Student Guide Corner

I talk below about my first test of the current semester.   If you teach Financial Accounting and would like to see a copy of that test, drop me an email at Jhoyle@richmond.edu . *** I think the most important time during any semester is immediately after the first test. Until that time, the students have done what they thought you wanted them to do (or what they thought they could get away with). The first test gives them a chance to judge how well their class strategy has worked. If they need to make corrections in that strategy, this is the time to do it. You have their undivided attention, especially if they did not do as well as they would have liked.   They are young -- believe it or not, they usually appreciate some serious guidance. You need to understand that most students are very used to doing X amount of work and getting Y grade. Many are well satisfied with that approach and that result. Others are not satisfied but have no clue what adjustments they nee...

If you have read this blog for long, you must know that I put considerable stress on communicating with my students, often by email. I believe open and honest communication is a key for all successful relationships. These communications give you a chance to guide your students toward the outcomes that you want. They allow you to motivate the students, to keep pushing them forward (�I know this seems hard but you are smart enough to do these problems with a bit of work�). They provide a chance for positive feedback � �the class was especially good today� is never a bad acknowledgement � one that students often never hear. They enable you to correct actions that you don�t like (�not very many of you had worked problem 5 for today; I�ll expect a better effort at the next class�). Communications help the teacher to prepare the students for upcoming material � �we are really going to stress the computation of interest expense at our next class so make absolutely sure you�ve studied pages 45...

The following link will prove that if you scare enough students over enough years, you will wind up with your picture on the Internet: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-10/favorite-professors-richmonds-joe-hoyle ** I think one of the most detrimental myths of teaching is that a person has to be funny or easy or entertaining to be popular with students. I think this idea has ruined a lot of good teachers. I cannot even estimate how many teachers have told me over the past 42 years �if I try to hold the line and make the students work, they will dislike me and kill me on the student evaluations. Students only want teachers who make them laugh and give them A�s.� Students only want teachers who make them laugh and give them A�s. If that line is true, the future of education is truly bleak. Often, I believe that line is merely a scapegoat � not always, but often. What I think those folks are really saying is �whether it is true or not, the students believe that I am giving them ...

We completed our first week of school yesterday. I always believe that this is an important juncture. Is the class going to fall into a lethargic mediocrity or begin to take off? We only have about 14 weeks. If we are going to have something great, we need to start building on that almost immediately. If you begin to lose student enthusiasm, you may never get it back. So, this morning, I wrote my students a note to make sure they each understand what it takes to be good in my class. The goal is not to cram the night before the test. The goal is to understand the material today so that you can answer more questions tomorrow. I�m hoping they�ll buy into that as a goal worth taking seriously. Here�s the note that I wrote to my students in Intermediate Accounting II. �I thought we had an excellent first week. That�s what I want and that�s what I want every day and every week. Success is never earned by an occasional good day of work. I want you to be consistently excellent. �I have three p...