Are students who willingly sign up for a 9 a.m. course more disciplined that those that choose the 10:30 section? In my experience, the answer is a resounding YES. For several years, I've taught two sections of a course in PR and social media. In-person classes pivoted to online during COVID. During the height of the outbreak, many courses were offered as "asynchronous," meaning that students did not meet but completed all work on their own. I adopted a hybrid approach: students meet with me via Zoom for 75 minutes just once per week and then complete work according the schedule. One section meets at 9 a.m. and the next one at 10:30 a.m. Attendance, meaning in the Zoom with your camera on, is mandatory. The Early Birds At the halfway point in this spring semester, the early birds/9 a.m.'ers are doing quite well. Only one student is struggling to pass; another has been hospitalized and may soon drop the course. Otherwise, all is good: assignments are completed and submitted on time, and completed with energy, creativity, and proper editing. In our flipped classroom, students discuss the readings and their analyses. Every week there are live, in-class presentations It's an active class. The Sleepy Heads
By sharp contrast, the 10:30 a.m.'ers are drowning. Not all, of course, as there is a solid one-third of the 20 students who are on top of their work and exhibiting the same energy as the early birds. The rest, however, are racking up absences (that will lower their semester grade), submitting work late without any communication with me, and often ignore instructions, even submitting work that doesn't remotely address the instructions. And then, some simply don't do the assignments at all. On a key research memo that lays the foundation for their group Social Media for Social Good campaign, eight --yes, that is eight out of 20 -- just didn't do it. Just didn't do it. What's the Difference? The syllabus is the same. The detailed weekly schedule is the same. My slide/powerpoint lessons are the same. The assignments are all the same. The students with their unique habits and interests, are, of course, different. And...some signed up for the 9 a.m. and some signed up for the 10:30 a.m. So what does that tell us?
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Suzanne Lowery MimsTeaching PR and launching careers = best job in the world. Archives
April 2024
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