presented wasn’t brand new • Did you ask a single question all semester? • I told students explicitly a few of the questions on the next test. On one such question 2 of 35 students got all the points and 13 got none. Did you even bother to study what you knew would be on the test let alone the rest of the material • Cramming does not work. Never has, never will. This will also never change for most students. It is not my fault.

8. Why do some lectures fail? • Why? • Students have a false sense of where responsibility should be directed • I don’t “give” grades • I assign grades based on the results YOU demonstrate through tests, quizzes, and term papers • I actually care a great deal about how you do in my classes. I would be overjoyed to have a class where everyone earned an A. It is not my responsibility to investigate why you didn’t do well. You need to come to me and discus the issues. I will listen. I will make every effort to help. Complaining at the end of the semester about what I did or didn’t do to help you doesn’t fly.

9. Why do some lectures fail? • Conclusions • Lecturefailure is a joint effort. • Both sides of the podium need to take responsibility for the learning experience. • The student side needs to stop complaining about the time it takes to learn. • Both sides need to alert administrators that adjunct faculty are not a good solution to improving learning. It is cheap and leaves funds for more administrator pay raises while students are given a less than optimum learning experience.

10. Why do some lectures fail? • Next class we can discuss why there are so many adjuncts, why their pay is so miserly, and the explosion of administrators and their salaries while adjunct salaries have actually decreased in the last few decades.