Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Victory (Kind of) at last for Immigrant Parents

Yesterday, Bloomberg and the City Council agreed to expand translation services to immigrant parents (Newsday article here, and DOE press release on the deal here). The increase in funds ($2 million will be added to the $10 million the city already spends) to Bloomy's Translation and Interpretation Unit will allow more school documents to be translated. The deal sidesteps a threat by the City Council to override Bloomberg's recent veto of the Education Equity Act, which would have mandated more comprehensive translation services in schools.

It will be hard to tell anytime soon if the extra money will change much in the schools and as the Newsday article points out, the provision that says services will be available to "the extent practicable" is worrying because schools may simply choose not provide the services since it often isn't practical for schools without resources to provide translation services to parents in a number of languages. Still, it is encouraging that something was done to reach out to immigrant parents and not treat them as second-class citizens simply because they haven't learned English yet. If these parents can become more involved in their children's education, I think the benefits to schools and communities will outweigh the costs of increased services. Language access doesn't guarantee parent involvement, but it is a good first step.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Update on the Education Equity Act

The Daily News reported on Tuesday that council members may be working on a compromise to increase translation services for immigrant parents in NYC schools. The City Council passed the Education Equity Act late last year, and Bloomy vetoed it, saying the bill would violate state law. Let's hope they come up with something soon - I spent last Thursday translating for dozens of Spanish-speaking parents at parent-teacher conferences in an ESL class, and most of the parents told me or the teacher that it was the first time they had been able to communicate with their children's teacher. Is it any wonder that most of the school's parents didn't bother to show up for the conferences?

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Including the Quiet Student

My classes continue to do well with the Journal. I have had so many students volunteering to offer to present an article. And they are doing a terrific job with it. Some students are beginning to think that I will not call on people and are gambling on not being prepared. There are always pros and cons either way, and someone will think the easy way out.

One challenge from having such great participation is that my quiet students can easily hide. This is exactly what is happening in my classes right now. Part of this is remedied by calling on them from my grading list. In larger classes, I learn the names of active students much sooner than my quiet students so I am less likely to call on them early in the semester.

Another tactic I use to draw in all students is to solicit reactions on the presentation from students who do not actively contribute. Risky, but with a lot of positive reinforcement, I hope the students see how good it feels to contribute.

I have seen over the years using this exercise that many quiet students will become much more active in class once they have experienced a successful presentation. Because this is not a formal presentation and they choose the article to present, it can be a big confidence booster for the more formal presentation to come in the program. Many students have told me how much fun the discussions were even though they had rarely participated in class in the past. You can see it on their faces!

But it does not always work well. This past week I was summarizing and typing comments from my “Student Evaluations of Teaching” for my 2005 annual report. While comments on usage of the Wall Street Journal were overwhelmingly positive, as you would expect, it was not unanimous. Out of the 233 students I taught last year, only one (undergraduate) said that the current events discussions were too uncomfortable for him/her. A student normally will be called between one and three times in a semester if he or she does not volunteer. I do not envy this student for what is yet to come in upper-level business classes, and the required speech class.

But you cannot please everyone all the time in class. In fact, if I don’t have some students resistant to the something in the class, I usually know that I am not doing my job. I am here to facilitate learning and not everyone enjoys being stretched.

So if you have any concerns about using the Wall Street Journal in your classes, I would like to allay those concerns. Not everyone will be thrilled, but you will be greatly rewarded by the energy and success of the majority.

Including the Quiet Student

My classes continue to do well with the Journal. I have had so many students volunteering to offer to present an article. And they are doing a terrific job with it. Some students are beginning to think that I will not call on people and are gambling on not being prepared. There are always pros and cons either way, and someone will think the easy way out.

One challenge from having such great participation is that my quiet students can easily hide. This is exactly what is happening in my classes right now. Part of this is remedied by calling on them from my grading list. In larger classes, I learn the names of active students much sooner than my quiet students so I am less likely to call on them early in the semester.

Another tactic I use to draw in all students is to solicit reactions on the presentation from students who do not actively contribute. Risky, but with a lot of positive reinforcement, I hope the students see how good it feels to contribute.

I have seen over the years using this exercise that many quiet students will become much more active in class once they have experienced a successful presentation. Because this is not a formal presentation and they choose the article to present, it can be a big confidence booster for the more formal presentation to come in the program. Many students have told me how much fun the discussions were even though they had rarely participated in class in the past. You can see it on their faces!

