Teacher procrastination versus Student procrastination
If the teacher procrastinates with grading and returning calls, students complain.Hopfully the teacher improves in these areas. The side of procrastination that really concerns me is Student proscrantination. Many of them put off doing what they know is a priority because of demands that are driven by others despite the unpleasant outcomes this may bring. Does chronic procrastinators stop themselves from achieving things they're capable of and fall short on career goals?
Yes, chronic procrastination stops students from achieving things they're capable of.
One solution that I use to combat this problem is to give students a list of all tasks at the beginning of the week, with the specific due dates listed. I then require them to prioritize their workload.
At first, the students struggle with this, but by time they finish the program, their time management skills have improved.
This is an important lesson for them, given that they are going to be going into professions that will require effective time management skills. The attorneys that will be supervising the paralegals coming out of our program will not tell them when things are due. They will expect them to get everything done, so they must prioritize on their own.
I'm glad that you mentioned this Betty. Time management is often not something that students learn about in school. Yet, it's a critical skill – no matter what profession they ultimately choose. I'm curious to hear perspectives on other general, yet essential skills that students need that are often not part of the curriculum in professional programs.
Vicky,
I believe that students that do procrastinate do fall short of their career goals. Because of things going on at home, family problems, or stress from their full time jobs they put off doing their assignments and don't study like they should and end up failing their exams and keep falling further behind. Often many of them end up dropping out of school instead of finishing or even trying to catch up. These same students had this problem while in high school and have never learned to overcome this obstacle.
The school that I teach in we try to catch these students early and they also have to take a time management course which helps those who are really COMMITTED to advancing in their chosen fields.
Great points Mary! Time and stress management is not just important for instructors, it's important for students too. When you learn great time and stress management skills, you can serve as an positive role model to others.
I do believe that procrastinators do fall short on career goals and other things that they are capable of because they have waited until the last minute to complete the tasks. If, however, they begin to priortize the tasks first in order of importance the students and others will start to see a change in their grades, attitudes and overall success.
Yes, this is true. Students not only need to prioritize their assignments but what is more important is to help them realize how important it is to prioritze their lives. One of the biggest struggles I have as an instructors is making the students realize that they need to make school a priority if they want to succeed. Success in school, career, and life requires prioritization. Anybody have any suggestions on how to accomplish this?
I don't know if students who procrastinate don't fully achieve their educational goals. However it can seriously affect their career goals. Consequently I think it is important that we stress timeliness in their work, and have consequences if work is not received on time. If we do not guide the students in this fashion I think we are doing them a tremendous disservice. Employers usually do not tolerate the nonsense excuses, etc. that some teachers accept.
Great point Robert! It is much better for our students to learn these important lessons from us - prior to experiencing negative consequences in the workplace.
Maybe their expectation of how long the tasks will take is where the problem is. Give them an idea of how long each task will take. Then they can allow more time for the tasks. I know that is the problem for the class I teach. They start too late because they think it will take less time than it actually will. I tell them how long to expect the assignment to take, but I guess they think that since I can do it in an hour, they can do it in two, when in reality, they need four or five hours.
Yes, setting expectations on the length of time it will take to complete assignments can be very helpful to students. It's a great way for students to assess their skill / progress relative to the average student too.
You make a really interesting point. This is definitely something I am going to try to keep in mind when discussing assignments with my classes. I think it would be very helpful to give them at least an estimate of how much time it may take them to complete an assignment.
I find this also in the classes I teach. Their final project takes about 40 hours. Even warning them I get about half of the final projects not finished.
That's tough Sherilyn! You might set up a system where students are rewarded or reinforced for turning in projects early.
Hi Betty,
I also agree with your response. You have shown a great way to try to help the students be more successful in their education and procrastinate less.
I realize that this happens, as most students have other priorities in their lives as well; kids, jobs, spouses, friends, etc. If we, as the instructors, can make it a little easier on the students so that they can prioritize their work better. Then, that is great! Thanks for the great tip!
Amber K.
Hi Everyone!
I agree that students and teachers can both procrastinate in their duties. When a teacher procrastinates the students may become less likely to do their work on time as well. The teacher has to be the roll model for these students.
So yes, I do agree that chronic procrastination can make a student or teacher fall short on their career goals. Mainly because of the fact that they do not complete their work on time.
Example:
A student (Joey) knows that there is a big final exam coming up. Joey gets a phone call from a friend (Thomas) that he has not heard from in a while. Instead of studying for the exam Joey decides to go get coffee with Thomas. When Joey finally comes home from the coffee date with Thomas he is too tired to study. Joey decides to go to bed and puts his studying off until the following day; which he has off of work.
Joey wakes up with every intention of studying all day today; when his phone starts to ring. Its his work, and they need him to come in for the next few hours because his co-worker has called in sick. Instead of explaining that he really needs to study, Joey decides to go into work to make some extra money.
By the time that Joey gets home he does not have much time to study before his final is due at midnight tonight. He crams the information in and ends up failing his exam. Was it worth it?
This is the type of procrastination that I think a lot of students have to overcome. If Joey would have stayed home the previous night instead of going out with Thomas, he would have had a sufficient amount of time to study and take his exam. And probably would have passed.
I hope that you all enjoyed my example. :)
Amber K.
Thanks for the detailed example and analysis Amber. Very thoughtful and agreed. It's better to stay on top of tasks when we can as opposed to putting them off for another time.
I do believe that procrastinators fall short on career goals and other things that they are capable of because they have waited until the last minute to complete the tasks. This is amply illustrated when put in perspective that points are deducted for late work submission. So, I see students who could have done very well barely pass a class or sometimes fail because of late work submission. On the other hand, teacher procrastination is not good because if grades are not published on due dates, it makes students feel that the university is reneging on her policy.
Austin
Andrea,
There are real procrastinators who wait for the last minute before completing the assignments, then they come up with unfounded stories as excuses for the late work. The quality of work produced by this group is often low due to rush.
Austin
