Teaching during a pandemic challenged all norms of what can be done in classrooms–and, now, we’re not sure if what we’re doing works anymore. Extensions or hard deadlines? Prescribed assignments or choose-your-own options? Attendance policies or Zoom options?
If we want to compassionately challenge students, we have to know and name the ‘learning monsters’ they bring to our classes. Learning monsters are the messages students carry about their ability to learn and respond to challenges. Compassionate challenge starts with recognizing monsters auditing our classes by taking seats in our students’ minds.
This past Tuesday, we asked faculty in a Center for Teaching workshop to identify ‘learning monsters’ who attached to our students this year. Meet the students you never knew you had…
The Stress Monster, who doesn’t know what to study or how to study or why everyone else gets it besides them.
Multifactor Medusa waits to the last minute to complete an assignment AND thinks they cannot do anything AND runs out of time AND thinks they are not good enough–in anything.
Terrible Time Terror (T3 to the rest of us) juggles jobs, family, friends, classes, studying, and social media plus a dose of imposter syndrome and loneliness and remembers high school being so much easier.
Self-Sabotaging Sally has a task list, a tower of worries and questions, and a nagging voice telling her that she could and should be so much more.
The Box is afraid of everything–asking for help, college, failing, your class, and not being perfect. The Box is scared and sad–Box just wants to stay, well, in a box.
Coming late to the party (of course) is Failure. Failure is scary and stinky and chews on the confidence of even the strongest student.
We all carry learning monsters with us. No one relishes the idea of failing or falling short in achieving a goal. These monsters, though, can be super-sized (think Incredible Hulk scary) when…
- we are in high stakes situations
- we are challenged by anxiety
- we are experiencing depressive symptoms or depression
As students look in their backpacks and see these super learning monsters staring back, they can respond in a variety of ways. We may see more absences, frustration with grades and class activities, withdrawal from group work or teams, perhaps some tears during office hour visits.
What can we do? How can we challenge students who need compassion and understanding?
- We can anticipate that ALL students bring learning monsters to the classroom.
- We can purposefully design safe spaces for learning.
- We can create small, scaffolded experiences to expand student knowledge of self and strategies to face their fears.
Challenge: Take some time to identify and name the learning monsters lurking behind and among your students. How do student behaviors relate to avoiding these creatures?
Next week, we’ll get out our flashlights and shine a light on strategies to expand student self awareness because learning monsters love nothing more than ‘not knowing’.