But it does not always work well. This past week I was summarizing and typing comments from my “Student Evaluations of Teaching” for my 2005 annual report. While comments on usage of the Wall Street Journal were overwhelmingly positive, as you would expect, it was not unanimous. Out of the 233 students I taught last year, only one (undergraduate) said that the current events discussions were too uncomfortable for him/her. A student normally will be called between one and three times in a semester if he or she does not volunteer. I do not envy this student for what is yet to come in upper-level business classes, and the required speech class.

But you cannot please everyone all the time in class. In fact, if I don’t have some students resistant to the something in the class, I usually know that I am not doing my job. I am here to facilitate learning and not everyone enjoys being stretched.

So if you have any concerns about using the Wall Street Journal in your classes, I would like to allay those concerns. Not everyone will be thrilled, but you will be greatly rewarded by the energy and success of the majority.

Including the Quiet Student

My classes continue to do well with the Journal. I have had so many students volunteering to offer to present an article. And they are doing a terrific job with it. Some students are beginning to think that I will not call on people and are gambling on not being prepared. There are always pros and cons either way, and someone will think the easy way out.

One challenge from having such great participation is that my quiet students can easily hide. This is exactly what is happening in my classes right now. Part of this is remedied by calling on them from my grading list. In larger classes, I learn the names of active students much sooner than my quiet students so I am less likely to call on them early in the semester.

Another tactic I use to draw in all students is to solicit reactions on the presentation from students who do not actively contribute. Risky, but with a lot of positive reinforcement, I hope the students see how good it feels to contribute.

I have seen over the years using this exercise that many quiet students will become much more active in class once they have experienced a successful presentation. Because this is not a formal presentation and they choose the article to present, it can be a big confidence booster for the more formal presentation to come in the program. Many students have told me how much fun the discussions were even though they had rarely participated in class in the past. You can see it on their faces!

But it does not always work well. This past week I was summarizing and typing comments from my “Student Evaluations of Teaching” for my 2005 annual report. While comments on usage of the Wall Street Journal were overwhelmingly positive, as you would expect, it was not unanimous. Out of the 233 students I taught last year, only one (undergraduate) said that the current events discussions were too uncomfortable for him/her. A student normally will be called between one and three times in a semester if he or she does not volunteer. I do not envy this student for what is yet to come in upper-level business classes, and the required speech class.

But you cannot please everyone all the time in class. In fact, if I don’t have some students resistant to the something in the class, I usually know that I am not doing my job. I am here to facilitate learning and not everyone enjoys being stretched.

So if you have any concerns about using the Wall Street Journal in your classes, I would like to allay those concerns. Not everyone will be thrilled, but you will be greatly rewarded by the energy and success of the majority.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Charters and segregation

Meanwhile, in other charter news, a new report has come out about how charter schools do nothing to desegregate schools in Michigan. From the co-director of the study's policy center:
"Parents are moving their students from racially segregated (traditionally public) schools to racially segregated charters."

There was another big study by these people a few years ago on the same topic.

My question is, were charter schools ever intended to be forces of racial desegregation? Yes, they should (and do) integrate students economically, but is it such a bad thing if minority parents decide to send their children to schools where the other students look like them?

I keep thinking of an article by Lisa Delpit where she discusses her own daughter's move from a private school in which she is the only black student to a largely black charter school. The effect on her daughter's self esteem was significant, and startling to Delpit. Charter schools are schools of choice -- parents choose to send their children there for any number of reasons. Is that really segregation?

I'm also thinking about the two charter schools I work with -- one had a Latina founding principal, and a large proportion of the faculty and staff there are Latino. At an event last night, graduates of the school greeted many of the parents at the door in Spanish, with kisses on the cheek. Is it any wonder that Latino parents would want to send their children there, and that 60% of the students are Latino?

At the other school, a large proportion of the faculty and staff are black. The school song is an African folk tune, and the school's culture feels distinctly black. Is it any wonder that black parents would want to send their children there, and that 90% of the students are black?

Finally, being a white woman I'm not sure if I should be offended by the idea of the "peer effect" for race. The Harvard Civil Rights Project makes the case that segregation is an evil in itself, but I'm not sure if I buy it, especially in the case of charter schools.

Touché

Eduwonk's guest blogger this week gets at the one thing that irritates my conscience when I advocate for charter schools.

