Document Type

Presentation - Oral - to professional peers

Attending to student frustrations and work in education research

Department

Physics & Engineering

Date of Activity

Winter 2023

Abstract

I've come to understand my role as being the tactful coach who comes to work to help students (during a particularly sensitive time in their life). Learning how typical scenarios in physics class represent a face threat has helped me to proactively guide frustrated students toward productive practices (rather than react defensively). I now start design decisions for a new course with (about two) research-validated techniques while keeping design elements modest for the first year, so that students do not experience the unnecessary frustrations inevitable when a teacher's ambitions are unrealistic for that term. I would never again give a test (in an introductory class) designed to allow a heavily-weighted low-F score with an otherwise decent test performance. Every time I have given students more agency in my classes, rather than micromanaging their class-time experience, I have been impressed with their ability to respond like intelligent humans.

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