Meeting Students Where They Are At
In this episode, we wanted to hear stories from faculty and students on unique teaching styles and classroom experiences that highlight how to meet students where they are in their higher education journey.
Show Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANDREW COLETTI: Hello, everyone.
The topic for this episode of The T in Teaching
is meeting students where they are.
The host for today's episode from the Fox School
of Business Department of Online and Digital Learning
is Instructional Designer Sara Looney.
Our host interviewed an undergraduate student,
former graduate alumni, and a Temple professor
to get their take on today's topic.
Our undergraduate student is Emma Ryan,
who is in her sophomore year studying marketing
in the Fox School of Business.
EMMA RYAN: I feel like nobody's going
to go to class if they think that you're not
going to care about attendance.
ANDREW COLETTI: Our graduate alumni
is Marianne Jimenez, who graduated from Temple
with her master's of science in human resource management.
She is currently working for the clinical research organization
ICON plc as a resourcing specialist.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: As long as you followed it,
and you had the readiness to learn,
you were going to be successful.
ANDREW COLETTI: Our Temple faculty member
is Assistant Vice President Eric Brunner.
He currently leads the learning and development division
of Temple University's Human Resource Department,
where he and his team are responsible for designing,
delivering, and evaluating the university's
professional development training courses.
ERIC BRUNNER: And I want to figure out
how to take what I teach and make
it relevant to their lives, relevant to their professional
lives, relevant to the world in which they work in,
live in, and go to school in.
ANDREW COLETTI: Please keep in mind
that this episode is centered around honest feedback
between students and faculty on the reality of higher
education.
Therefore, we plan to continue this conversation
in further episodes with different students and faculty.
If you have any questions that you would like to have asked,
or you want to be a part of the podcast in later episodes,
please email me at andrew.coletti@temple.edu.
Thank you for listening, and please enjoy.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SARA LOONEY: Thank you for joining us today.
Welcome back to The T in Teaching
podcast from the ODL Department at Fox and STHM
here at Temple University.
So we have Professor Eric Brunner with us
today from the HRM department, Marianne Jimenez,
a graduate of the MSHRM program, and undergrad Emma Ryan
from the marketing program.
So thank you all for joining us today.
I'm going to--
ERIC BRUNNER: Thank you, Sara.
SARA LOONEY: Oh, yes.
We are going to jump right in.
So today, the podcast episode and the focus
is meeting students where they are.
So I'm going to start with you, Eric, going
right into how you start setting expectations in class.
ERIC BRUNNER: So, to me, when I teach--
thank you very much for the question, Sara.
And I think a lot about things from the student perspective.
So I think a lot about Emma and a lot about Marianne,
and I think what might be their needs.
So if we are a collaborative entity toward the learning--
meaning, if I can think of ways to make that learning
transfer and make it easier on the student.
So when I meet them where they are,
I consider they're already busy people, they're already--
so they have lives outside of academics.
And they do--
I also assume that they have a desire to learn.
So I go in with that assumption.
And I want to figure out how to take what I teach
and make it relevant to their lives,
relevant to their professional lives,
relevant to the world in which they work in,
live in, and go to school in.
So preparation for me is making sure
that my syllabus is, like, lockstep,
that every single thing the student needs to know
is in the syllabus, and then making sure
that the Canvas site, which is the learning management
tool that we use here at Temple University,
to make sure that the syllabus and Canvas match.
There are always some little glitches,
but those are the some of the things--
SARA LOONEY: I mean, Canvas syllabus, those are definitely
what students need everything to align
so they know what they have at the beginning of the semester.
But like that first class, when you're
setting an expectation of deadlines and the assignment
looking ahead--
ERIC BRUNNER: Well, for my classes,
I create welcome videos.
So even-- I try to keep-- because I want to make sure
that when I'm in front of students,
that actually what we're talking about is class content.
I want to make sure that I use time well,
whether it's undergraduate or graduate students.
So I want to make sure that I do that.
So I create welcome videos.
And those welcome videos set the expectations.
They review the syllabus.
They talk about reading in its entirety
so that when we get into the class that first time,
I can jump right in and say, if you
have any questions about the syllabus, this is a good time.
So usually, I start the class and say, tell me.
I've got the welcome video.
Hopefully, you've read the syllabus.
Are there any questions, things I can clear up?
But then I'm ready to dive in, because I
feel like the time in front of the students is precious.
