IN THIS ISSUE: RESPONSIBILITIES FORSTUDENT LEARNING

CTE View—Dan Bernstein consid-ers two views of responsibilities forstudent learning, and how KU istrying to give students the bestchance to learn. Page 2.

CTE News—Our newest program,CTE2Go, is announced, along withthe fall schedule of Teaching Teasand Lunch & Conversation sessions.Page 3.

Perspectives—To what degree areteachers responsible for students’learning? How much are studentsresponsible for it? Read the point—counterpoint articles by DanBernstein, CTE, and Andy Knopp,KU student body president. Pages4 and 5.

Innovations—Susan Zvacek dis-cusses using technology to promotestudent responsibility. Check outthe call for papers for a special con-ference, “Professors Speak Out:Challenges in UndergraduateTeaching and What Can Be Doneto Meet Them,” too. Page 6.

Good Work—News about the2004 Department Teaching Award,plus faculty honors and supportfrom CTE. Page 7.

End Note—Ten strategies toencourage students to take respon-sibility for their learning. Page 8.

On one level, the answer to thequestion, “Who’s responsible forstudent learning?” seems obvious:the word “student” is right in thequestion. Certainly, students areresponsible for their learning, andthey can do much to effect it.

On another level, teachers areseen as primarily responsible forstudent learning. B. F. Skinnersaid, “It is the teacher’s functionto contrive conditions underwhich students learn.” Few teach-ers place all responsibility forlearning upon students. We recog-nize what we must do to facilitatelearning, and we work hard to“contrive conditions” for it.

A condition we might consideris teaching students to becomeresponsible learners. Just as wecan’t assume students know mate-rial we’ll teach in a course, wecan’t assume that each student is aresponsible learner. Students canlearn course material and becomeactive participants in their learning.

David Locher describes his suc-cess with this approach in his arti-cle, “‘Poor-quality students’ revealteaching skill.” He relates how ata teaching seminar he attended, aprominent researcher told thegroup that faculty at a top-rated,highly selective, private universityresponded to evidence that theirgraduates failed to learn basicprinciples in their fields by sayingthat “they could teach better if

only they had better students towork with.” This university drawsfrom the top 2% of high schoolstudents; there are none better.

The author then identifiesthree categories of students:1. “Outstanding students.” Wecould lock them up, throw them afew books, and they’ll master thematerial. They don’t need us toteach them.2. “Good students” do whatthey’re told and know more whenthey leave our class than whenthey came. However, we only helpthem do what they wanted to do.3. “Poor students” are unmotivat-ed and lack knowledge or skills weassume they should have. Theyshow us how well we teach.

Locher faced the challenge ofteaching “poor” students by—teaching them. One of his coursesrequires students to understandvery difficult material. Rather thancontinuing to be upset with thequality of students’ papers, hetaught them to read and under-stand abstract ideas, to paraphraseideas, and to synthesize the mostimportant ideas and apply them.

His conclusion? “I am actuallygiving people skills that they canuse in any major, any profession.Isn’t that what we’re supposed tobe doing?” —JE

Locher, D. (August/September 2001).“Poor-quality students” reveal teachingskill. The Teaching Professor 15 (7), 1–2.

Teaching MattersSeptember 2003 Vol. 7, No. 1

Who’s responsible for studentlearning?

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As the school year begins, facultymembers might consider why wechoose to work in this setting,working with colleagues and stu-dents to further intellectual skillsof many kinds. A number of privi-leges come with the life we lead,as well as responsibilities. Sincehigher education remains anindustry without broadly agreedupon standards, there are a varietyof views on the responsibilities ofall members of our community. Atraditional view is embodied inthe apocryphal story of a dean ofstudents addressing a convocationof first-year students. To impressupon the mass the challenge andseriousness of the venture theywere undertaking, the dean isalleged to have said: “Look toyour left, and look to your right;one year from now only one ofyou will still be a student here.”In that view of universities, theresponsibility for learning and forsuccess lies squarely with students.

