Before We Make Assumptions About Students, We Should Listen
This semester, I am teaching a graduate seminar focused on university teaching. Each week, our discussions examine a different part of the work faculty members do, from designing courses and assessments to using technology and responding to challenges in the classroom.
This week, we focused on challenging teaching situations and difficult student scenarios. We considered how instructors might respond when students miss assignments, stop participating, dispute grades, communicate inappropriately, experience personal difficulties, or struggle to meet course expectations.
Our discussion produced an important takeaway that I felt was worth sharing with readers of this newsletter:
Before making assumptions about a student, instructors should be willing to listen and determine how they can help.
When students fall behind or behave in unexpected ways, it is easy to create an immediate explanation. We may assume that a student is careless, unmotivated, irresponsible, or simply unwilling to do the work.
Sometimes that interpretation may be correct. But often, we do not yet have enough information to know.
The behavior we see may be connected to a health concern, a family emergency, financial stress, work responsibilities, confusion about an assignment, fear of failure, or another circumstance that is not visible to the instructor.
That does not mean faculty members should ignore course policies or remove academic expectations. Listening is not the same as excusing behavior. Helping is not the same as solving every problem for a student.
It does mean that instructors should pause before reaching a conclusion.
A conversation can help us determine what is actually happening and what response is appropriate. The student may need clarification, a firm reminder of expectations, a reasonable degree of flexibility, encouragement, or a referral to another university resource.
Without that conversation, we risk responding to the behavior we observe while missing the issue underneath it.
One simple way to begin is:
“I noticed that you have missed several assignments, and I wanted to check in. Can you help me understand what is happening?”
That message does several things at once. It communicates that the instructor is paying attention. It reinforces that the missed work matters. It also gives the student an opportunity to explain rather than immediately placing them in a defensive position.
Our seminar discussion also reinforced that faculty members cannot and should not try to manage every student challenge alone. Instructors are not counselors, case managers, disability specialists, or financial aid advisors. In many cases, the most helpful action is recognizing that a student needs support and connecting that student with the appropriate person or office.
The instructor’s role is often to open the door.
Students remain responsible for their choices, their communication, and their academic work. Accountability still matters. But accountability is more effective when it is based on accurate information rather than assumptions.
Challenging teaching situations rarely have one perfect response. They require judgment, boundaries, consistency, empathy, and an understanding of institutional policies and resources.
But in many cases, the best first step is remarkably simple:
Listen before judging.
Ask before assuming.
Understand the situation before deciding how to respond.
Sometimes the most important teaching decision begins with a conversation.