It's precious time, and I want to make sure
that it's used well.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, thank you.
So from the student end, I'm going
to start with Emma on the undergrad side.
At the beginning of the semester,
do you have a lot of faculty that have welcome videos,
or how is--
it's, I think, typically called syllabus week.
The first week of classes, going into the content,
how do you feel with the faculty when
they present their syllabi?
EMMA RYAN: I think usually, they do a really good job.
And you can usually tell with attendance, late policy,
and any of that, how they're going to be
for the rest of the semester.
So I think that's really important that you
set that standard immediately.
And the welcome videos, I've never
really watched one before.
I'm not sure why.
I'm sorry.
But I just never clicked on it.
But it sounds like I'm going to do it now, so yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, I think we've all
had a similar experience in undergrad where
we neglect an intro video.
But it sounds like you'll try to listen to them going forward.
For faculty, though, if you find students
who don't watch the welcome videos or review
policies like attendance, it is an opportunity
to create something like a syllabus quiz or just
a check-in with the students before you start.
And from the grad side?
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Sure, sure.
So from my program--
I was in the MSHRM program--
it was an accelerated program.
So each course, the expectations were set early on
before even enrolling.
Each class is only five weeks long.
So as Eric mentioned, he did set up videos.
And we did watch them, just because that first night
of class-- it met every Thursday from 8:00 to 10:00 PM,
and you had to be live on Zoom, and you
have to be ready to be called on and answer questions.
So there were assignments scheduled
before the first class.
And all of that was very structured in the syllabus that
were provided by professors.
So it was structured on a weekly basis,
and then everything that was due had a date right next to it.
As long as you followed it and you had the readiness to learn,
you were going to be successful.
SARA LOONEY: Thank you, Marianne.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Sure.
ERIC BRUNNER: I might also add that when I talk--
whenever I communicated with the students
about things like lateness or attendance or things like that,
I also made the assumption that these are adults.
I'm teaching people who are responsible adults.
So sometimes, people-- students would want to come to me
and say--
tell me the litany of what was happening
or the reason that they couldn't attend a class.
And I said, well, you have to run your own life.
And I can tell you that every single moment that I'm
in front of you, I'm going to do something of value.
So what would you want me to say when you come
and tell me the story that you might miss class?
Oh, guess what?
Don't worry about that class.
We weren't going to do anything of value in that time.
That would never be true.
So if you have to miss a class, then just
make sure you make it up.
Make sure that you communicate with students in the class.
Make sure that you get--
if there are assignments that are due,
that you understand the context of those assignments.
And I took great pains to make sure-- you're right,
because sometimes in graduate-level classes,
there were assignments that were due the first night of class.
When you entered that Zoom room at 8:00 on a Thursday night,
you had already submitted things that were due.
And that is-- and I like the concept of teaching adults,
having people take responsibility
for their own learning, because I feel like you
as students are much more engaged
when you're taking responsibility rather
than me acting almost parental.
That's not a role that I want to play.
SARA LOONEY: No, certainly.
And setting those clear expectations early
on in the semester, as well as keeping to them,
that's actually my follow-up question.
Marianne, I'd like to actually go to you with that.
Does it help all those--
the policies in the syllabus and that first day of class,
like setting the expectation, do you
feel like it's met throughout.
That energy at the first class and the expectations that
are set for grad students, do you
feel like throughout the semester, they're held,
and you feel held to that standard?
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Yeah, definitely, Sara.
So even though it's a quick program--
I mentioned each was five weeks long--
there were flexibility.
And all the professors, I felt like I could approach them
if things came up.
When I had started my program, the lockdown just happened,
so it was a very challenging time for everybody.
And the professors were really empathetic towards that,
and I did appreciate that.
But also, having the syllabus there,
we would get an email that the syllabus is up.
You can check Canvas for what you need.
The course objectives were laid out.
And then part of it, too, is when you
enroll in a program like this--
I'm going for my master's in HR management--
I'm thinking of andragogy.
I'm a self-directed learner.
So as much as they're providing guidance,
it's really on you as the student
to make sure that you're going to be successful.
And that includes reaching out to your professors
when you need to if anything came up.
Because COVID happened, anything came up
because of personal reasons, just approach the professors.
They're people, and they're very understanding when
things came up.
But yes, there was structure provided,
but it wasn't so rigid where if anything came up,
I felt like I couldn't approach them.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, that's wonderful.
