First, congrats on dismissing class like that. Not many have the guts to do it, and I'm proud that you did. :-)
Second, I have had the same problem. One of the classes I teach is a core requirement taught by 25+ people. It has gotten the reputation of being a "blow-off" class. But, I don't teach it that way. I expect them to work, and not many understand that.
If pop quizzes aren't working, perhaps more tests will (with bigger point values). Sometimes that gets them motivated. If not, pass out their grades-to-date. When some see on paper that they are failing, they may get the jolt they need.
I actually think dismissing class for a bunch of kids who aren't motivated is quite counter-productive. If they think that by not doing the work they don't have to go to class, and if they have not been convinced of the utility of the class or the correlation between the work and their grades, then dismissing class is like a reward.
I totally agree. It's so tempting sometimes to dismiss a class that just isn't prepared rather than deal with that frustration for the entire class period and try to drag them through an exercise or a discussion (and I've certainly dismissed classes in this situation before), but it doesn't help the overall situation. In the end, after being let go like that, they don't learn anything about the material, they aren't motivated to do the work for next time, and any hostility/resentment they feel toward you or the class is still there. What they have learned after being dismissed is that whining works. In fact, after dismissing a class in this situation, I always have a very vivid sense of just having lost a battle.
I had a teacher tell a bunch of my classmates who came unprepared and didn't pay attention during class (sometimes they spent the lecture talking to each other) that they didn't have to be there but that they were still responsible for handing in assignments on time and knowing the material for the exams. They left happy, thinking they had been given a gift, and showed up again to write the first test - I can only assume that their marks were very low, because they attended and behaved well for the rest of the course.
I disagree. I had a professor do it to a course I was in as an undergrad and it scared the shit out of all of us. When I did it to my class last semester, it straightened the majority of them out. I think what I would do in the OP's position is follow it up with the progress report mentioned above to underscore the fact that no, they aren't getting a free ride and yes, a lack of work and a low/failing grade generally seem to come as a pair.
It depends on how it's done. As an undergrad one of my professors did this once, and we were all properly shamed and it motivated us to do the readings more diligently. It depends on how much the students respect the instructor and on making it clear that it's a one-time thing. It also doesn't hurt to remind them that it counts as an absence (if attendance is part of their grade) since coming unprepared is the same as not coming.
I dismissed class once and on my evaluations someone wrote, "I liked it when she let us out early." You just can't win. Another grad in my department made the students sit there in silence, not doing anything for the full 50 minutes.
Another grad in my department made the students sit there in silence, not doing anything for the full 50 minutes.
A professor did something similar with my discussion-based class once. He didn't cancel class when it became apparent that no-one had done the reading, but he didn't take over and lecture or otherwise let us off the hook either. He just sat back, asked questions, and waited for us to answer. It was a shaming and motivating experience.
That's terrific. The one time that happened to one of my sections there the professor summarized the reading for us and then swore us all to secrecy about it. We were... definitely a problem section. (I kinda had an Attitude Problem when I was 18, and so did everyone else in there.) He once tried to shame people about bad attendance by calling everyone who was absent in their dorm rooms, but he'd forgotten my last name so the migrained me was let off the hook. :)
In my field we basically assume nobody is doing the reading. Heh.
Second, I have had the same problem. One of the classes I teach is a core requirement taught by 25+ people. It has gotten the reputation of being a "blow-off" class. But, I don't teach it that way. I expect them to work, and not many understand that.
If pop quizzes aren't working, perhaps more tests will (with bigger point values). Sometimes that gets them motivated. If not, pass out their grades-to-date. When some see on paper that they are failing, they may get the jolt they need.
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A professor did something similar with my discussion-based class once. He didn't cancel class when it became apparent that no-one had done the reading, but he didn't take over and lecture or otherwise let us off the hook either. He just sat back, asked questions, and waited for us to answer. It was a shaming and motivating experience.
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In my field we basically assume nobody is doing the reading. Heh.
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Oh wow. That must have been some bad attendance.
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