Dr. Calvin White Jr., Associate Dean of Humanities & Associate Professor of History, led a discussion on “Classroom Lessons Learned” at the April Wally Cordes Chair Discussion.
Dr. White discussed the 8 main lessons he has learned through his years of teaching.
1. Embrace Change
White claimed to be every bit of a “traditionalist” when it came to delivery of curriculum and learning objectives. He noted his early teaching style was very much having students “sit in a classroom and let them listen to me pontificate.” However, times and students have changed. Students now were born into a tech driven world and they expect faculty to use these tools as well.
Part of embracing change is embracing failure. Dr. White highlighted the fact that learning technology requires work. You will need to practice using technology and different tools and in many cases you will fail. But, just like we expect from our students, we need to keep trying!
Here is an example! He let his students know that this was a new experience for them both.
Dr. White shared his first attempt at creating a welcome video for his online course.
He also emphasized that technology and online global learning is disruptive but it is not going away any time soon and we need to embrace it in order to ensure that online learning is just as rigorous and is equivalent to face-to-face courses.
2. I Cannot Expect a Withdrawal Without a Deposit
Dr. White emphasized a need to help students. We are the experts in the field and we need to be sure that we can deliver content to everyone: experts and non-experts, students and colleagues.
He continually asks himself:
- What can I do to help my students?
- Did I set them up for failure?
- Did I overshoot on this assignment or my expectations?
- Did I discuss what happened?
“There is a need to uphold our end in the classroom and not push responsibility on the students,” claims White, who added, “It is not the Calvin White show. I needed to stop making it about me and make it about the students.”
3. Classroom Etiquette
White focused on what instructors can do to take ownership of the classroom and set expectations for the students.
He offered the following advice:
- Explain to students why they should take responsibility for their own actions and education.
- He uses formal titles to address students. He calls them Mr. X and Ms. Y.
- Require students to attend class and be on time.
- He dislikes the sentiment: “If they do not want to be there then I don’t want them there.” We need to recognize that 18-19 year olds are not always making well-informed decisions. We should set expectations for them.
- He locks the door and will not allow students to enter the classroom if class has already started.
- He also starts promptly and gets to class early. He begins class with “It’s time to go to work!”
4. Teach the Students You Have, Not the Ones You Wish You Had!
Avoid “classroom envy.” Dr. White proudly notes that we are at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville–teach those students. Do not regret that you don’t have students like those at Harvard. The fact is, Harvard professors make the same claims!
If there are deficiencies that we see in our students, White claims that “we are there to bridge the gap and take care of those deficiencies.” Our job is to make them engage critically with the material and make them better than they were when they entered our classroom.
5. Open Door Policy
Dr. Calvin White is well-known for his open door policy for students. So much so that there is an “Open Door Policy Award” named after him! He believes that if we do not make the time to meet with our students when they come to us, we are not doing our job.
He posed the following: what if that was the one time that that student reached out and came to your office? What if that is the one time that student needed you?
Most of us became instructors because there was that one faculty member that was there when we needed them. White asks us to be that mentor.
6. Never Confuse Good with Great
One thing that we can do as instructors is to set expectations for our students. And more importantly, set REASONABLE expectations for our students. There will be different expectations for a survey class than for a graduate seminar.
However, part of setting expectations, according to White, is to keep raising them! We will find that if we raise expectations, students will often meet them.
He also noted that he is known as a tough grader and shared his grading scale:
- 90-100 is outstanding
- 80-89 is above average
- 70-79 is average
- 60-69 is mediocre/passing
Share your grading scale and expectations with students and stick with them!
7. Take Away Excuses
White stressed the importance of taking away the excuses that students have for not completing something or meeting their obligations.
He discussed the example of Dr. Nathan Alexander who went viral for holding his student’s baby during lecture so that the student, whose childcare fell through, could stay and attend class. White noted that he is not sure that he would have done the same as Alexander, but that these types of actions allow students to to meet our expectations.
How can we help our students? We can point them toward resources. If they are hungry we can make sure they get fed. We need to show them that they matter.
8. Embrace Student Success
Student success and faculty go hand-in-hand. You cannot have successful students without faculty support and help. White suggests inviting students into our labs, classrooms, and research. We should let them know what we do.
White notes that “we are here to serve the institution and our students” and the way we can do that is by getting involved and contributing to student success.
If you would like more information on how to incorporate technology into your courses, reach out to us at tips@uark.edu.
For more information on Dr. White’s teaching methods, the presentation can be downloaded and viewed as a PDF: Calvin White Jr – Classroom Lessons Learned or you can email him at calvinwh@uark.edu.
This content was developed from a presentation by Calvin White Jr. which was sponsored by The Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center (TFSC) at the University of Arkansas.