As discussed throughout thisissue, more contemporary viewshold that all participants in highereducation are responsible for con-tributing to the overall success ofthe educational mission. Studentsstill must devote time to reading,thinking, creating, performing,writing and class participation.Technology can not substitute forlearner activity, nor can the magicof cognitive scaffolding, construc-tivist teaching, or any othersophisticated form of instructionaldesign produce easy learning.Well designed courses can makethe path less steep and with fewerthorns, but at a critical level

teaching boils down to helpingstudents find ways to learn.

One very promising way toreach students, especially thosebeginning their academic career,is through thematically relatedclasses that make explicit the rela-tion among the ideas in multiplecourses. This semester KU isoffering a few lower divisioncourses linked by a seminar thathighlights the intellectual connec-tions between them. These “the-matic learning communities” give

faculty members a chance toengage in some interdisciplinaryteaching without disrupting theirusual course assignments. Groupsof 10-15 students live in the sameresidence, share some classes andparticipate in a small seminar. Inaddition to having a rich academicexperience during their firstsemester, students who participatein learning communities are morelikely to continue with college inthe second year than are first yearstudents in general. In this case,both the institution and individualfaculty members are taking someresponsibility for providing anintellectually satisfying experiencefor students. Faculty membersleading learning communities willshare their experiences at CTE onOctober 27 (see opposite), andyou can learn more at the pro-gram web site (www.tlc.ku.edu).

Individual teachers can alsoenhance student success by pro-viding an engaging experience forstudents in their courses. Thetastes, values and perspectives ofcollege teachers, however, are notclosely aligned with those of theirstudents. Even 20 years of agedifference can mean a wide gulfbetween the interests of twogroups, and our faculty is drawnfrom an international pool while amajority of KU students are fromthe Plains region. Meaningfullearning is embedded in context,and it is not safe to assume thatstudents will share an interest inthe examples in which a professorembeds course ideas and con-cepts. Prof. Rick Snyder has beenpondering this dilemma, and he ishosting with CTE a one-day con-ference on November 14. He hascalled for professors who experi-ence an emerging lack of connec-tion with students to share theirconcerns and propose better waysto engage students. There is moreinformation about the conversa-tion on page 6 and on our website (www.ku.edu/~cte), or emailProf. Snyder at crsnyder@ku.edu.

These are two ways that KUfaculty members and staff arehelping more students learn bet-ter, deeper and longer. Studentsshould be reminded about theirresponsibilities for learning, too.It would be tempting to emulatethe legendary dean and informstudents that there is no help andlittle hope, but KU is a place thatpromotes success. It appears to beour responsibility to give studentsthe best chance to learn.

CTE VIEW

2 s TEACHING MATTERS SEPTEMBER 2003

Responsibility for student learning: Two viewsDan Bernstein, CTE

KU is a place that promotessuccess. It appears to be ourresponsibility to give studentsthe best chance to learn.

CTE NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2003 TEACHING MATTERS s 3

CTE announces new program and fall scheduleCTE, in conjunction with theProvost’s Office and the KUMedical Center, kicked off theacademic year with the annual KUSummit on August 19. More than275 faculty and instructional staffparticipated in the conference.

And that’s just the beginning …This fall, CTE will offer manyways for faculty to connect to findways of improving student learn-ing, as described below.

CTE 2 GoCTE 2 Go is our newest pro-

gram. To use it read the “menu,”contact CTE to schedule it, inviteyour colleagues, and have DanBernstein facilitate the discussionyou choose in your department.The topics we’re offering this fallare these: •Peer evaluation,•Teaching portfolios, and•Student learning as a measure

of teaching excellence. To schedule your discussion, con-tact Judy Eddy at 864-4199 orjeddy@ku.edu.

Teaching TeasAt Teaching Teas, we gather in

a comfortable setting to discusstopics of interest to faculty mem-bers and instructional staff. Allsessions will be from 3:30 to 4:30p.m. in 135 Budig. No RSVP isneeded. Beverages (including tea,of course!) and snacks provided.