More Education Program Resources

Whether you want to use the Journal for the first time or you want to increase your usage, you have a wealth of resources at your fingertips. And your keyboard.

One of the best reference that Journal offers for educators is Faculty Resource Guide. You can either download a copy or request a mailing by going to www.professorjournal.com and clicking on the link (listed under Teaching Tools on the left). This guide offers all kinds of great information.

The section headings in this booklet include:

Free Teaching Tools for the Journal
Resources Available at WSJ.com
Integration Ideas
Using Journal Content in Your Discipline
Special Programs from the Journal
Contact Information
Frequently Asked Questions

This booklet suggests all kinds of tools available to you, such as Student Guide, quizzes, videos, WSJstudent.com, and the Weekly Reviews discussed in last week’s blog. And these are available at no charge for you.

Next is a summary of WSJ.com features. Every faculty and student Journal subscription also includes a complimentary subscription to the online Journal. Remember that your WSJ sales rep is also always happy to conduct a workshop for you for WSJ.com, as well as any other types of workshops you would like.

Integration ideas include class discussions, assignments and activities, projects, exams ideas, and quizzes.

Another very valuable part of this guide is section offering direct connections between specific academic disciplines and Journal content. Each section lists various regular columns and features appropriate for particular classes. Detailed lists for 10 disciplines are included, with brief listings for another seven.

Finally, the Frequently Asked Questions section will help you with all the logistics of the sign-up process.

If I can help you, please let me know. I will be happy to do what I can or refer your questions to the appropriate party. Email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

More Education Program Resources

Whether you want to use the Journal for the first time or you want to increase your usage, you have a wealth of resources at your fingertips. And your keyboard.

One of the best reference that Journal offers for educators is Faculty Resource Guide. You can either download a copy or request a mailing by going to www.professorjournal.com and clicking on the link (listed under Teaching Tools on the left). This guide offers all kinds of great information.

The section headings in this booklet include:

Free Teaching Tools for the Journal
Resources Available at WSJ.com
Integration Ideas
Using Journal Content in Your Discipline
Special Programs from the Journal
Contact Information
Frequently Asked Questions

This booklet suggests all kinds of tools available to you, such as Student Guide, quizzes, videos, WSJstudent.com, and the Weekly Reviews discussed in last week’s blog. And these are available at no charge for you.

Next is a summary of WSJ.com features. Every faculty and student Journal subscription also includes a complimentary subscription to the online Journal. Remember that your WSJ sales rep is also always happy to conduct a workshop for you for WSJ.com, as well as any other types of workshops you would like.

Integration ideas include class discussions, assignments and activities, projects, exams ideas, and quizzes.

Another very valuable part of this guide is section offering direct connections between specific academic disciplines and Journal content. Each section lists various regular columns and features appropriate for particular classes. Detailed lists for 10 disciplines are included, with brief listings for another seven.

Finally, the Frequently Asked Questions section will help you with all the logistics of the sign-up process.

If I can help you, please let me know. I will be happy to do what I can or refer your questions to the appropriate party. Email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

More Education Program Resources

Whether you want to use the Journal for the first time or you want to increase your usage, you have a wealth of resources at your fingertips. And your keyboard.

One of the best reference that Journal offers for educators is Faculty Resource Guide. You can either download a copy or request a mailing by going to www.professorjournal.com and clicking on the link (listed under Teaching Tools on the left). This guide offers all kinds of great information.

The section headings in this booklet include:

Free Teaching Tools for the Journal
Resources Available at WSJ.com
Integration Ideas
Using Journal Content in Your Discipline
Special Programs from the Journal
Contact Information
Frequently Asked Questions

This booklet suggests all kinds of tools available to you, such as Student Guide, quizzes, videos, WSJstudent.com, and the Weekly Reviews discussed in last week’s blog. And these are available at no charge for you.

Next is a summary of WSJ.com features. Every faculty and student Journal subscription also includes a complimentary subscription to the online Journal. Remember that your WSJ sales rep is also always happy to conduct a workshop for you for WSJ.com, as well as any other types of workshops you would like.

Integration ideas include class discussions, assignments and activities, projects, exams ideas, and quizzes.

Another very valuable part of this guide is section offering direct connections between specific academic disciplines and Journal content. Each section lists various regular columns and features appropriate for particular classes. Detailed lists for 10 disciplines are included, with brief listings for another seven.

Finally, the Frequently Asked Questions section will help you with all the logistics of the sign-up process.

