It is not your job to manage student workload, and you probably start the course with strategies that send a different message.
The first class meeting of semester sets the tone for the rest of the semester. What message are you sending?
My first day of class does not look like the typical first day of class. Instead, I share a set of parameters I use to manage my course and then the rest is up to each student.
My parameters
My level of support and quality of feedback will mirror the effort I see you put forward.
Before generally produces better results, than after.
Where there is flexibility, I will tell you there is flexibility and then encourage you to practice making decisions by responding to your question with a question.
Where there is a hard line, I will have clearly stated this and there will be documentation of my communication.
I will not respond to your question if (1) the response is indicated in the syllabus or (2) you start your question with a negative preface.
I will provide three points of formal feedback prior to posting a midterm grade.
I cannot “look over” your work at any time during the semester but I can answer specific questions.
I am not your friend, although I am friendly. I am your professor, and I am assessing your dispositions or academic performance -always.
The goal is student autonomy.
Things I don’t do on the first day:
Review the syllabus. Instead, I explain why I have a syllabus and its purpose to a professor and to a student.
Review all of the assignments. Instead, I show them where I address each assignment in the syllabus and in any supplemental materials. Then I tell them it is their responsibility to comprehend the expectations for each project.
A professor that actively and openly looks for ways to not “do” for a student - the acclimation to my class is kind of shocking to their souls. Student are uncomfortable operating in a space that requires them to do the cognitive heavy lifting. Maybe it is lack of experience. The brain of a young adult is still very much developing and I cannot expect them to grow if I ignore the biological basis of their development. For those who need an analogy… for a muscle to grow it needs to reach failure. Literally, failure equals growth. Okay failure and some protein equal growth but you get the point. My class culture does not value comfort over discomfort because this robs students of the opportunity to practice being an adult, a professional, a human.
Shifting the student workload to the student comes with difficulty, especially at first. I don’t try to make it as difficult as possible for any student. I just try to work within a set of expectations and in my experience most students T.H.R.I.V.E. with this approach. Even after they leave my class, I still operate within the same set of parameters as an advisor. They know what to expect and come to appreciate that they can still maintain autonomy while seeking my support.