September 4: Gauge andengage your class with a studentresponse system. A hands-onopportunity to see how and whythis technology can be useful withLarry Davidow, pharmacy practice.

September 17: EvaluatingGTAs’ teaching. Suggestions on

how departments and faculty canapproach evaluating GTAs’ teach-ing with Dan Bernstein, CTE.Repeated as a Lunch & Conversa-tion session on September 18.

October 1: Linking communityand academic study with service-learning. The Department ofEnglish’s success with service-learning was one factor in theirreceipt of the 2003 DepartmentTeaching Award. Find out howthey’ve used service-learning tofacilitate deeper learning for theirstudents, with Emily Donnelli,Frank Farmer, Jim Hartman,Anna Neill, and Anjali Nerlekar.

October 27: Interdisciplinaryteaching and learning in TLCs.Faculty who teach thematic learn-ing community courses willdescribe their experiences withthis avenue of interdisciplinaryteaching, with Mari Maccari, histo-ry; Michael Vitevitch, psychology;Patricia Ybarra, theatre and film;Linda Dixon, FSAC; and DianaRobertson, student housing.

Lunch & ConversationBring your lunch to 135 Budig

(cookies and beverages on us) foran informal discussion of topicsdescribed below. No RSVP need-ed. All sessions held 12 to 1 p.m.

September 12: Enhancingteaching to meet learning goals.Diane Fourny, French andItalian/HWC; Pamela Gordon,Classics; and Andrew Whitford,Political Science/ENVS will shareresults of their Faculty Fellowsprojects: broadening study abroadstudents’ knowledge of present-day Europe, integrating ancientGreek art into ancient literaturecourses, and learning in teams.

September 18: EvaluatingGTAs’ teaching. A repeat of theSeptember 17 Teaching Tea.

September 24: UniversityTheatre in Your Classroom. Seehow a new University Theatreprogram supports classroom workand positions the theatre at thecenter of the humanities, withJohn Staniunas and PatriciaYbarra, theatre and film, andScott Glasser, visiting professor.

September 30: Using simula-tions to facilitate learning.Richard Hale, aerospace engineer-ing, and Lorin Maletsky, mechani-cal engineering, will discuss rapidprototyping models, a type ofsimulation that can be used inseveral different disciplines.

October 29: Templin Fellows.Dan Bernstein, CTE; MaryCatherine Davidson, English;Michele Eodice, Writing Center;and Diana Robertson, studenthousing, will describe their experi-ences teaching a one-credit-hourinterdisciplinary course inTemplin Hall.

Rick Kellerman, chair of family andcommunity medicine at the KUMedical Center in Wichita, gave thekeynote address at the KU Summiton August 19. Photo: John Nowak

4 s TEACHING MATTERS SEPTEMBER 2003

Complex changes in the socialfabric of the education businessare changing the alliance of stu-dents, faculty and institutions thathas supported the expansion ofhigher education during the lastseveral decades. The economicreality of increased costs anddecreasing public financial supportof higher education has made stu-dent employment a flash point fordifferences in the perspectives ofthe constituencies. Academic insti-tutions need to keep studentscoming through the doors to sup-port their comprehensive mission,so university staff are eager tohelp students find ways to gener-ate funds to cover the escalatingcosts of continuous registration.

Students and their families arepaying more of the total cost ofeducation through increased userfees, and they are sensitive to theprogress students make towardgraduation. Students are also lesslikely to accept or fit a traditionalstudent model of extended adoles-cence, dependent on others forfinancial support while living anacademic life in semi-poverty.

Faculty talk among themselvesabout the decrease in the amountof time students give to coursesoutside of scheduled class hours,and everyone has anecdotes aboutstudents whose work suffered orwho requested special arrange-ments due to work schedules.Faculty often assert that studentsshould be spending two hours inpreparation outside of class forevery hour spent in class; howev-er, this policy is not consistentlyapplied or followed.

