Students Leaving Class Early

This Q&A was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond –

Question

Dear Jonas,

In my introductory science class that has a broad population (freshmen to seniors), a number of students leave the class shortly after it starts. Most recently, after giving back an hour exam, a good number left while I was explaining the correct answers to the class, and a few more left when I finished this and before I started lecturing on new material. Now, I freely admit that my lectures may not always be the most scintillating, but this seems to be, at best, rude, not just to the teacher but also to the other students who remain for the class.

Such behavior seems to be getting more frequent. I have heard of some methods of combating it, such as “pop” lecture quizzes, but I’m wondering what are some other types of approaches people have found effective, etc?

Signed: Barring the Door

Answer

Dear Barring the Doors,

While the basic concern you describe is clear (students leaving class prior to the end of the lecture), determining the cause is more difficult from the information you provided. There are two previous Jonas columns that address this and related issues, Jonas on Inattentive Students (4/19/01), and Jonas on Civility in the Classroom (5/24/01). You may find some helpful suggestions in those columns on student engagement and promoting constructive in-class interactions.

However, it is important to note that classroom behavior is a manifestation of the “culture” that has developed in that class – a function of current and past experience with the class and instructor as well as each student’s personal motivation to learn the subject material. Personal motivation varies from individual to individual. If a student is taking a course simply to fill a core requirement and has no genuine interest, motivation is likely to be low. If the course is within a student’s major or an area of genuine interest, the initial motivation will be higher. If one is teaching a class with predominantly low a priori interest, one must work much harder to develop it and maintain it.

One important determinant of any classroom culture is clearly stating expectations at the start of the course. While this may be too late for this particular class, I have found it to be valuable that my syllabus be explicit about attendance and my notion that the classroom is a learning community where actions are expected to be mutually respectful (faculty to student, student to student and student to faculty), including students not being disruptive during class. And this includes not leaving early unless they have previously notified me. I emphasize this idea of a respectful learning environment on Day 1 of the course, and continue to remind students as needed. Most students appreciate having reasonable ground rules for classroom interactions aimed at maximizing their learning and maintaining a supportive environment to facilitate that learning.

It is not sufficient that you respect your students (as I expect you do). It is necessary that they perceive this respect. A previous Jonas column talked about faculty as role models, including how this respect is reflected in the instructor’s words and actions (Jonas on Role Models, 2/13/03). This includes starting and ending each class as scheduled, coming to class well-organized, and telling students at the start of class what will be covered that day and why it is important. Speaking to students in class with respect means listening to them, taking their concerns and questions seriously, and valuing their status as novices in your field. Students will pick up on and appreciate this attitude, and be more likely to take the class seriously since they feel they are being taken seriously.

Students may also be leaving to avoid a lecture that they perceive is boring or lacks instructor-student interaction. You admitted that your lectures “may not always be the most scintillating,” and I’m not clear on exactly how that was meant. In the earlier column on “Inattentive Students,” I mentioned that the instructor’s enthusiasm and energy will feed into that of the students. If one is not exuding enthusiasm and passion for one’s subject area, students may infer that you don’t really want to be in the class teaching them, that the topic is not very interesting, or both. I also noted that lectures can be “spiced up” with at least two elements: a) aspects of the topic that are open for interesting discussion, and b) anecdotes. In your own subject area, I am sure there are unresolved issues that you can talk with the students about, and there may be news stories that can be related to the topic. Bring in a newspaper clipping and show it to the class, or show them a website that deals with the topic. Anecdotes can help break up the intensity of a technical lecture and let students see more of your human side.

In addition to these lecture elements, in-class exercises can be used to keep students engaged and make them want to stay for the lecture. We previously described the technique called “10-2 squared.” After 10 minutes of lecture or demonstration, pose to students a question that applies what you’ve presented. Have them work with a partner for 2 minutes to formulate an answer. Then take two minutes to debrief the group. This takes some time and has a spontaneity that carries some risk, but it will get the students thinking and promote the idea that your classroom is intended to be an active rather than passive environment.

If you are going to employ an end-of-class mechanism to encourage attendance and keep students from leaving early, I prefer something that students will look forward to and perhaps lead to a potentially higher grade (not a punitive mechanism).

I hope that some of these ideas will help keep more students in class and engaged.

Jonas

Quick Tip

The “Academic Jeopardy” game is a good example of an end-of-class activity. Ask students to answer a conceptual question about the immediately preceding lecture material. The question can be written in a short-answer or multiple-choice format. The students also specify how much they think their answer is worth (up to a predetermined limit, say 3 or 5 points). Depending on whether the answer is right or wrong, that value is either added to or subtracted from their Jeopardy point total. At the end of the term, the cumulative point total is tallied, and the grade adjusted according to some predetermined rubric.

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This content was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond.

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