Case #2: “$250 Class Commiseration”

For an online class,  Math professor chose the latest edition of a textbook and ordered an accompanying set of online resources that included quizzes, videos, and interactive activities to embed into the Blackboard course. The bookstore bundled the two items so that students purchase the text with an access code for the online resources. The bundle costs $250.00. All the relevant information about these materials was included in the course syllabus, posted on Blackboard, and the professor explained why the text and online resources were required and helpful for the course. In addition, the professor expected completion of the online quizzes, and completed quizzes counted as 10% of the course grade.

Many of the students did not do as well on the first exam as the professor had hoped.  The professor also noticed students were not completing the online activities and quizzes that would help them prepare for the exam. In their synchronous class, the professor asked students to put the homework problems they struggled with on the Blackboard Collaborate whiteboard. But students were reluctant, and only one student, who was strong in math, put a problem on the board—a more advanced problem, leaving the fundamentals behind. To move the class along the professor went over the problem, and asked for input from the class, but no one responded. And no other student offered to put a problem on the whiteboard, The professor asked if they were having trouble.

No one responded until one student finally said, “I was lost, man. And I’m still lost.” The professor asked the student to identify the point where the confusion set in, and the student responded, “I don’t know. I read the textbook five times! I couldn’t get it to work out, and I have no clue why. I guess I’m just bad at math, Professor. Whatever. I know I’ll need to take the class again.” Another student jumped in:  “I found videos on YouTube that were good. I’ll send them to you.”

The class began talking over each other, complaining, forcing the professor to mute their microphones and break in:  “Guys, I can’t know that you’re having trouble unless you ask or point it out. So far only one person put a troubling problem on the board. The textbook comes with exercises, videos, and pictures that could help you. You don’t need YouTube! You just need to use the material I assigned!”

One student unmutes his mic and says, “To be honest, the textbook doesn’t help, I don’t use it. I ask my sister who’s good at math.” Then others chime in:

“When am I ever going to need to actually do this?”

“My financial aid check didn’t come through until week four of the semester.  I figured, why buy the book when almost half of the semester was over?”

“I learned all this in my country. I know how it works. No offense, I never bought the book.”

“There’s no way I could afford that book.”

“I didn’t complete the online quizzes because I bought a used book that didn’t come with the access code for the online resources.”

“If you taught better, I would be able to get all the stuff I need to learn and don’t need a book.”

“I have no time to read the book; I work 50 hours a week.”

The professor had perused the book before the semester, and thought it was clear and did a fairly good job of supplementing the class lessons, but it hadn’t helped anyone and most of the class hadn’t even bought it.

The professor feels defeated and doesn’t know what to do next, except go back to yesterday’s lesson and review. But everyone is already upset, including the professor who has internalized the complaints and feels that the students’ issues run deep.

The Framework

1. Establishing inclusion—creating a learning atmosphere in which students and teachers feel respected by and connected to one another.
2. Developing attitude—creating a favorable disposition toward the learning experience through personal relevance and choice.
3. Enhancing meaning—creating challenging, thoughtful learning experiences that include student perspectives and values.
4. Engendering competence—creating an understanding that students are effective in learning something they value.

Question

Which aspect(s) of the motivational framework above might this professor consider when choosing course materials?

Consider the question above, and respond in the comment box below. Once you have entered your response, go to Case #3: “Overlooked”  >>[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]