The fundamental tension arisesbecause there is a fixed amount oftime in everyone’s lives, and thereare many activities competing fortheir share. Few students willtotally abandon their personallives and/or work time to meetfaculty expectations for outsidepreparation time. Similarly, fewfaculty will abandon their otherprofessional goals and responsibili-ties to spend extensive time onteaching material that could easilybe acquired through outsidepreparation. In a sense there hasbeen a long-standing (if tacit)“live and let live” agreement insome circles; faculty do not flunkstudents who give effort wellbelow expectations, and studentsdo not complain too loudly aboutteachers whose energies are devot-ed primarily to other scholarlypursuits. If not everyone learns asmuch as would be desirable, gradedistribution curves keep everyonefrom facing a crisis. Students leavethe institution with degrees, andfaculty receive student evaluationsthat do not challenge their contin-ued practices.

What is the problem?Into this stable situation there hasentered a new element that mayproduce some disequillibrium andpossibly even change. The com-munity at large is expressing somedissatisfaction with the product ofthe collective higher educationenterprise; graduated students donot seem to have the skills orknowledge that some peoplewould expect. Leaving aside theinteresting question of the accura-

cy of that perception, the wide-spread movement toward account-ability and assessment of studentoutcomes looms very large inmany faculty lives. If faculty are tobe evaluated by the performanceof their students (a state of affairsathletic coaches have lived withfor some time), then those facultywho have accepted modest stu-dent performance as inevitablewill be called upon to get moreperformance from their charges.

Should this actually happen ina meaningful way, students wouldthen feel a new squeeze on theirtime, as they would no longer besent forward in the degree processwithout meeting some publiclyestablished criteria. If studentswere unwilling or unable todevote the extra preparation timeneeded to meet the performancestandards, presumably the facultywould be held responsible for fail-ing to accomplish the institution’sstated learning objectives.

What is needed?This tension can be resolved by acooperative and constructive con-versation among constituencies tofind an acceptable middle ground.It would seem useful for each ele-ment to identify its responsibilitiesand that we as a community con-sider these and other possibilities.

From faculty:• Establish reasonable assessment

criteria for student performance,including a realistic estimate ofwhat percentage of the popula-tion should reach those criteria.

• Identify and maintain adequateteaching practices that go

PERSPECTIVES

Mutual responsibilities for academic performanceDan Bernstein, CTE

With the rising cost of collegetuition and associated expenses,students today are increasinglyfacing a precarious situation. Onone hand, there is pressure fromparents who can’t figure out whyit is taking their son or daughterlonger than four years to completehis or her degree. On the otherhand, many students need to workfull-time to meet the expenses ofcollege. These two pressures workagainst each other as going toschool longer means more expens-es, but packing in more classes tograduate in four years means lesstime for earning money. Studentsare hard-pressed to make time fora part or full-time job, in additionto classes and homework. Manystudents aren’t able to participatein extracurricular and recreationalactivities that have traditionallydefined the college experience.

I made the decision to focus onschool and find part-time work,which has included refereeing bas-

ketball games, being a waiter at asorority, and working in theStudent Senate office. I chose topay for school with scholarshipsand loans, because I thought theopportunity cost of stretching col-lege into more than four years wasmuch greater than the benefit of amore lucrative full-time job dur-ing college.

Faculty should not lower stan-dards as a result of this trend.Doing so would defeat the pur-pose of raising costs in order toprovide a better education.Maintaining the integrity of theinstitution and the degree is para-mount. Instead, faculty shouldsimply respect the fact that manystudents have outside commit-ments, and sometimes this canpose difficulties. Whenever possi-ble, instructors should find waysto provide flexibility for these stu-dents, such as giving plenty ofnotice as to when upcoming testsor projects will be due.