If I can help you, please let me know. I will be happy to do what I can or refer your questions to the appropriate party. Email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

The good book(s)

Bible thumping in my home state. From the Economist:

Bible Study

A bill that would allow for Bible classes in public schools was approved by a 50-1 margin by state senators on February 3rd. Regina Thomas, a Democrat from Savannah, was the lone dissenter. State Republicans had been trying to pass a version of the bill since 2000. The version that passed, sponsored by Tommie Williams, the majority leader, requires the state board of education to approve two new elective high-school courses (which are not required for graduation): one on the Old Testament and one on the New. The bill also requires that the Bible be used as a textbook.

A version of the bill sponsored by three Democratic members would have created only one course and would not have required the use of the Bible, but lack of support forced the sponsors to vote for Mr Williams’s bill. Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, observed that it was better to be seen “running and hiding in the rest room” than be accused of voting against the Bible. A spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, meanwhile, promised to watch the bill closely.

Meanwhile, in the "Humanities and the Social Studies" course I'm taking right now, we recently did a model lesson on the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Koran. (Students are required to know something about these books for the Regents.) We used literary analysis techniques to compare excerpts from the three books relating to certain topics (food, women, holy war, etc.). The lesson had its limitations, but it seemed like an interesting way to approach what is required material -- it completely steered clear from theology. (Though, even in my masters' level class of adults, it was not possible for everyone to look at the material objectively.)

The point is, holy texts do have a place in the high school classroom. But do they really need their own elective? Why single out the Old Testament and the New Testament for their own separate electives? This is a purely political bill that is meant to separate the bible-lovers from the god-haters in an election year (see the political scientist's comment).

Friday, February 10, 2006

Education Program Resources

I often have people ask me about ideas for using the Journal in class. I have shared my uses in earlier blog entries. For a wealth of other ideas, you should take a look at www.professorjournal.com.

The first stop on the website would be signing up for “The Weekly Review.” The website describes them as “Free Weekly Emails summarize selected articles from this week's WSJ in 16 business disciplines, with questions for class discussion.” I look forward to receiving these emails every Friday. (I happen to write the business law weekly review.) The writers offer you three or more articles specially selected for your discipline that have appear in recent issues of the Journal. Also included are questions, and sometimes group projects, research projects, internet activities, and links to related articles. You can cut-and-paste what you would like to use, and add your own questions. All of these can save you time as you use the Journal articles in class or for quizzes or tests. We have done some of the work for you.

My students often read and select to reference in class the articles appearing in the reviews. The last few weeks they have discussed almost all of them. The Weekly Reviews can help keep you up to date with some interesting current developments in your field during those times when we do not have time to read all the news ourselves.

Signing up for Weekly Reviews online is easy. On the professorjournal.com website, click on “sign up now” under “The Weekly Review” and enter some basic information.

You can select one or more of the 16 disciplines listed. Your choices are:

Accounting
Business Ethics
Business Law
Economics: Macro
Economics: Micro
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Healthcare Business and Policy
Hotel Restaurant Travel Management
Information Technology
International Business
Introduction To Business
Journalism and Media
Management
Marketing
Political Science

Another great feature of the Weekly Reviews is the five-year archive feature in that same section of the professorjournal.com webpage. If you click on “Search the Five-Year Archive” in the Weekly Review section, you can access all the Weekly Reviews, searching by discipline, by topic, and/or by keyword. I have found a number of ‘classic’ articles that age well and continue to be good case studies or the basis of discussion over many years. (Note: You will need a subscription number for this service.)

Next week I will have more suggestions regarding other resources from the Education Program at the Wall Street Journal.

Education Program Resources

I often have people ask me about ideas for using the Journal in class. I have shared my uses in earlier blog entries. For a wealth of other ideas, you should take a look at www.professorjournal.com.

The first stop on the website would be signing up for “The Weekly Review.” The website describes them as “Free Weekly Emails summarize selected articles from this week's WSJ in 16 business disciplines, with questions for class discussion.” I look forward to receiving these emails every Friday. (I happen to write the business law weekly review.) The writers offer you three or more articles specially selected for your discipline that have appear in recent issues of the Journal. Also included are questions, and sometimes group projects, research projects, internet activities, and links to related articles. You can cut-and-paste what you would like to use, and add your own questions. All of these can save you time as you use the Journal articles in class or for quizzes or tests. We have done some of the work for you.

