Week 5

On reading students blogs this week, an issue that has cropped up every other semester raises its head again. When explaining why they may not have done very well at a task, students tend to say things like "I didn't give Mr David what he wants" or "Mr David didn't like what I wrote" - the implication being that each teacher they have, wants something different, based on their arbitrary preferences and being successful is all about figuring out what individual teachers want and then giving that to them. No matter how many times you say that all you want is the answer provided in the text, it is still proving difficult to actually get them to look at the text for the answer to questions about the text. When trying to impress upon students the importance of a particular task by eliciting what it will contribute to their overall grade, students tend to just guess - proffering a series of numbers related to grades they have received for tasks in the past. The last thing they consider doing is consulting the syllabus which is sitting on the desk before them. So, it would appear that learning to discipline oneself to consult sources before responding to questions seems like a very important skill that needs to be learned. I guess its something to do with past experiences of being assessed where one is expected to have all answers to questions in their head. Open book exams - being allowed to consult texts - is so far removed from their experience that when allowed to do so, it just does not come naturally.

Another point about students blogs that is somewhat worrying is the confession that when I put students into small groups to discuss texts, rather than using this opportunity to get to know the text better, they are using it to get to know each other better. However, this week I have extended my threat to - being inspired by Facebook - poke anyone speaking Turkish and I have also been monitoring the groups more systematically and carefully.

We basically spent the whole of this week getting acquainted with the text on which our first major assignment is based. Collectively, each class displays a reasonable knowledge of what the text contains but I am not sure that when students work on their individual assignments, they will have a sufficient grasp of the complexities of the text. Last week students were assigned the reading of a text called "Internet Paradox" for their homework. As it is still relatively early in the semester, things are really only "hotting up". So, despite the fact that some mid-terms have begun, students are not under as great pressure as they will be soon. Getting a clear grasp of this text will greatly enhance their chance of doing a good job of their first assignment worth 25% of their overall grade. So, one constantly hopes that they will put in the effort now while they have the opportunity. I therefore took the time at the beginning of each lesson this week to check for "physical evidence" of students having read the task. Alas, in each section there were many students who showed no signs of even having read the text. How then can they expect to be able to write an insightful essay in the near future? How do they expect to be able to contribute to class discussions? I live in hope.