And I'm going to toss it to Emma now.
I don't want you to feel like you're representing
the undergrad population.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
I say "undergrad" and "grad" because--
ERIC BRUNNER: You can speak for all undergraduates for us
please, Emma?
Yeah, all 27,000 of them.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, no pressure.
EMMA RYAN: I feel like it's definitely on the student
to be successful in college.
We're paying for it now.
There's not really any excuse to do bad.
It's just wasting money.
But yeah, I pretty much agree with everything that you said.
SARA LOONEY: So with faculty, though, if something
does come up throughout the semester,
like yourself and other classmates,
do you feel comfortable reaching out to faculty?
Like if you do have to submit something
late or if you miss class, is it something that's hard to do?
Or do you find it--
EMMA RYAN: Yeah.
Usually, I'll just take the late penalty
because I'm like I'm in college.
We are-- exactly what you said, I feel like a lot of professors
feel like that.
And if my grade can afford it, I'm just like, OK.
As long as I'm passing, I don't care
that much, because I feel like it's a little disrespectful.
The teachers probably get so many students who just like
come up with excuses.
And it's like, all right.
You probably don't want to hear that again.
ERIC BRUNNER: Well, I do try to be thoughtful,
because I know that people have very real components
of their life that can come up.
So it depends on how often students communicate with me
and the way that they do.
And I would--
I think I'd feel-- if somebody says
I need a little bit of an extension on something,
and they ask me one or two times over the time
that I'm teaching, whether it's a full-semester course--
because I have taught 15-week courses
as well as the accelerated courses, Marianne.
So I've taught-- and I've taught the long version,
and I've taught the shorter version.
So individual requests for extensions make sense to me.
If every single week, you're asking for an extension,
then it's a different conversation
that I want to have around expectations.
And then I always want to know, Well, what's going on?
Because you're right.
The time that we're teaching is really different today
than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SARA LOONEY: It is.
ERIC BRUNNER: We are teaching a group of people
who have had to address and deal with this situation,
and their courses flipped from in person to all online.
And then how-- we also have to contextualize our content
to make sure that it's relevant to a global pandemic
that we're still addressing.
So I guess to say I want to be thoughtful and flexible.
And again, but if it's flexible time after time after time,
then it's a different conversation.
What's going on?
And it could be that something very real
is going on for that person.
And how can we support?
How can we help?
So I do think that that's important,
at least from a teaching perspective.
I don't want to monopolize.
But if I have a student that I feel
is in need of some support, I want to keep an eye on that,
I want to pay attention to that, and I
want to have that conversation.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, certainly.
I appreciate the response a lot.
Thank you.
Marianne, so I would like to throw it back to you again.
And certainly not just with Eric's course,
but any other courses that you've taken in your graduate
experience at Temple, how faculty
check in with your level of understanding with the content.
Whether it's halfway through the semester, at the end of class,
how do they check in with you and your level of understanding
of the content?
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Yeah.
Thanks, Sara.
I would say every week, there is some sort of assessment
that the faculty is making sure we're able to absorb
the material, we're adaptable.
There is different ways that they do that.
So some of-- many of the classes,
really, required a reflection or a discussion board assignment,
which I really found engaging because we would have
to answer a question, and then we
had to apply material from either that week
or from the class before.
We had to answer the question applying that material.
And then part of the assignment is
to respond to maybe two or three of your peers.
And what I really liked about that is your peers would
respond to you, and they would say, oh, this was great.
I didn't see this in the article.
I didn't interpret it this way.
So some would agree with you bringing
a different perspective to them.
And then some would disagree respectfully,
they just view it differently.
And that's OK because this is how we learn.
And then there are also times in classes
that we did split up into smaller breakout groups.
This happened, I would say, in every class of mine
where we had to meet with a smaller group.
We discussed what was being taught that evening,
and then we had to present it and bring it back to the larger
group what was discussed.
So it's kind of our own way of just showing
we understand the material, what's going on this evening,
this is how we're applying it to our real-life circumstances,
and then that's what we brought back to the larger group.
SARA LOONEY: That's wonderful.
So it seems more of like a continuous kind
of reflection and application.
EMMA RYAN: Definitely.
SARA LOONEY: Which is great.
Thank you.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Sure.
SARA LOONEY: So Emma, again, you're
not representing all of the undergrad.
But as an undergrad student, do you
feel that on a weekly basis, faculty are checking in?
