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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm just an adjunct, teaching at a state U, so take this FWIW. I agree with A LOT of what the SLAC professor wrote upthread. Our populations have similar challenges. I hear similar reflections from colleagues.

I think everyone has pretty well covered that these young adults have expectations that they will be coddled. They don't know how to take notes, either from reading material or lectures, expect that they will get study guides, that reading through that at the last minute is sufficient to do well in class (it's necessary, but not sufficient), that the assigned reading is somehow optional, ....

I make myself quite available to help out my students, but am never taken up on this, until the end of semesters, when all of a sudden, half the class wants to know how they can bring their grades up, could I give them extra credit, can I read drafts of their work before submission, etc.  Then there are the thousand questions about how the grading actually works, what the class rules are, what's covered in class (!!!). Things that are explained on the first day of class, and talked about periodically.

Additionally, a lot of students have absolutely no idea how to interact with their teachers. One does not address their instructors as one would their peers (there might be exceptions for grad students). There is an expectation that emails use correctly spelled words, in proper context, with decent grammar, and punctuation. It's not the same as texting one's friends. Emails have to be signed with their name. One does not call in mommy and daddy if things go sideways. I could go on. If the parents just taught their kids some basic life skills, and instilled decent study habits, life would be so much easier.[/quote]

Interesting.. this is what I have found. Now that some classes are on Zoom or Teams kids can transcript the class, copy and past the transcript then edit it to make notes for the class. That seems way more advanced than 5 years ago, but that's just me.

There was a complaint that the professor was not clear, of course the professor disagreed. But we went back to the transcript and the professor said...

the key components of X are 1) 2) and #5... Hmm where are 3 and 4. Sure a simple mistake, but when asked what 3 and 4 were he was mad and said "take better notes", but the kids had the transcript... 5 years ago the kids would not have had proof and so the professor was wrong.

Then the same professor said there are 2 key elements to X so he names X, Y and Z.. but that is 3 elements. Then later in the transcript he said there were 3 key elements and named A, B and C... 3 totally different element.

When students answer the 3 key elements as X, Y and Z... they were marked down... but oops! back to the transcript.

I get it, professors now are being held accountable and it's hard but is it really the students?[/quote]

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