My students often read and select to reference in class the articles appearing in the reviews. The last few weeks they have discussed almost all of them. The Weekly Reviews can help keep you up to date with some interesting current developments in your field during those times when we do not have time to read all the news ourselves.

Signing up for Weekly Reviews online is easy. On the professorjournal.com website, click on “sign up now” under “The Weekly Review” and enter some basic information.

You can select one or more of the 16 disciplines listed. Your choices are:

Accounting
Business Ethics
Business Law
Economics: Macro
Economics: Micro
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Healthcare Business and Policy
Hotel Restaurant Travel Management
Information Technology
International Business
Introduction To Business
Journalism and Media
Management
Marketing
Political Science

Another great feature of the Weekly Reviews is the five-year archive feature in that same section of the professorjournal.com webpage. If you click on “Search the Five-Year Archive” in the Weekly Review section, you can access all the Weekly Reviews, searching by discipline, by topic, and/or by keyword. I have found a number of ‘classic’ articles that age well and continue to be good case studies or the basis of discussion over many years. (Note: You will need a subscription number for this service.)

Next week I will have more suggestions regarding other resources from the Education Program at the Wall Street Journal.

Education Program Resources

I often have people ask me about ideas for using the Journal in class. I have shared my uses in earlier blog entries. For a wealth of other ideas, you should take a look at www.professorjournal.com.

The first stop on the website would be signing up for “The Weekly Review.” The website describes them as “Free Weekly Emails summarize selected articles from this week's WSJ in 16 business disciplines, with questions for class discussion.” I look forward to receiving these emails every Friday. (I happen to write the business law weekly review.) The writers offer you three or more articles specially selected for your discipline that have appear in recent issues of the Journal. Also included are questions, and sometimes group projects, research projects, internet activities, and links to related articles. You can cut-and-paste what you would like to use, and add your own questions. All of these can save you time as you use the Journal articles in class or for quizzes or tests. We have done some of the work for you.

My students often read and select to reference in class the articles appearing in the reviews. The last few weeks they have discussed almost all of them. The Weekly Reviews can help keep you up to date with some interesting current developments in your field during those times when we do not have time to read all the news ourselves.

Signing up for Weekly Reviews online is easy. On the professorjournal.com website, click on “sign up now” under “The Weekly Review” and enter some basic information.

You can select one or more of the 16 disciplines listed. Your choices are:

Accounting
Business Ethics
Business Law
Economics: Macro
Economics: Micro
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Healthcare Business and Policy
Hotel Restaurant Travel Management
Information Technology
International Business
Introduction To Business
Journalism and Media
Management
Marketing
Political Science

Another great feature of the Weekly Reviews is the five-year archive feature in that same section of the professorjournal.com webpage. If you click on “Search the Five-Year Archive” in the Weekly Review section, you can access all the Weekly Reviews, searching by discipline, by topic, and/or by keyword. I have found a number of ‘classic’ articles that age well and continue to be good case studies or the basis of discussion over many years. (Note: You will need a subscription number for this service.)

Next week I will have more suggestions regarding other resources from the Education Program at the Wall Street Journal.

Thursday, February 9, 2006

My unending quest to find new sources of procrastination

Check out the blogs I have recently added to the sidebar:

Your Mama's Mad Tedious indulges my love of teacher narratives and Chris's obsession with baseball.

A History Teacher is my new eGuru.

Life in the Mobile Learning Cottage is written by a history/literature teacher who shares my fear of other people's vomit.

Application to Your Classes

Last week I chronicled the differences between my classes this semester in contrast with many classes in the past. This semester the students are doing really well from the very beginning. There has been little of the initial awkwardness so common with discussion current events in a sophomore-level class.

So how does this help you? If you are one of the few using the Journal at your school, expect some awkwardness and maybe some resistance early in the semester. This is not necessarily a bad thing. You have the potential to facilitate more growth in your students. This is an incredibly rewarding situation! And hopefully your colleagues will join you as they see the changes in students.

If you are part of a faculty where the Journal is widely used, take advantage of the connections you can make between your course and others. And if you have not yet integrated the Journal but many of your colleagues have, you can take comfort knowing you will probably have an easier time from the beginning.

Application to Your Classes

Last week I chronicled the differences between my classes this semester in contrast with many classes in the past. This semester the students are doing really well from the very beginning. There has been little of the initial awkwardness so common with discussion current events in a sophomore-level class.

So how does this help you? If you are one of the few using the Journal at your school, expect some awkwardness and maybe some resistance early in the semester. This is not necessarily a bad thing. You have the potential to facilitate more growth in your students. This is an incredibly rewarding situation! And hopefully your colleagues will join you as they see the changes in students.

If you are part of a faculty where the Journal is widely used, take advantage of the connections you can make between your course and others. And if you have not yet integrated the Journal but many of your colleagues have, you can take comfort knowing you will probably have an easier time from the beginning.

Application to Your Classes

Last week I chronicled the differences between my classes this semester in contrast with many classes in the past. This semester the students are doing really well from the very beginning. There has been little of the initial awkwardness so common with discussion current events in a sophomore-level class.

So how does this help you? If you are one of the few using the Journal at your school, expect some awkwardness and maybe some resistance early in the semester. This is not necessarily a bad thing. You have the potential to facilitate more growth in your students. This is an incredibly rewarding situation! And hopefully your colleagues will join you as they see the changes in students.

If you are part of a faculty where the Journal is widely used, take advantage of the connections you can make between your course and others. And if you have not yet integrated the Journal but many of your colleagues have, you can take comfort knowing you will probably have an easier time from the beginning.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

More on the new schedule

I talked to a lot of kids today about the extra tutoring sessions, and almost everyone hated it. I know that it's still being worked out, but too many complained about not doing anything (most were simply given a worksheet after everyone calmed down). A few other kids said that although they needed help in math, the work in the extra sessions was too easy. I originally thought that kids would be embarrassed about being required to attend tutoring, but it seems that because so many kids have to stay (I have about 5 students out of the 40 in after-school that don't have tutoring) it shouldn't be much of a problem. But it doesn't seem like the sessions are going to be an efficient way to help struggling kids.

According to this poll from Insideschools.org, parents are not happy with the new schedule either. A major problem seems to be that parents aren't getting enough information about what is going on. It doesn't seem like my school has done a good job informing parents, but it is also crazy to expect schools to successfully implement something this big in the middle of the year. Why not wait until next fall?

37.5 minutes of chaos

Yesterday the extended tutoring schedule went into effect and it was crazy at my middle school (it seems like it was a similar situation elsewhere, according to this NY Times article). Dozens of parents were calling the after-school office trying to figure out where their kids were, and it seemed like a number of students that were supposed to be in tutoring left the building early (I can usually tell by how many kids have McDonalds). Nobody at the school seemed to know what was going on. And the kids that went to tutoring were absolutely off the wall in after-school. I really hope this works itself out, but I'm not optimistic after yesterday.

Monday, February 6, 2006

A good dog.

We miss you, Ollie.

Friday, February 3, 2006

Early Progress Report

My students are doing so well discussing current events article from the Wall Street Journal this semester. It has been a banner semester already. I just have not experienced the awkwardness that a new class usually exhibits. This causes me to reflect on reasons for this – I want to make sure to encourage this in future semesters.

Of course, one obvious reason could be that my classes are aberrations, just a fluke semester. Could I just be lucky this time? I just don’t think that is the cause. Sure, every now and then we all have classes that overall perform better than the rest, or a group that struggles more than other semesters. (During my first semester of teaching, I taught two sections of the same course and one was really rough. Fortunately the other was successful and an absolute joy to teach so I surmised that it was serendipity of the students, not my teaching. I would not be a professor today if I had taught only the one!)

I have been calling on students at random. Could it be that I have randomly selected the overachievers? Perhaps…

Has the student body changed over time? Not that I can see. There seems to be a mix of backgrounds and demographics very similar to those of previous semesters.

My first guess is that this semester I asked for volunteers the first few times, and so it is likely that the more confident students led the discussions. They set an excellent example for those who have followed. In other words, they set the bar for fellow classmates. Usually I demonstrate the type of preparation and discussion they model. But it seems to have worked well to have students set the example instead. I still flesh out the articles more and lead socratically some of the thought process, but not as much as in the past. These students already analyze, discuss, and present similar to other classes much later in the semester.

The other likely reason is that more of my colleagues are using the Journal in their class. And they are doing a really great job! Many students are getting practice before taking my class. Although my undergraduate accounting classes are only 200-level courses, they are seeing the Journal in some 100-economics courses and in other 200-level course, such as business law. This is a huge change from the years that I was one of the very few using the Journal. I can already see increased sophistication and reasoning in these students that I did not see in years past. The progress of the students is building as more and more instructors use the Journal.

How are your classes going? Are your students struggling, or are they enjoying reading the Journal and discussing the articles? I will talk about how my experiences could apply to your situation more next week. Also if you have any questions or comments, please free feel to email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com. I will answer questions in future blogs or to you directly if you have a specific question.

Early Progress Report

My students are doing so well discussing current events article from the Wall Street Journal this semester. It has been a banner semester already. I just have not experienced the awkwardness that a new class usually exhibits. This causes me to reflect on reasons for this – I want to make sure to encourage this in future semesters.

Of course, one obvious reason could be that my classes are aberrations, just a fluke semester. Could I just be lucky this time? I just don’t think that is the cause. Sure, every now and then we all have classes that overall perform better than the rest, or a group that struggles more than other semesters. (During my first semester of teaching, I taught two sections of the same course and one was really rough. Fortunately the other was successful and an absolute joy to teach so I surmised that it was serendipity of the students, not my teaching. I would not be a professor today if I had taught only the one!)

I have been calling on students at random. Could it be that I have randomly selected the overachievers? Perhaps…

Has the student body changed over time? Not that I can see. There seems to be a mix of backgrounds and demographics very similar to those of previous semesters.

My first guess is that this semester I asked for volunteers the first few times, and so it is likely that the more confident students led the discussions. They set an excellent example for those who have followed. In other words, they set the bar for fellow classmates. Usually I demonstrate the type of preparation and discussion they model. But it seems to have worked well to have students set the example instead. I still flesh out the articles more and lead socratically some of the thought process, but not as much as in the past. These students already analyze, discuss, and present similar to other classes much later in the semester.

The other likely reason is that more of my colleagues are using the Journal in their class. And they are doing a really great job! Many students are getting practice before taking my class. Although my undergraduate accounting classes are only 200-level courses, they are seeing the Journal in some 100-economics courses and in other 200-level course, such as business law. This is a huge change from the years that I was one of the very few using the Journal. I can already see increased sophistication and reasoning in these students that I did not see in years past. The progress of the students is building as more and more instructors use the Journal.

How are your classes going? Are your students struggling, or are they enjoying reading the Journal and discussing the articles? I will talk about how my experiences could apply to your situation more next week. Also if you have any questions or comments, please free feel to email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com. I will answer questions in future blogs or to you directly if you have a specific question.

Early Progress Report

My students are doing so well discussing current events article from the Wall Street Journal this semester. It has been a banner semester already. I just have not experienced the awkwardness that a new class usually exhibits. This causes me to reflect on reasons for this – I want to make sure to encourage this in future semesters.

Of course, one obvious reason could be that my classes are aberrations, just a fluke semester. Could I just be lucky this time? I just don’t think that is the cause. Sure, every now and then we all have classes that overall perform better than the rest, or a group that struggles more than other semesters. (During my first semester of teaching, I taught two sections of the same course and one was really rough. Fortunately the other was successful and an absolute joy to teach so I surmised that it was serendipity of the students, not my teaching. I would not be a professor today if I had taught only the one!)

I have been calling on students at random. Could it be that I have randomly selected the overachievers? Perhaps…

Has the student body changed over time? Not that I can see. There seems to be a mix of backgrounds and demographics very similar to those of previous semesters.

My first guess is that this semester I asked for volunteers the first few times, and so it is likely that the more confident students led the discussions. They set an excellent example for those who have followed. In other words, they set the bar for fellow classmates. Usually I demonstrate the type of preparation and discussion they model. But it seems to have worked well to have students set the example instead. I still flesh out the articles more and lead socratically some of the thought process, but not as much as in the past. These students already analyze, discuss, and present similar to other classes much later in the semester.

The other likely reason is that more of my colleagues are using the Journal in their class. And they are doing a really great job! Many students are getting practice before taking my class. Although my undergraduate accounting classes are only 200-level courses, they are seeing the Journal in some 100-economics courses and in other 200-level course, such as business law. This is a huge change from the years that I was one of the very few using the Journal. I can already see increased sophistication and reasoning in these students that I did not see in years past. The progress of the students is building as more and more instructors use the Journal.

How are your classes going? Are your students struggling, or are they enjoying reading the Journal and discussing the articles? I will talk about how my experiences could apply to your situation more next week. Also if you have any questions or comments, please free feel to email me at WSJProfBlog@hotmail.com. I will answer questions in future blogs or to you directly if you have a specific question.