Or do you feel you kind of get more feedback
once the midterm progress ratings come out?
EMMA RYAN: I would say, yeah, they're checking in weekly.
And especially with discussion posts,
those are so effective if the content's due before the class.
And if you have them respond--
if you have to respond to something,
I also think that's really effective in making
sure people do the work before class so you
can have a valuable class experience
and also learn something.
And in my MIS class that I took last semester,
they had us just talk to our neighbors.
This was an in-person class.
I feel like it's kind of weird to talk to people in class
after COVID.
I don't really talk to that many people when I'm in class.
But we would just do swim lanes together,
and it was very effective.
And it took a lot of pressure off of it, especially a concept
like that.
SARA LOONEY: Awesome.
So I'm going to take that same question
and direct it back to you, Eric, how you check in
with your students, their level of understanding on a weekly
or throughout the semester.
ERIC BRUNNER: Well, when I design
an educational experience-- so class could be
15 weeks or a 14-week semester.
It could be a shortened version.
What I do is I try to put what I call data points.
What are the different places that I can give the students
an opportunity to respond to something so that I can read
the response to pay attention to what the level of learning is?
And I also teach from what I call a perspective of mastery.
So some students come into classes
that I teach with a higher level or stronger knowledge.
You know, Marianne, when you came in,
you were already an HR professional.
And a lot of the things, you knew about
that I was going to be teaching.
So they weren't unfamiliar.
And then there were some students in our class
who had very little knowledge of what the class was going to be,
on either building human capital or diversity, equity,
and inclusion in an organizational imperative.
And so what I did is I created those data points,
and I paid attention to where the students were
based on their own learning.
So somebody who was a seasoned professional
would create really mature responses
to a discussion board.
And I would look at it and grade it and check in
from that perspective.
Somebody who was brand new to the field or brand new
to the content area, I would look
at what they described and say, Were they
sort of getting the main points of that?
And that was the way that I checked in with students.
I try-- I do not want students to ever fail my class.
And my-- the way I teach is, the only way
that you can fail my class is by not turning in work,
by not making an effort.
If you make an effort, I will find a way
to help you be successful in this class.
But my goal is to help people be successful.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah.
And, I mean, that's all of our goal here at university.
We're here for the students--
ERIC BRUNNER: Absolutely.
SARA LOONEY: Focus.
ERIC BRUNNER: And I do think that this might
be a slightly new paradigm.
And let's go to the olden days, where sometimes faculty
would want to prove that they were the smartest
person in the room and that they would do things that would not
necessarily bring people into and
engaging in the conversation.
In 2022 going into 2023, whether it's undergraduate or graduate,
we are partners to make sure that the learning is
transferred, to make sure that the degrees that you get
allow you to get work and create an opportunity for you
to find the work that you dreamed about,
that you always wanted to do, that you feel good
about yourself and feel successful.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Yeah, and if I just may add to that, Eric,
I remember some of our posts when
we had to write a reflective--
we had to answer a question on the discussion post.
What I really appreciated as a student is
before class started, you had given me feedback already.
You had graded it.
You had given me feedback, so if I had a question,
I would be comfortable to bring that up during class
because he had kind of an open-door policy, anything
you want to bring up during class, which I really
appreciated.
And then sometimes at the end of his feedback,
there might be a question for me to think about
to bring to class.
So that was just something I appreciated at the start of--
the beginning of the class.
ERIC BRUNNER: Quick question for you, Emma.
Do you follow your grades on the Canvas site?
In other words, do your faculty list the grades
as you go along in the semester, most of them?
I'm just curious.
EMMA RYAN: Yeah.
One of my classes, they have, like, 1,000 points.
So our grades on Canvas weren't the right ones,
and that kind of frustrated me.
But, yeah, I'm usually checking them--
not too crazy, but yeah.
Mine's in the corner of my Canvas,
on the dashboard somewhere.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah.
And what about-- and from Marianne,
from a graduate perspective, do most of the faculty--
could you track your grades as you were going along?
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Yes, everything was on Canvas.
And it was updated pretty quickly.
And if there were issues, I usually
went directly to the professor, and no issues.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah.
SARA LOONEY: So one more thing I'd
like to get into with feedback before we
move on to the next topic is just you
guys kind of started to address it,
having feedback before class.
But, Emma, do you see feedback you give to faculty?
