“Kindness: It’s Not Just for Pushovers Anymore” is the title of the last Lilly Conference online session recording that I watched tonight. Julia Kregenow at Penn State University presented without slides! They teach astronomy and shared their website (https://sites.psu.edu/kregenow/teaching/kindness-in-teaching/). They taught a class in “the forum” that enrolled 600+ students! Kregenow teaches this large class format and mentioned that it was tough the first couple of years. They confessed to getting defensive. Kregenow shared watching another professor in the lecture hall telling students after class “how can I help you, my friend?” and a colleague mentioning “you gotta love your students.” These comments gradually changed Kregenow’s teaching “skin” and now they view players on the same team… and they all “have the same goal.” Kregenow explained that they feel like a coach and have more energy to devote to teaching after taking off their armor. Kregenow requested in the chat examples of a kind or unkind instances the audience had experienced. They had two requests: no names of teachers, and that the posts start with “kind” or “unkind.” Kregenow displayed excellent wait time as chat responses came in and then explained patterns from a couple. One example was to have “student hours” in places that are not as intimidating as offices. Kregenow prepared a handout and a detailed transcript! The handout had a syllabus section with great tips:
- Avoid caps, bold underline, italics, and !!!
- Use warm language and avoid “absolutely no exceptions.”
Kregenow had examples of a “cold” syllabus that they used previously and a modified “warm” syllabus. The warm syllabus is long and has a photograph of the instructor. It also has phrases like “just let me know.” Office/student hours are short and the text makes it easy for students to follow. Kregenow has designated times and also by appointment. The syllabus had a section for participation points and explained how the lowest are dropped. Kregenow does a scavenger hunt for the syllabus and offers points.
For office hours, Kregenow mentioned, “remember, this is not a distraction from your job this is your job.” Kregenow also spoke about stopping what you are doing and speaking to students kindly. To de-stigmatize office hours, they use “if you’d like more practice” instead of “if you’re struggling.” I like this wording, and it does make a difference in tone!
In class, Kregenow comes early to chat with students and commits to learning some names. “Don’t require documentation, but they tell you of a calamity, offer condolences or well wishes” was a phrase I really liked in their handout. They offer make ups and include oral exams. Some other ideas from attendees were to use a GoogleCalendar or scheduling system for virtual student hours. I need to do a better job with virtual hours and this starts with explaining how they will work and why they are important. This was a great way to end Lilly recordings. The session itself was relaxing and motivating. I am grateful for the recordings and for being able to learn from so many speakers and presenters.
