After five years of consistent interruption during his large lectures, University geology professor Qusheng Jin @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=jin@@said he was fed up with this term and decided to take action.
Jin adopted a new zero-tolerance policy on distracting behavior this term in his 200- and 250-student Geology 103 classes to combat what he sees as a serious problem of increasingly disengaged students in the University’s large lectures.
“I feel the material I am delivering is very important,” Jin said. “But, in large lecture size classes, I always feel the problem of engaging the students.”
Jin didn’t start out using the more stringent strategy he currently uses.
“I tried a very soft approach,” Jin said. “I stopped lecture and asked them to stop talking.”
When that didn’t work, Jin said, he started asking students to leave.
“You paid money for this,” Jin said. “If you don’t like it, then choose some class that inspires you, so you don’t waste your money and time.”
The class environment started to improve, Jin said. He even received emails from students praising him for addressing the issue.
“So far I haven’t gotten any negative feedback,” Jin said, adding that week four’s midterm average was higher than the previous year — which helped confirm for him that the policy might be working.
Jin conducted an in-class iClicker survey in week six to get student feedback on expanding the new policy. In that survey, 8o percent of students in Jin’s morning Geology 103 session and 85 percent in the afternoon agreed that a policy should be implemented to “refrain students from acting in a manner that distracts other students or interrupts the learning environment.”
In a follow-up question on the possible penalties for such behavior, the majority of students suggested either lowering the student’s grade by five points or giving them a seating assignment in the front row.
After discussing the results with colleagues and graduate assistants, who, Jin said, were also concerned about the learning environment in large lectures, Jin formalized the policy to include a three-point grade penalty and/or seat assignment.
“I know the challenge of sitting in a large-size classroom,” Jin said. “I trust every one of my students, but occasionally when we have to address a policy, we will.”
“I think it’s nice that a teacher is finally telling people to shut up,” senior Chris Young said as he left Jin’s afternoon lecture Wednesday. “I absolutely hate when people are talking.”@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=christopher+young@@
Young added, however, that the zero-tolerance policy might be keeping his fellow students quiet, but it’s equally distracting when class is interrupted to make a student leave.
Other students had a similar reaction to the new policy.
“I like his policy, but I don’t like his attitude towards it,” senior McKenzie Ingram said. “He’s a great teacher, but he spends more time disciplining than he does teaching.”@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=ingram@@
Jin said he never has this issue in smaller classes and felt this was the only option in a large lecture. He hopes this will make students feel more engaged and included in their education. “It’s their class, not mine,” Jin said.
It may be more a complicated problem, however, than one professor can address.
“People are still going to talk,” sophomore Justin Cummings said. “Big lectures aren’t even necessary to go to a lot of the time.”@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=cummings@@