Reaching the Ones Left Behind
When generative AI like Chat GPT became widely available, it was predicted that it would cause a major disruption in education. I believe that it will, but I don’t think that it will be the doom and gloom that many are predicting. My hope is that teachers are going to realize that continuing to do things the way they always have isn’t the answer and will look to pedagogical best practices as a solution.
This first series of posts will look at some approaches that might help with this. We’ll explore a variety of topics including meeting students where they are, building community, and the Science of Learning.
Meeting Students Where They Are
I believe that one of the best things that we can do to combat inappropriate use of AI is to shift our focus to the students who don’t fall into the category of the stereotypical “good student.” When students aren’t engaged or motivated, they often look for shortcuts like AI to save them time and effort. The good news is that building a course with the “problem” students in mind can help all students.
Who are the students at the lower end of the bell curve? Why are they there? It could be a variety of reasons including:
Under prepared – they are missing the prior knowledge or baseline skills necessary for success.
Don’t know how to learn – they are lacking the skills necessary to study effectively.
Fear of failure – they prefer to fail because they didn’t try, rather than fail because they aren’t good enough or smart enough.
Low priority – they prioritize other aspects of their lives over the course
Uninterested – they don’t see the relevance of the course material to their life or career path
What can we do about these issues? We’ll talk about some of them here and address others in future posts. Don’t assume that what worked for you will work for all of your students – education is never “one size fits all.” Be open to trying something new.
Help Them Fill in the Gaps
Students who start a class underprepared aren’t likely to catch up without some help. If you have been teaching for any length of time, you might be aware of what the common gaps are, but if you aren’t, consider asking others who teach the same courses where they have seen some of these knowledge gaps. Use this information to build reviews into your course. If some foundational knowledge is required for students to succeed in your course, then it is important that you make sure they have it.
A review could take a variety of formats:
A short session at the beginning of a new topic-- this may work well for students who just need a refresher, but might not be as effective for students who have no prior knowledge
Giving a pretest to find gaps in knowledge--You can use the information in the pretest to inform your approach to helping the students who need it
If there are only one or two students with a large knowledge gap, invite them to your office hours to help them get up to speed
If there are many students, then a class dedicated to teaching the fundamental concepts may be required
If time is limited, you could include links in the quiz results (if you missed question 3 watch this video…) or refer students to tutoring in the learning center
Help Them Learn How to Read
Reading for an academic class is often different from the types of reading that students have done before. Not everyone will know how to do it. Consider scaffolding some of the earlier reading in your course to help students build their reading skills. Students who are struggling with reading for the course can also be referred to the library or learning center for more individualized help.
Help Them Manage Their Time
Students coming from high school, where their day was scheduled for them, often struggle when they get to college. Even students who are good at time management may be working, playing sports, and/or handling family obligations and can use help prioritizing tasks.
Setting expectations for how much time students should be spending on reading and doing work for your class can help them manage their schedule. Students who find that they are spending significantly more time than expected on work for your course should be encouraged to reach out for help.
As you are building your course schedule, consider how much time students should be spending on work for your course and make sure that the time you allow is sufficient. Not having enough time to complete an assignment can be a reason to turn to AI or other ways of cheating.
Help Them Prioritize
If the problem is that your course is not a priority for your student, that can be quite a challenge. We will dig into this challenge, as well as a potential solution focusing on connection in a future blog post. One quick strategy to utilize is looking for ways to give the student small wins. This can help to build interest and momentum. For example,
Small assignments that they can complete in a short amount of time
Flexibility in your schedule – having a due date with a “grace period” gives students a sense of control over when they submit an assignment
Help Them Face Their Fear of Failure
Often students who fear failure just won’t try. Changes that you can make to your classroom norms that may help address this fear include:
Normalizing struggle – share stories of your path to mastery, remind them that nobody starts out great
Looking for ways to give second chances – we all learn from mistakes. Does your class allow this to happen?
What About AI?
Students are more likely to use AI to cheat if they don’t feel like they can succeed on their own. Setting all students up for success can help to minimize that temptation.
If some of the above suggestions feel like too much work, you can consider using AI to help you support struggling students:
Have it explain topics in a different way
Use it to generate quiz questions or problem sets
My Recommendation
This week I recommend checking out Cate Denial’s wonderful essay/soon to be book A Pedagogy of Kindness