The final weeks of the semester can be a satisfying time, as material in courses begins to come together for professors and students alike. Connections among a variety of topics or concepts can be made, details fit into place, and major ideas consolidated. On the other hand, the end of the semester can also be a time of extreme frustration and stress for everyone, as demands pile up, deadlines loom, and unexpected problems test our composure.
To avoid the latter of these two extremes, we have the opportunity, now, to step back and consider what the next few weeks might look like. If we're running behind in our syllabus and thus delaying assignments, or if we're encountering problems with the quality of student performance in our courses, it might be a good idea to reconfigure our expectations. Much can still be accomplished if we take a practical view of what we and our students can achieve, and prepare students for successfully completing courses.
The design of the syllabus lies directly under the professor's control, often allowing for some abbreviation of content. Nothing is more frustrating for students than to have the course suddenly begin to move at lightening speed so that a month's worth of information is jammed into a week's lectures. Covering content is not the same as teaching it, and students, we know, can only make sense of concepts that are fully explained and sufficiently illustrated. Even for sequence courses that require us to reach a predetermined destination, paring down details and boldly emphasizing the most critical information can minimize the disturbing sense that a dump truck has suddenly upended in the classroom.
If we step back to view the semester from a student's perspective, we recognize that we might consciously communicate more fully our expectations of how students should approach their work in our courses. Students are, for the most part, inexperienced managers of time, especially first-year students. They may have been accustomed to studying at the last minute, cramming for exams, and writing papers the night before they're due. By this point in the semester most of these novices have learned that staying up all night before a major exam or attempting to write a ten-page research paper in two hours doesn't work well.
In order to help these struggling students, faculty can wisely invest five minutes of class time to review the rest of the semester and clarify what remains to be done and what deadlines approach. We might recommend that students sit down and carefully plan out the remaining days in order to set realistic short term goals. For students who need help thinking through such matters, the Learning Resources Center tutors can be of great help, or students can turn to the Web for time-management advice.
Experienced students also realize that studying for exams should begin early to minimize stress and provide sufficient time to ask questions during office hours or review sessions. Encouraging students to organize the semester's material in concept maps can provide them with methods for making connections among topics and focusing on the big picture rather than getting lost in the details. Finally, test anxiety is a serious issue for many students, and again they can be encouraged to seek guidance on how to minimize its impact on their performance, either through counseling or by following preparation strategies others have found to be helpful.
Courses often require final papers or final presentations. Many professors have discovered that assigning a single long paper due at the beginning or end of finals week creates last-minute crises and, occasionally, problematic essays. Unless students have been required to submit outlines, bibliographies, or drafts during the semester, the final result can be a less than satisfying read; (as Samuel Johnson noted, "what is written without effort is read without pleasure"). It's important to get students moving early, and to encourage them to seek help from tutors or friends in order to polish their work before turning it in. Again, a variety of Web sites offer writing assistance.
While many professors offer very clear guidelines for students regarding their written work, they may inadequately prepare students for oral reports and presentations. As with all assignments, the more explicit the instructions the better, along with the advice to practice in front of others or before a video camera. St. Cloud University has produced an excellent website for faculty who require oral reports-to help in the design and evaluation of presentations.
Finally, faculty members should protect themselves too from the stresses of the end of semester dash. Advice about stress, however, is only as good as one's willingness to slow down and take it seriously.
Available at the Faculty Development Center:
Gmelch, Walter H. Coping with Faculty Stress. Newbury Park: Sage. 1993.
