VOLUME XI, NUMBER 17

ot INNOVATION ABSTRACTS

 

Take a Course/Drop a Course

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVEL era THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

    

or “What Did You Learn in School Today?”

During the fall, the members of the English and
Foreign Languages Department volunteered for a heavy
dose of role reversal. Using a pool of administrative
support time, the department head offered to give one
course of release time to any member of the department
who would take a course from another member. Half
of the members jumped at the chance to become stu-
dents in their colleagues’ classes, a few more wanted to
but could not because of other obligations, and there
were some who became teachers of colleagues but not
students. In our department, it is not surprising to find
teachers ready to try something new. However, consid-
ering the autonomy of the classroom, it was gratifying
to find this many willing to open themselves up as

achers and learners.

Probably one reason for the number of participants is
the fact that, as a group, they are among the best
teachers in the college. Although they give about three
times as many C’s as A’s, which is opposite the general
college ratio, they consistently score higher on student
evaluations than the rest of the college. On the average,
these teachers have been reading student compositions,
or teaching language classes, for about 19 years. For the
English teachers this has usually meant five courses
each quarter with 25 students in each class. A course
off, then, was an attractive offer; and taking a course
from a colleague seemed just strange enough to be fun.

The rules for the project were simple. First, the
course had to be taught in the department. After all, if
we were going to share teaching and learning, why not
share it with each other? Second, the teachers had to
actually register for the course and stay in attendance
until the end. Third, they could audit, but they had to
complete, and submit for grading, all assignments. For
this, they would be released from one teaching assign-
ment.

The first hurdle was registration. According to the
computer, English teachers do not meet the prerequi-
sites for their courses. One of the composition teachers

ho was blocked from registering for a composition
@.:::: said it was like having your credit card refused

by Ivey’s when there are 20 people in line behind you.
She, like the other students, had to go to a special desk
in the registration center, operated by another member
of the department, and have the block electronically
removed. Another instructor called from out of town,
using our new telephone registration system. We found
that it takes an average of four telephone calls to get the
prerequisite block removed and complete the registra-
tion. Two who waited until final registration found the
sections they wanted full and had to get a “green form”
from the department head to take back to registration
before being allowed into the class. Although all of us
in the department assist students over these hurdles
during registration, we had not anticipated having to
do it ourselves. Consequently, we all learned some-
thing about embarrassment, frustration, and the short-
est route from Sloan Building to Registration to Terrell
Building.

The second major phase was entry into the class. For
the teachers who found colleagues in their classes, there
was predictable anxiety. But the teachers/students
expressed equal anxiety in anticipation of having their
wniting and other work actually graded. This was the
phase where humor became the driving force.

As students again, we all learned things about
“studenting” that we had forgotten. The other students
quickly accepted us as “one of them” and wanted to
talk about assignments, tests, and to share grades. We
experienced the dread of being called on and the
tightening of the stomach as the teacher hands back
tests or compositions. We also admit to glancing at the
clock near the end of the period and praying the teacher
would forget to give the next assignment. Teachers, we
found out, rarely forget; and many of us became
reaquainted with “midnight oil.” Then, on a Monday
morning about a third of the way through the term,
several of us were standing around the coffee pot and
realized we were discussing our weekend homework.

We also learned some important lessons about being
“adult” students. On more than one occasion, a
teachcr/student shared his frustration at not having

 

 

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THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DE VELOPME NT (NISOD)
Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin