Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Stan Rogers]

[Carbon]

[denverdeath]

[ajuma]

You know, a lot depends on the student. While it's true that USUALLY students who don't come to class are the ones who are doing poorly anyway, it's not always the case.

I had one student who had perfect attendance and one of the top 3 participation grades in the class. He got 18/20 on the mid-term. No mean feat as I make my mid-terms for first semester freshmen SUPER hard!

Sounds like he could have aced the class, right? Well, for some reason, he missed the final exam!! His team (my final is done in groups of 3 or 4) had tried to contact him with no success.

After the exam, I called him...he said he "was sick".

If he would have had a GOOD reason for missing the exam (and, believe it or not, there ARE a FEW good reasons!), I would have worked something out for him. But since he didn't make an effort to call, I went straight by his grades...and he ended up with a C+!!!

I used to be much tougher on attendance than I am now. It used to be that I counted attendance as 30% of their grade! One absence (taking into account mid-term, final, first class, last class and the inevitable "sports day" and MT) was -5%! Sure separated the sheep from the lambs!

[offtheoche]

[ajuma]

[Swampfox10mm]

Ajuma, I do the same.

I always tell my students not to expect me to call them if they miss a quiz or a test, but sometimes I will to find out what happened. Sometimes they disappear because they got accepted to a better school. If they just missed it out of sheer stupidity, then I can do whatever I want with their score, anyway.

Should I do this? Maybe/maybe not. The truth is, however, that our school seems to like it when we "care" so much about our students. In the end, I've been at this job for many years, so I must be doing something right.

[legrande]

[Milwaukiedave]

OP, you've pretty much made up your mind you aren't going to take attendance and that's your right.

At all of the universities I've taught at taking attendance is mandatory and at the end of the term I was required to turn it in. It may be that your uni doesn't have that requirement, which is fine.

However, attendance is usually part of the student's grade (again this is university policy). Assuming most students that aren't showing up are "self-studying" is a little naive. If the student isn't showing up they are doing one of two things a) sleeping or b) studying for another class which they feel is more important. The truth is that most student view having to take English class as a nuisance because it is required.

Also at the end of the term, attendance can factor in big if a student is close to a higher grade. When I look at the percentages, I pay specific attention to the ones who are boarder line and whether I can bump them up a grade.

Yes, taking attendance is time consuming. I recommend having a class captain and letting them do it. I count the number of people in the class while he/she is taking attendance and verify the number once the role sheet is handed back to me. The Korean student taking attendance in Korea is generally pretty quick. I am also able to keep the noise down to make sure everyone is accurately counted.

[PRagic]

I tell them that attendance is 5% of their grade, and that every missed class equates to a 1% reduction in their final average. I also tell them that I will not be taking attendance every time; miss at your own risk. Works like a charm. I just make sure that I call ranks at least 5 times over the course of the semester.

You get the best of both worlds: they are adults and should be coming to class, and if they miss class when I call attendance, they must take responsibility for their actions. I also don't have to waste time at the beginning of every class.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[cdninkorea]

[Young FRANKenstein]