The Chatty Professor Blog
A tenured professor of Communication Studies helps students correctly–not cluelessly–speak/deal with those who teach them. The outcome? Better student-prof relationships, improved grades, and confident and competent communication skills for college and beyond. The opinions expressed are my own or those of commenters. All student situations described are real (at least one term old to protect current students); identifiers have been omitted and carefully disguised to protect student privacy.
“I feel completely powerless.” More From The Student Whose Grade Tanked.
(I didn’t properly message my stay-cation of last week. I apologize about that! Back to business here, and revisiting the post about the student whose term ended and received a grade that he was not expecting because the prof changed the grade standards. Based on a follow-up comment that just came in, we’re continuing that conversation now. I encourage everyone to please weigh in for encouragement or feedback!) Here were some Twitter comments from the last post: Kathryn Siranosian (@corpwriters said): This happened to my son, too!...
read moreStudent Question: The Prof Changed the Grade Structure After Class Ended–My Grade Tanked!
A troubling question just came in and I am hoping that my colleagues in higher ed will respond with your thoughts. Here goes… First, the question: “My professor changed the syllabus after the class was over. He said the lab was worth 300 out of 850 in the syllabus, then after the class was over he changed the lab to 170 out of 720 because the average lab score was a 96% and he wanted to lower grades. This dropped me from a C to a D+ and now I’m not passing and will have to re-take the course. Also, right after the exams...
read moreWhat to Say When You Have to Retake a Class
(I wasn’t expecting to write more in the #unbroken series quite so soon, but this post seems appropriate as we move ever closer to August when many students start school. I know some students will be revisiting classes that they’ve started once before. This post is for you.) You walk into your American Literature class. You want to get excited about it. You enjoy writing. Or maybe you don’t, but you’re at least glad that it’s a new term. But for every mental rah-rah you’ve attempted, there’s just no getting around...
read moreAn Unbroken Update, “Elevating” Your Words & Public Speaking
(I realized with the summer here–yes, in Seattle now, too!–I’m actually liking these shorter, list-y posts a little bit. So, I’m going to go for it again! A light update from the week and I’ll be back with a meatier post next Tuesday!) -First, a sweet update from my unbroken post: Remember that I couldn’t run, but another friend could? Well, that friend is a total expert at something that I’ve never done before, but have always wanted to do. And, just four days after the race, when I was still feeling...
read moreA Three-Step Un-Suck Your Attention Span Plan for the Summer
(Students, you did a bunch of sitting and listening in high school, so you already have some sign of what you’re in for in college. Or if you’ve been in college, you know what I’m talking about. How about using the summer to step up your focus for your fall classes? I have a few tips based on some recent revelations I’ve had about my own attention shortcomings. Read on!) If you read my last post, I’m in a disclose-y sort of mood. So if I admit something and you agree, will you admit it, too? (Quid pro quo,...
read moreWill You Become “Unbroken” With Me?
(Small diversion from my usual, but my usual will be back. Between now and into fall and 2013, I’m going to commence an intermittent series of posts dedicated to students—anyone—who is having to redo, retool, or just plain start again. Read on and I’ll explain…) My goal was to get in and out as quickly as I could. I didn’t have the strength for conversation. I couldn’t make eye contact. Given how much I love people, talking with them, experiencing them, my momentary shielding of self would have been a clue that something was not...
read moreA Sneak-in Post: Teaching Philosophy, Words, Excellence and Reviews!
(Hi, all… I know I said I’d be taking the week off, but I couldn’t resist a sneak-in post to recap some things that took me by surprise this week. Yes, I did take a small mom-cation for a couple of days. But here were some other bright spots in my world that I couldn’t wait to share with you… I rarely do the listing posts, but thought it might be a nice vacation-y thing to do. So, have fun! See you next week for regularly scheduled programming.) Staying off my laptop is nearly an impossible feat for me,...
read moreStudents: Taking a College Break? What To Say and To Whom
(It would be unrealistic for me to overlook the fact that not every student is returning for fall term. I wanted to devote a post to the students who, for whatever reason, are taking a little hiatus. Even if you are staying in school, you never know when life circumstances might force a break or when you might need to support a fellow classmate who has to make a sudden exit, so read on… Programming note: Speaking of taking a break, I have a few breaks scheduled, myself, as my child winds down from school and to enjoy a little bit of...
read moreStudents, Before You Do That Assignment Your Way, Read This
Let’s say you were a contestant on The Next Food Network Star. Three Food Network stars—big ones—Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown—are giving you honest, straight-up advice about what you need to do to win over the Food Network executives so you might score your own show. Would you take their advice? Or would you do what you think is right, if you had a differing opinion? Okay, so first of all, yes, I am blogging about reality television… again. This cold-turned-sinus-infection thing is kicking my behind and I’m watching...
read moreA Bad Cold. A Surprising Conflict Lesson from Reality TV.
“You’re the Kardashians’ audience?” “Be careful. You’ll lose brain cells if you keep watching.” In conversations on Twitter where I let two tweeps know that I am a fan of the Kardashians, this was the response. So am I really ready to risk a year-plus worth of what I think is solid blogging credibility to devote a whole post to The Kardashians? You bet I am! Before you close out, let me set the stage for you… First of all, as important as my earlier topic this week–anxiety and...
read moreBuy the Book!
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A tenured professor of Communication Studies helps students correctly--not cluelessly--speak/deal with those who teach them.
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