Job Discussion Forums

[Nagoyaguy]

Hello!

Greetings from Japan. Briefly, I am doing research into university student misbehavior and would like to know the perceptions of my colleagues in China.

Briefly, I am interested in what students do that irritates university teachers. My goal is to compare the results from various countries (Japan, South Korea, China to start) and try to see if any patterns develop.

If you have time and are teaching in a university, please complete my survey at Survey Monkey. It should only take 3-5 minutes and would help me a lot. Also, please pass on the message to others. The more who take my survey, the better the results. When I am finished, I'll post the results here so that everyone can see.

Thanks very much, and a Happy New Year to everyone!

Regards;

Nagoyaguy

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/57HKP9F

[backtochina2017]

You should start the survey over again. You forgot to explain what 1 represents and 10 represents. I would think 3 is worse than 8 but you also might be seeing 8 as more annoying because it's a greater number. It's not clear which you are using.

Also, I think you would get more accurate data by having people post here so you see the mix of comments. Private comments don't have replies and you don't know how much the person weighs a factor.

[backtochina2017]

This is my scale I would use. Since there is an even number, there isn't a "normal/average" option.

1 = can't continue class, need school discussion
2 = can't leave issue unaddressed, stop class and discuss with class
3 = single out student and tell class about their behavior
4 = short warning to individuals, if not addressed to class in beginning of term then tell the whole class the "new rule"
5 = normal, prefer not though
6 = normal, no difference
7 = talk to students in groups
8 = talk to students individually
9 = talk to students where factor can actually benefit class
10 = use the factor as a way to reward them later (movie, shorter class, etc...)

1. cell phone use, 6. Students not only need to learn to manage their time, but they may have valid reasons for using it (family issues, health issues, deadlines for other classes or activities, etc...) Stopping every student would be pointless just to question them. Structure your classes to allow beginning and the end of class and get students' attention when you have something the whole class should be aware of, not just one question from a student.

2. Sleeping, 6. Their time. If I saw it from certain students who performed badly, I would just casually mention it to them and to the school to see what they say. When I taught university, I had to submit grades. If the sleeping negatively affected certain students' performances, and I warned them multiple times, I wouldn't submit grades for them and explain the reasons with documented proof (tests, homework, presentation material, etc...) to the English and International departments.

3. Class chatter, 4. This kind of stuff comes up all the time. In China, they are really loud compared to Japanese students. So, you need to get it in your routine tell classes to settle down and be quiet so you can move on in the class.

4. Writing answers in Chinese, 4. If you can't read Chinese, then you can't read the answers. It kind of defeats the purpose of that writing task. I would get my camera out, take a picture and if they quickly hide it and pretend to be innocent, it's probably something they shouldn't have written. In that case, 2, stop class and tell them about it as a warning. If they continue it, 1, talk to the school.

However, if it's a speaking class, then I allow students to cheat basically, 9. They can grab whatever presentations they find on the internet. I encourage them to modify the presentation to make it more personal, but their grade would be based solely on how they speak and not how they do computer research.

5. Grooming and make up, 3. Make it an entertainment piece. Usually, the student gets annoyed at you for doing it (unless they are the class clown) and they stop. Pretend you can't recognize them and ask them to leave because don't have their new hair style on your attendance list.

6. Eating/Drinking, 5. It happens, but I prefer them to be listening. If you listen to people talk while there are other sounds, you can improve your listening skills as if you were at a train station or restaurant.Depending on the lesson it could be a 5 or 9.

7. Doing other homework, 7. This actually helps. They can stay silent for the most part by each concentration on something else while I single out groups to do some task. I repeat with all groups. Better the class, better the performance because they are listening and understanding while each group performs. The first gets a guinea pig handicap and I don't grade so harshly, and the last group better perform average or better since they heard and saw it several times.

8. Yawning openly, 6. I don't know what this means. How else do you yawn if not by opening your mouth? Usually this is something teachers are criticized for because supposedly it communicates you are somehow disinterested and bored teaching the students. I wouldn't do it first day of class, and if the class is cool with it, be cool with it, again 6.

9. Sitting far from teacher, 2 to 8. This is such nominal thing in the beginning of the year, it usually goes unaddressed in my classes early on. I get students in groups and they do an activity. Then I get the groups performing or presenting to usually come up to the front of the class. This way, it helps to have the distance. It forces students performing or presenting something to speak loudly. When they just sit next you or other students they are more likely to speak in a lower volume. However, as soon as they get out of class they are yelling from the same distance in the hallways. Students don't like to speak up and having the distance gives them another reason which doesn't focus on their speaking ability. If what they say to you is correct, then they don't care if they say it loudly. However, if they don't know then they will be reluctant to speak.

10. Other annoyances. What I hate is when students repeat answers instead of thinking of something new. Even if they don't know the word in English, if they understand the question they can answer in Chinese and someone from the class can translate. If that doesn't work, I might get a dictionary out and do a quick 1-3 minute lookup of the word and move on. So, this would then be a 2.

Another annoyance for university students is near the 2nd month, students will take notes for each other. So, you end up with students who missed things you said last week. If it becomes crucial, 1, talk with the school. Ask them the importance of attendance. If there is a big test in another class then modify the lesson and do 2 parts, one for now and one for latter. The first part is just an intro overview of what I will have students do. I then expect those who came to communicate it within their groups and tell any groups not present. I put all my classes into groups with a group leader and email them.

The last annoyance I will mention in this post is not really a class annoyance but one about the school system and hiring teachers. At the universities I taught, we were hired through the international department and not the English department. So, if you had a problem with a class, student, or just wanted to explain something you often had to go through the international department first. I didn't see one of the English directors until the end of the year when I was getting ready to go to a new school. These schools spend so much time distancing the teacher from the Chinese curriculum, any sort of new idea you might have goes by the wayside weeks later. The students are back to their old ways and no one within the Chinese system is there to stand up and help enforce common sense guidelines.

I have had students come late to my class and make a grand entrance, "Teacher I was just at the WC (toilet)". Well, I was teaching, and now I am not, do you want a prize for what you just achieved? Can we get back to class? Or it happens the other way, a student will come up and say, "Teacher, teacher, let's go to the WC!!" Let's? Eventually, the students understand and laugh.

However, these interruptions break the concentration and flow of the class and you have to build them back up to that level to finish the class.

[Nagoyaguy]

Hello!

Thanks to all who have read my message and have taken the survey. I'm sorry if the method is clear for how to answer- on my survey I am using a sliding scale of 1 to 10 for each form of misbehavior. A "1" means not bothered at all, up to a "10" which means extremely bothered. I thought that I wrote that in the intro to the survey on the first page...

Otherwise, great feedback! I really appreciate it.

Edited to add: of course, writing feedback here is a great idea too. Feel free to say what you feel. One thing I notice about teaching is that it is often a lonely job- just us in front of the students. It led me to think, "am I the only oe who is bugged by this?!?", and then to this research.

Thanks again!