As a whole, the institutionshould find ways to accommodatethe changing make-up of today’scollege student. Nighttime andonline class offerings are impor-tant for many working students, aswell as the opportunity to packclasses into one or two days eachweek for students who need tocommute. Furthermore, theUniversity should work to createmore on-campus jobs for studentswith flexible hours and the oppor-tunity to read or study duringdowntime. These things can allcontribute to an environmentconducive to receiving a qualityeducation while working to payfor it.

SEPTEMBER 2003 TEACHING MATTERS s 5

PERSPECTIVES

Students struggle to find balanceAndrew Knopp, KU Student Body President

beyond merely making materialavailable but do not take overstudents’ responsibility to partic-ipate in learning new material.

• Take advantage of developinginstructional technologies tohelp students use out of classpreparation time in the mostefficient manner possible.From students:

• Arrange for sufficient time inyour schedule to include sub-

stantial preparation and learningoutside of class time.

• Accept the likely possibility thata degree will take longer (andwill be more expensive) whenemployment or adult family lifeare a significant factor.From the institution:

• Work with faculty and studentsto establish and maintain clearpolicies on the time expected forpreparation outside of class.

• Give realistic advice to prospec-tive students and families aboutthe need for time and the likelyduration of a degree programunder different levels of com-mitment to academics.

• Reconsider the rules and bene-fits related to full-time studentstatus so that students do notregister for extra classes to meetthe requirements even when it isill-advised.

Mutual responsibilities for academic performancecontinued from page 4

Proposals for “Professors Speak Out” due September 15On November 14, a special one-day conference titled “ProfessorsSpeak Out: Challenges in Under-graduate Teaching and What CanBe Done to Meet Them” will beheld at the Center for TeachingExcellence. The purpose of the

conference is to provide a forumfor professors to present prob-lems in teaching that they areencountering, along with theirideas for solving these issues.Talks and discussions will not be“gripe sessions,” but they will

offer arenas for faculty to shareideas for improving instruction.

Proposals for papers are dueSeptember 15. For informationabout submitting a proposal,check CTE’s web site atwww.ku.edu/~cte.

6 s TEACHING MATTERS SEPTEMBER 2003

INNOVATIONS

Using technology to promote student responsibilitySusan Zvacek, IDS

Expecting students to takeresponsibility and become activelyengaged in their own education isa wonderful idea. Unfortunately,many students don’t really under-stand what that means in a practi-cal sense, and it’s likely that yournotions of “taking responsibility”and theirs will differ. Two strate-gies—holding students account-able and shifting some of thedecision-making in the course tostudents—can help to reduce thisperceptual gap and provide guid-ance for learners unfamiliar withthis model.

Integrating technology, espe-cially the Web, into your classes isa terrific way to lead students intoan environment in which they canpractice their active learning skills.Some examples, drawn from actu-al classes here at KU and else-where, illustrate this idea.

Holding students accountablefor keeping up with the coursereadings and participating in classdiscussions are two examples ofways to help students develop asresponsible learners. Buildingshort, online practice quizzes intoyour course will motivate studentsto do assigned readings, and it isan excellent way to reinforce key

ideas students should be gleaningfrom their texts. Interestingly, itdoesn’t seem to matter whetherthe quizzes are heavily weighted,point-wise; students appreciatethe structure they offer and real-ize the intrinsic value of testingthemselves as a review and studytechnique. Also, by providingthese exercises online, feedback isimmediate, quizzes don’t takeaway from class time, and scoresare recorded automatically in theonline gradebook.

A typical class period offers alimited time frame for thoughtfuldiscussion, so many faculty areturning to online discussions toprovide a forum for reflectiveconversation about the coursecontent. An excellent way to uti-lize discussions is to require stu-dents to respond to open-endedquestions, and then to come backlater and respond to some of theirclassmates’ postings. In addition,specific students can be assignedto generate discussion questions,moderate discussion, critiquearguments, summarize postings,or develop follow-up questions.These tasks can rotate throughoutthe semester to provide a varietyof experiences for each student.

