Job Discussion Forums

[gaijinalways]

I'm debating to make up a new rules sheet for my clases. Even though I'm fairly laid back to some things, with uni classes in Japan, I find you need to have specific rules that you can point to, specifically in situations where you must fail students and need to show justification for the grades given.

What kind of rules do you use for;

attendance?

tardies?

assignments that are not submitted?
assignments that are submitted late?

quiz/test makeups/retakes?

talking in class?
sleeping in class?

Thanx in advance,

GA

[Glenski]

Depends a lot on how the university wants to operate.

Attendance.
At my school, more than 3 out of 15 lessons can be missed, whatever the excuse. More than that is automatic failure for the class. Oddly enough, the science teachers at my uni (it's a science uni with no liberal arts majors) cut the kids lots of slack on this, and grad students or seniors especially. Only the liberal arts teachers are strict.

Tardies.
Mostly a warning. I tell kids if they are more than 10 minutes late, it's an absence but they can stay for the lesson if they like. I may change like some other teachers and simply not let them in the room either.

No assignment submitted.
Easy one here. Zero score. They get a warning on the first day of class that they have one week to make it up. If so, I dock them 50% of the grade, unless they have come to me in advance or have a VERY legitimate excuse.

I'm very analytical about grades. Excel is my friend, and on more than one occasion I've had to show kids exactly why they failed. They get the message that I'm really, honestly, truly, exactly counting.

If you can use Moodle like we're going to do this year, it may help students and you to keep track on a running basis. If you can't, then do your best to get HW back to them on a timely fashion so they know you care and are holding up your end of the bargain.

Talking in class.
I just stop talking and stand with hands folded. I might mention softly that "we'll wait for those people", and let peer pressure work. Only a couple of times in 3 years have I ever issued a polite but stern message directly to the talkers, and it shuts them up. ("Excuse me. We have a class here. This is my job, so if you want to talk, get out." Long pause and stare at them. "Thank you.") No need to shout or get angry. Of course, there's always going to be general whispering and murmuring that you can't (and probably shouldn't) stop. I shut up only the real disrupting types. If there's lots of murmuring going on, I stop to think if my instructions are going over well, or whether they are asking each other what the heck I'm talking about. In that case, they are justified in talking a bit. You can see it in their faces a lot whichever is the case.

Sleeping in class.
It's their money or parents' money, but I do try to keep them awake. Most stay awake, but I have lots of farm workers, so they are up at 3am. A hand on the shoulder during an activity while they are sleeping is enough, but I'm a nice guy. Continue to sleep, and you just don't get the in-class work done and therefore a zero. My co-worker actually has class participation points. Most people get full points, but the obvious ones lose when they sleep.

Quiz makeups?
Only BEFORE it happens, never after unless it's immediately after the class!
Retakes? Never.

I figure (and I explain this throughout the semester) that I'm preparing them somewhat for the business world. Their boss will not be happy about a late report or meeting, and he'll probably dock their wages or something, so this is getting off easier, but a lesson nevertheless. In real life, there are no makeup exams, either! At least, that's the message I try to get across to them. The kids soon seem to realize that if you treat them as a near-adult, they will behave better, or at least understand why they get penalized and have little reason to complain about it.

[dove]

This is really good advice, Glenski. I struggled with my university classes last semester. The lack of motivation (a pulse?) just floored me. Granted, I worked at a second-tier university. I assigned homework but maybe 10% of the class would bother to do it. I tried every kind of activity, but again, the lack of motivation from the majority made me think that nothing was truly successful. I really felt sorry for the handful of students who wanted to learn, who at least tried. Pair and group work was always a struggle, especially when one partner couldn't be bothered.
I know that universities are the dream jobs in the Japanese EFL world. Certainly the benefits, the salary, the hours, and the status trump eikaiwa work. But the actual classroom time....oh, how I dreaded it.

[Glenski]

I am learning (at my uni, anyway) that sometimes what we perceive as unmotivated students are simply the result of treating them too much like kids or stupid people. They may not really be all that thrilled anymore with junior high eikaiwa-type lessons. Also, they may give that "deer in the headlights" look only because they already know what you are talking about and think it's beneath them.

Reminds me of something I read on one of these forums. A teacher in his first class in JHS (I think) spread some pictures of animals on the floor and mimicked the sounds, hoping the students would catch on and do the same. Nice icebreaker since every kid likes animals, right? They just stared until one kid in very good English asked, "So you want us to make sounds like the animals you have in these pictures?" Red face time for the teacher!

I'm considering how to determine what vocabulary the kids already know. Perhaps from a vocab list I ask them to study, they can give me feedback after each lesson (via email, paper survey, blog, etc.) on just what percent or what exact words I wasted my time on. May not help that year so much, but it'll improve the next.

[gaijinalways]

This is what I might use this academic year;

Absences/tardies
You can miss up to three classes without affecting your grades. Each absence after 3 will subtract 3 points from your grade.
If you have a reasonable excuse (medical, i.e. in the hospital, family death, etc.), please submit your paperwork to the administration department (Kyoumuka). They will issue you a university document for excused absences to give to me.
Please come on time. Arriving late will subtract points from your grade. If you are over 30 minutes late, you will be counted as absent for that class. If you have an excuse (such as a late train slip, death in the family, etc.) please get from the front a late form and fill it out and hand it in as soon as possible (not at the end of class).
Sleeping in class
You may sleep in class, but continuing to do so, you will be given half credit for that class. If you continue to sleep over 30 minutes, you will be marked as absent.
Talking in Japanese in class
Talking in class will subtract points from your grade. Exceptions to this policy will be for some activities where you are allowed to discuss things in Japanese or allowed to translate a word or phrase. Generally 2 points per incidence that is noted will be subtracted from your grade for each instance of extended speaking of Japanese.
Submitting assignments on time � homework, classwork.
Homework must be submitted by the deadline at the beginning of that class. Homework submitted later or after class will lose one grade (minus 10 points). Homework submitted after unexcused absences will be marked down one grade for each week missed (i.e. 3 weeks late, minus 30 points).
Work done in class must be submitted on time within the class that it is worked on, not at a later date.
Missing tests/quizzes � making them up
If you miss a test or quiz, there will be no makeup unless you arrange to take one by contacting me after class and explaining the reasons why you missed the test/quiz. A makeup will be given under the guidelines I feel are fair to the other students. You must contact me about making up a quiz or test within a reasonable amount of time.

Any comments are welcome.

[gaijinalways]

[Glenski]

gaijinalways,
What is your school's policy on absences? You may want to see, because if you let them pass the course but the school says otherwise, there could be repercussions.

Personally, I think you are too lenient on them in that regard, even if the school itself has no absence policy. Missing more than 3 classes out of 15 is more than 20% (1/5) of the course!

Same feeling for tardy. I used to say 15 minutes late is absent for students, but think of it like this: someone comes in and misses 30 minutes (1/3 of the class!), which means they have no clue what the lesson is about, and they will suffer in knowing what sort of instructions you have been giving. If you allow for a 10-minute tardiness, that takes care of classroom management things like taking attendance, making general announcements, returning homework and quizzes, etc.

[gaijinalways]

The policy is 3 classes usually, but quite often teachers decide how to grade. As long as your policy is announced to students and applied fairly, then we are allowed to use basically any policy we wish. If students miss many classes and don't make up the work, they'll fail anyway.