Or if given an opportunity in class to--
this is what went well in class, this
is what I'd like to see more of, do you
have feedback from your professors on discussion board
posts that you see kind of incorporated
into the next class?
Or is it kind of like an assignment's done,
and it's done?
EMMA RYAN: For my business communications class,
we had a lot of feedback.
And I thought that was really nice.
But it wouldn't always be ready at the same time.
So our project would be due in, like, two weeks,
and then she would grade the first person's the day after,
and then ours two days before its due.
And I'm like, OK, it's a little frustrating.
But yeah, it's really nice when there's feedback,
because I don't really know what I'm doing, especially when it
comes to writing and stuff.
It helps out a lot.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, especially--
I know some faculty will allow a submission of a draft and then
final, then they'll add comments to both.
But it sounds like you really want feedback,
but you also really want it to be
delivered in a timely manner, which sounds reasonable.
EMMA RYAN: That, I think is very amazing, because it really
does help a lot.
SARA LOONEY: OK, so more of an open-ended question--
is there anything in general that you see--
and this is for both students again--
that you see faculty do in class going the extra yard
or engaging with you a little bit more,
meeting you if you're having a tough week?
Is there anything that you can remember
from either of your time at Temple
so far that really stood out and meant a lot to you?
Anyone who would like to start.
EMMA RYAN: Yeah, so my bus com class again, my professor,
she just really showed that she cared.
And she asked us for feedback that wasn't the SF form.
And that also happened with another one of my check-ins.
They were like, this is different.
This is for me.
I really do want to get to know what you're saying.
So yeah, most of my teachers at Temple have cared a lot,
and they really want you to succeed, which is nice.
SARA LOONEY: Thank you.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Definitely.
So I have different experiences, I think.
I've had professors where it was very by the numbers.
I feel like they didn't really know me as a person
or see me as a person.
I was just graded, and that was it.
And then you have professors like Eric, who what really--
something I remember is I would sign on for his class,
and he would have music playing, like jazz,
and it was just relaxing.
And he understands that we're normal people,
and we have had a long day.
Most of us are full-time workers.
Some of us are parents.
There are just other responsibilities
on top of being a student, and he recognized that.
So he was very mindful that everyone is signing on.
We have the same goal for tonight,
and that's we want to get through this class,
and we want to learn as much as we can.
But we really appreciate the environment
that you created as the professor.
And that just displays empathy from your side,
which is, I think, a quality that
makes a long-term positive impact on students
and learners.
ERIC BRUNNER: Thank you, Marianne.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Of course.
ERIC BRUNNER: The other thing--
just along those lines, too, when I teach, I also--
I always keep to the class time.
I start right on time, and I end right on time.
I feel like those are basic respect practices.
So if you come into the class a couple minutes late,
which does happen, that's fine.
But I've already started something,
and I'm going to start.
But I also don't try--
I don't go over, like, 5 minutes or 7 minutes,
because I know what it's like.
I know when I teach, I can feel it.
You can feel the rustle in the room
when you teach in person, when you know that the class is
going to end, and you can feel the pack-up moment
when people are closing their books,
or they're closing their laptops, you know what I mean,
and they're shuffling around.
SARA LOONEY: We've all done it.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yes, yeah.
And I try to make sure that, out of respect to the students,
that class ends right on time.
And so I really want to make sure that the time that I start
and the time that I end is clear and that in that time,
we're going to work significantly
on the class content.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Yeah.
And if I may add to that, there are some professors,
if we have a group project, they would end class earlier.
Let's say it's 8:00 to 10:00, they would end at 9:30
and say you have the last half hour to meet with your group.
And we really appreciate that, because it's
late in the evening.
And again, some of us work full time.
So just having that time be kind of incorporated
in that normal class time and not having to meet additionally
outside of class was just helpful to get
some of your time back for yourself,
just to have some mindfulness.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, thank you.
So I'm curious, kind of on the flip side to the question
to the students and alum, is there
anything that students that sticks out
for you, like that students--
not submitting early, but from a student side
that they do well that you appreciate as a faculty?
ERIC BRUNNER: I've been teaching for now probably
10 years, Sara.
And I don't think I've ever had a student in all those 10 years
who was trying to what I'll call get over, meaning they didn't
take what we were doing seriously enough to want
to be successful at it.
So maybe I'm just lucky.
I don't know.
And so that's helpful to me.