Loosening our grip on thereins in a course can be tricky—most of us are comfortable mak-ing the decisions about how andwhen learning progress will beassessed, for example. What mighthappen, however, if you were tosuggest to your students that theytell you how they’d like todemonstrate that they’ve learnedthe material? Because of the widevariety of technologies now avail-able for instruction, studentscould create Websites or videos,give multimedia presentations, orwrite papers loaded with links toresources and supplementarymaterials. The online environmentfacilitates these proactiveapproaches by reducing the influ-ence of the “authority figure”perception of the instructor thatstudents (often unknowingly)bring to the classroom.

Helping our students learnhow to be active learners and totake responsibility will providethem with valuable habits for life.Utilizing technology to get themstarted offers a workable settingto make it happen. For more onhow to use technology for teach-ing and learning, call IDS at 864-2600 or e-mail us at ids@ku.edu.

SEPTEMBER 2003 TEACHING MATTERS s 7

Before the summer break, CTEsponsored two events for faculty.The first, the Celebration ofTeaching banquet, was held onMay 8. Thirty-five teachers fromsmall departments were honoredby their graduate students:

Jan Roskam, AerospaceEngineering; Sherrie Tucker,American Studies; Allan Hanson,Anthropology; Tanya Hartman,Art; Kyle Camarda, Chemical andPetroleum Engineering; SusanKemper, Child Language Program;Michael Shaw, Classics; Ric Steele,Clinical Child Psychology; MaryHise, Dietetics and Nutrition;Keith McMahon, East AsianLanguages and Cultures; TedJuhl, Economics; Tom Booker,French and Italian; CurtisSorenson, Geography; Paul Enos,Geology; Arne Koch, GermanicLanguages and Literatures;Michael Godard, Health, Sport,and Exercise Sciences; JohnFerraro and Marc Fey, Hearingand Speech; David Cateforis,History of Art; Elizabeth

Kuznesof, Latin AmericanStudies; Donald Watkins,Linguistics; Bedru Yimer,Mechanical Engineering; ApurbaDutta, Medicinal Chemistry; JoanMcDowd, Occupational Therapy;Christian Schoeneich, Pharmaceu-tical Chemistry; Rick Dobrowsky,Pharmacology and Toxicology;Dennis Grauer, Pharmacy Practice;Thomas Tuozzo, Philosophy;Patricia Lowe, Psychology andResearch in Education; Ray Davis,Public Administration; RobertMinor, Religious Studies; MariaCarlson, Slavic Languages andLiteratures; Carol Warren,Sociology; Vicky Unruh, Spanishand Portuguese; and Hugh Catts,Speech-Language-Hearing.

In late May, 29 faculty andadjunct faculty members attendedone of three CTE Best PracticesInstitutes. Participants includedGlenn Adams, Psychology; MaryChristine Banwart; Communica-tion Studies; Neal Becker,Economics; JoAnn Browning; CEAEngineering; Mark Cederburg,

Social Welfare; Kathryn Conrad,English; Ben Eggleston, Philoso-phy; Reva Friedman-Nimz,Teaching and Leadership; MeganGreene, History; Robert Gregory,Health, Sport and ExerciseSciences; Gregory Hanley,Human Development and FamilyLife; Scott Harding, SocialWelfare; Andrea Herstowski andThomas Huang, Design; DouglasHuffman, Teaching andLeadership; Jill Kleinberg;Business; Canan Kocabasoglu,Business; Joan Letendre, SocialWelfare; Linda Miller, Journalism;Michael Murray, Physics andAstronomy; Holly Nelson-Becker,Social Welfare; Jeffrey Olafsen,Physics and Astronomy; JerryPenland, CEA Engineering; JudyPostmus, Social Welfare; MilenaStanislavova, Mathematics; HollyStorkel, Speech-Language-Hearing; Kelli Thomas, Teachingand Leadership; RachelThompson, Human Developmentand Family Life; and CatherineWeaver, Political Science.

