communication is to begin the third week of class by handing out index cards and asking students to ask a question about you or the content or make a personal comment - anything they want to say about you, the course, or the subject. Stress that they are free to question or comment anonymously but that you will write a personal reply if they sign their names.Classroom Leadership Some instructors believe that being liked by students and being firmly in charge are mutually exclusive - that students do - not like teachers who control them, assign them challenging work, and evaluate it rigorously. Not only is it possible for college teachers to demand a great deal from students and still have positive interpersonal relationships with them, it is necessary for students to view teachers as being in control for the students to be 1978. The key here is the choice of methods. As we shall see, indirect methods are almost always superior to direct or autocratic ones.methods are ideal for such individualization. The key to using indirect methods is to select words carefully when attempting to control students, suggesting and implying rather than ordering or directing openly. Indirect control is similar to the covert control exercised by hypnotist or Zen master in that a college teacher lays verbal traps mat control students choices of behavior while giving the illusion of personal freedom [2]. This sort of control is advantageous because it leads students to take responsibility for their own behavior - become controlled from within - rather than expecting others to exercise control, responsibility for their own behavior - become controlled from within - rather than expecting others to exercise control. How is indirect control accomplished? In Chapter Two the example of the complex messages an instructor can give when announcing a term paper illustrated the importance of the way an assignment is presented. When announcing a course assignment, college teachers emphasize the formal dimension of their relationship with students when they say I require, I expect, or You will probably want emphasizes the instructor as person rather than as authority raquo ;. Using these words implies that the students will choose to do something because it is what they, or someone they like, wants rather than because they have been coerced. Word choice may seem trivial, but research in human communication has demonstrated that subtleties of language strongly influence the leaderships that develop in a group over time, chiefly how much persons with less power resent those in charge [5]. College teachers who use more egalitarian language promote independence among students and are at least as likely to have assignments completed as those who are more authoritarian. Giving students choices whenever possible also increases their feeling of freedom in the classroom. This does not mean taking the first few class meetings to formulate course objectives or agree on assignments in order to enhance the group s ownership of the course. It means giving students choices about a few decisions of much smaller consequence, such as whether to have an exam on a Monday or a Friday or whether to schedule a film during class or in the evening. Giving students choices between options that are consistent with the instructor s objectives and the available time tells them that their preferences are recognized and will be considered whenever possible; thus, interpersonal rapport is important and at the same time the fact that the instructor exempts important decisions about requirements from a class vote communicates to students that he or she is firmly in charge. Treating Students Individually There are certain students with whom instructors should make a special effort to establish positive interpersonal relationships. The following suggestions about ways to do this should not be taken as sure formulas for achieving rapport and optimal motivation. Rather, they are illustrations of techniques that a college teacher can use to individualize his or her approach to certain students. Such individualization, far from being unfair or producing negative effects by unequal treatment, helps all students work up to their academic potential in a course. s Student Types. The student categories described below are based on Mann s research [4] and expanded by my own informal observations. Though some of Mann s labels ( hero or sniper, for example) may seem disparaging, they are retained and used here because they are easily remembered and aptly capture the key emotional concerns of each group. No lack of respect toward any students is intended. The typical compliant student is notably teacher dependent, conventional, and highly task oriented. Unlike other types, these students are comfortable with being dependent and are content simply to learn what the instructor wants them to know. Complaints speak in class most often to agr...