Now, I have had students who have had issues come up
where we've had to talk about, you know, Why is
an incomplete not a bad thing?
Why is maybe putting a pause on an academic process
not a bad thing if things are really
difficult in someone's life?
So I've had those conversations with students
where they've had to take an incomplete,
or they've had to put a pause on the academic experience.
But every one of those students has come back,
they've completed their work in the appropriate amount of time,
they've finished their degrees.
And so I just feel like those are
things that are important to be able to acknowledge, especially
at this particular time.
Stuff happens for people.
Life happens.
And I don't want life causing any one of the students
in my class to not be able to complete
their educational obligation, which is graduating
with a degree, getting the master's, getting
the undergraduate degree, and then doing what they
want to do with their lives.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah.
I had a faculty that made that point to us,
like, if you need an incomplete and a little bit more
time to submit something, we can work together.
And it was it was so nice, because they
took that time in class to make that clear to us,
where some people may be embarrassed to ask for it.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yes.
SARA LOONEY: So I appreciate that a lot from faculty
when they are very open with us and empathetic
and understanding.
It means a lot.
And it can make a difference in--
ERIC BRUNNER: I offered it last night.
It was the last of my five classes
that I was teaching in the diversity, equity,
and inclusion class.
And I said, please, stay in touch with me
if you need an extension on final.
And I got an email this morning.
EMMA RYAN: Yeah.
That's a really nice thing for a professor
to do, just because also life things,
I feel like it's mostly mental health these days.
And everyone always like overhypes it.
And I feel like it's kind of like nobody
actually really cares when you're going through something.
They care about the success story kind of behind it.
And I feel like a lot of people in college
would not feel comfortable going up to a professor
and explaining something like that, which
I feel is really understanding.
Because you can make it work, it just might take a little bit.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Right, right.
Yeah, and going off of that, Emma,
I had a class last year, and COVID was still a big issue.
So I actually had a family member impacted by it,
and I just was not mentally ready to take a final.
So I called my professor, and he was very understanding.
He gave me an extension he gave me just an extra couple days,
and that's all I needed to really just settle
down and prep myself and actually study
for this final, because I didn't want
to go into it in the mental state that I was in and fail.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah.
SARA LOONEY: Absolutely.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah, I mean, when something like that happens,
Marianne, in life, how could anyone
expect you to be in a mental space to focus?
So I'm really pleased to hear you share that experience
because it's very heartening to me as a faculty member
here at Temple University that other--
that folks are doing that, that they're
caring about students in a way that
says we have an investment in your education.
SARA LOONEY: Thank you.
Thank you all so much.
So I have two final questions for everyone
to wrap up the conversation.
I will start with the students again.
It's twofold-- advice that you have for other students
succeeding in school, where something might be struggling
or just any advice you might have,
as well as advice you might have for faculty.
Emma, if we could start with you.
EMMA RYAN: I would just say, go to class,
get everything done in the morning.
That works well for me.
I hate doing any work after, like, 5:00.
And for math classes, I would say watch the videos
that they put on.
Those are so helpful.
And yeah, for faculty, I would just
say, emphasize in the beginning just like you care,
flexible with reason.
And really be clear on your attendance and late policy,
because I feel like nobody's going
to go to class if they think that you're not
going to care about attendance.
ERIC BRUNNER: Thank you.
Thank you for the feedback, Emma.
I appreciate that.
SARA LOONEY: So one thing I noticed through the discussion,
Emma, is that it seems like you might
feel more comfortable speaking with a professor
about that flexibility.
Marianne, what are your thoughts?
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Sure.
Thanks, Sara.
So I would say as part of your success
is really having ample time for yourself, too--
I mean, you have the structure laid out.
You know what to do to be successful in your classes.
But also take care of yourself.
Have that mindfulness if you need
to take a break to go for a walk,
get a quick run in, take a dance class, whatever
you need for yourself to take a break,
because I found that when I had that mindfulness for myself
when I took an hour break, when I got back to my work,
I was more focused.
I was more aware.
And I wasn't miserable.
I was happy to get back into it because I had my "me" time.
And that's really important to me.
And connect with your peers.
Your other students in the classes
are there to support you.
I've made lifelong friends in the MSHRM program.
And I could not have gotten through it
without some of those people, because I always
felt like I wasn't alone.
I always felt like if there was a concept or something I just
wanted to discuss with one of my peers, I just called them,
and we collaborated, of course.
And I really appreciated that because my program was online.
So it was kind of on you to keep in touch with some
of the people in your classes.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, it's definitely different online.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Absolutely.
EMMA RYAN: Kind of going off of that, I think GroupMes, too,
if a teacher, like the TA makes a GroupMe for the class,
especially online ones, that is so helpful, because everyone
usually helps each other out.
And it's really nice to get different perspectives
on the course material.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah.
EMMA RYAN: And also, going out and getting fit,
they have so many classes at IVC for free.
That's so much fun.
They're only, like, an hour.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: It's good to have that break, though.
Sometimes that's all you need, that hour.
SARA LOONEY: Take care of yourself.
ERIC BRUNNER: It's actually thinking holistically
about yourself as a person, that you
have different components that contribute to who
you are as an individual.
So I appreciate both of you saying that and mentioning it.
SARA LOONEY: So same question kind of turned
to the faculty perspective, What advice would you give students,
and what advice would you give other faculty to, again,
meeting students where they're at and how to really live that?
ERIC BRUNNER: I think, for me, advice
to students is to take the risk to communicate
with us as faculty members, because when you--
I know it's difficult that it doesn't seem like the easiest
thing and that you--
I noticed that a lot of the emails
that I get when people ask for an extension,
there's a lot of apologies in those emails.
And the first line that I write when I respond
is, no need to apologize, meaning I get it,
that things happen in your lives.
And then we can talk about what is
needed for you to be able to get the extra time, whatever
the request is.
So it's take the risk to communicate and to come in.
So that would be advice for students.
For my colleagues who are faculty,
to remember that we do have this really big--
this is a partnership, and we have an investment
in the success of our students, and that that partnership is
what, I think--
I think students feel really good about because they feel
like if the faculty member cares about them as a student
and cares about their educational experience,
it becomes motivating for the students.
And that partnership is something that I think is--
I don't even know what to say.
I don't know if I'll come up with the right words.
But it feels really productive, and it
feels like it really supports the learning environment.
EMMA RYAN: It definitely does when
you feel like you have a partnership
with your professor.
They're there to support you, but it's on you
to learn as well.
I've been in classes where, again, I didn't
feel really seen as a person.
I didn't feel like the professor really cared.
So I feel like I was just a number on an Excel sheet
to be graded.
So I appreciate the partnership, that comment,
and just having that collaborative environment
in classes is, I think, what makes students successful.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, absolutely.
You can learn just as much from your classmates
sometimes as the teacher.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Absolutely.
ERIC BRUNNER: One other comment that I'll make,
every bit of feedback that any student has ever given me,
I incorporate.
I try to constantly revise my content.
I try to--
I do have a content that-- like our key pieces of the courses
that I teach.
But when students give me feedback
that they'd like to see something else,
or they'll send me a citation for an article that I didn't
think of or a book that I hadn't read before, things like that,
or in their student feedback forms,
when they tell me about things that could be improved,
I read all of that, and I try to incorporate it
into the next class.
So I encourage my students to help me pay it forward.
So there are things, Marianne, suggestions that you made
that have found their way into both of the classes.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Oh, good.
ERIC BRUNNER: So thank you for the suggestions.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Of course.
ERIC BRUNNER: So I take that very seriously.
And so that's another piece of advice,
I guess, that I would share with my colleagues who
are faculty about listening to the student for that feedback
that's going to improve the experience for them.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, it's absolutely
an opportunity for the faculty.
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Yeah.
And that's one thing to hear professors and faculty ask
for feedback and actually incorporate it
into their classes, because there are times when I feel
like they're asking for feedback,
but I don't think it's actually going to go anywhere.
It's just being asked for because it's a requirement.
But I do appreciate that you've incorporated
student suggestions.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah.
SARA LOONEY: Yeah, awesome.
Well, I just want to thank all of you
so much for coming in today.
This was a really great conversation
that we hope to continue having possibly part 2, part 3.
This is very new for all of us, but it's
been really fun and engaging.
And I love hearing all the perspectives from students,
alumni, and faculty.
So thank you all.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah.
Thank you, Sara, for--
MARIANNE JIMENEZ: Thank you, Sara.
ERIC BRUNNER: Yeah, for asking us these great questions
and allowing us to have this kind of really
delightful conversation.
This is a highlight in my whole day.
SARA LOONEY: I'm so glad.
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