GOOD WORK

2004 Department Teaching Award, fall awards

Faculty attend institutes and Celebration of Teaching banquet

Small departments on theLawrence campus are invited tosubmit nominating statements forthe 2004 Department Excellencein Teaching Award. According toDan Bernstein, CTE director, theprogram’s purpose is to supportthe development of departmentcultures that advocate effectiveteaching. The award process gathers examples of innovative,collaborative and effective intra-departmental initiatives, honorsthose that are well developed, and

shares them with other depart-ments to further their develop-ment of teaching programs.

Nominating statements are dueNovember 10 for the $8,000award. For complete information,check the CTE web site atwww.ku.edu/~cte and look under“Special Announcements.”

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CTE’s advisory board namedthese faculty as recipients of sup-port for these programs this fall:

Faculty Seminar: Paul Atchley,Psychology; Sheryle Gallant,Psychology; Mechele Leon,Theatre and Film; and CatherineSchwoerer, Business.

Faculty Fellows: Pok-Chi Lau,Design; Judith McCrea, Art;Elizabeth MacGonagle, History;Christopher Brown, Geography.

Teaching Grants: Yi Jin,Economics; Kissan Joseph,Business; Kathryn Libal, Women’sStudies; and Jeffrey Olafsen,Physics and Astronomy.

8 s TEACHING MATTERS SEPTEMBER 2003

Teaching Matters is published by the Center for Teaching Excellence and dis-tributed to KU faculty at no charge. Its purpose is to disseminate informationto faculty about teaching, learning, and faculty enrichment opportunities.

The staff welcomes your comments and suggestions. We will upon occasioninvite the submission of articles of special interest to the academic community.

Editor: Judy EddyCenter for Teaching ExcellenceThe University of Kansas1455 Jayhawk Blvd., Room 135Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7604785-864-4199cte@ku.eduwww.ku.edu/~cteThe University of Kansas does not discriminate in its academic, admissions,

or employee programs and abides by all federal regulations pertaining to same.

END NOTE

Ten strategies to encourage studentsto take responsibility for their learning

Judy Eddy, CTE

One way to make our classes the exciting, intellectual exchanges we want them to be is to teach our studentsto be responsible learners. Sara Jane Coffman, an instructional developer at the Center for TeachingExcellence at Purdue University, has identified ten strategies that teachers can use to encourage students totake responsibility for their learning:1. Ask students why they are taking your course and have them tell you their reasons in writing. Most

students don’t think about why they’re taking a class. Getting them to think and write about it will deep-en their commitment to the course and give you information about their needs, expectations, and goals.

2. Be sure students come to class prepared. Use a textbook with study questions and require students tocomplete interesting homework assignments. Start class with a quick quiz, graded or ungraded. At theleast, have students bring to class a question based on their assignment that they’d like to have answered.

3. Help students attain the proper mindset for class. Use the time before class starts, and pay particularattention to how you use the first ten minutes of class, when students are most alert and attentive.

4. Make participation and interaction integral parts of the course. Use discussion and questions asoften as possible. Explain to your students that you need to know what they’re thinking so you’ll know ifthey’re learning.

5. Make students responsible for each other. Have students pair up with a study buddy. Or assign stu-dents to study groups and give them class time to prepare for the first exam together.

6. Teach students to behave responsibly in groups. Make every member of a group responsible for thegroup achieving its goals.

7. Model higher cognitive skills. Let your students see your curiosity and the way you ask questions.8. Have students analyze their learning experiences, and give them opportunities to give you feedback

about how the course is going and to suggest changes that would help them learn better.9. End class in a meaningful way. Have students summarize material, take a quiz, or think about “Why?”10. Don’t protect students from the consequences of their behavior. Extending a deadline if a student

experiences a crisis is one thing; extending it because the student failed to plan reinforces bad behavior. Coffman concludes, “By teaching responsibility, we not only enhance learning and raise the level of our

classrooms, but we help produce responsible citizens and productive members of society” (4).

Reference: Coffman, S. J. (Winter 2003). Ten strategies for getting students to take responsibility for their learning.College Teaching 51 (1), 2–4.