Motivating students not to wait until the last moment
One of the issues that I have is trying to motivate the class at the beginning of the course to get a head start on projects that will be do later. It seems after multiple classes of trying to put an urgency on this matter, the results are always the same. Most wait until the last moment to do the projects and simply rush through them and it shows in the work. Any advice on how to help with this problem?
Hi Randy,
Not exactly sure of the nature of the projects you require for your students so the suggestion I make may not apply to your setting. What I have found to work for my classes is to assign the projects and then have points along the way where the students hand in part of the assignments. The students will delay working on that part of the assignment until the last minute, but they are only working on a small part of it at point. Then the next part and then the next. What this does is keep the students progressing on their projects but so there is no last minute rush to complete the entire assignment since they have been working on smaller sections along the way. This method also lets you know if there are any problems that need to be addressed along the way.
Gary
Randy,
I am in the same boat. Last semester we had guys acknowledge that "today" was May 27, The "OH NOOOooo" reaction was when they realized they have 11 days to finish the final project.
I start off every semester with Do THIS and THIS now or YOU WILL RUN OUT OF TIME. I have even grabbed students from previous semesters into class to give testimonials as to the pending crunch, UNLESS THEY START NOW!
My last line of redundancy is that on the class sign in sheet there is a spreadsheet with dates down the left column, classifications of projects across the top row and populating the table is the actual project and it's due date. I have a signature for each attended class in case someone says something like the inevitable "I wasn't aware of..." Well, I have 12 signatures to the contrary.
I also review this table every Monday reminding the students we have X weeks remaining in the semester, the next test is ___, the next quiz is ___, the next project due is ___.
It kills me to have to hold people's hands, because when I went to school it was "Do it on your own, or fail." I'm walking the fine coddling / nurturing line.
Hope this helps.
Hi Bradford,
You make a number of very good points on how to help students succeed without doing everything for them.
Gary
I normally apply two techniques:
1. Extra points to finish early (before time) so they have more window to finish in time.
2. I learned my lesson and normally set my target date a little early. I keep explaing students that they will be having late grade after that time. I have seen most students take it very serious and normally turn the work in time.
I have found that these two techniques really work also.
Bradford,
I appreciate what you are saying. When I went to school it was the same. Do it or fail, with very little or no handholding to get work completed on time.
In another thread about timeliness I posted a comment about accepting personal responsibility - or rather the lack of! I think this serves as another example of the cavalier “oh well†attitude.
I really don't understand it. I have always wondered if we as instructors are failing to effectively motivate the students but I also see this attitude in the workplace too.
I'm open to any suggestions because I sometimes feel like the line of nurturing / coddling is sometimes crossed.
I also break projects into smaller components. For example, when writing an appellate brief, they will hand in the fact pattern, then an issue statement, an analysis, etc. at various times through the course. That way I can keep tabs on their progress and ensure I get the final product. I also clearly state in the beginning, I will not take late assignments. So, that way they really do have to do it.
This is a reality in the education field; to remedy this issue I have opted to prepare a calendar where all students can see the dates in which projects are due. Before the end of the course I would go over different projects that were due. This is a strategy to help the student organize and assume responsibility.
Some of our lab assighnments can only be done on a certain day because the equipment is not available the other days so I would make sure at the end of class each day we would review what we have done and what we will do the next day to keep the scedual in their heads its not easy but it does help. If you dont keep it infront of them they loose sight of the goal.
I do not take late work when I break projects into smaller components. However the final presentation of the project MUST include all of smaller components. It is the student's choice to do the work and get credit for it or procranstinate, and still be required to get the work done and losing the credit.
Hi Frank,
Each instructor needs to be clear and consistent on how he/she will handle late work. You have a good system set up that lets the student do the work or crash depending on whether they get the work done on time. It is up to them to make the decision about when they will complete the work but whatever decision they make they know all along what the consequences are going to be.
Gary
Procrastination is the worst case senario, it causes stress along with other problems, I break down my assignments in segments, and if they have a problem we dicuss the area of concern
We just implemented a new project outline for our students and each step is documented at certain points through the course. Each step is due at a specific time and date. This keeps the students on task to complete their chosen topics in samll bits at a time.
Hi Tamara,
I think this is a great way to keep students focused on deadlines as well as giving them a clear understanding of the expectations. This takes the guess work out of what is going the assignments are going to be and when they are do.
Gary
