My recent presentation at the 2017 International TESOL Convention.

1. CAN THEY USE THE
RESTROOM?
Critically Evaluating Our Classroom Policies
Michael Westwood, TESOL 2017

2. SCENARIOS PART I
Take a look at the following scenarios. What would you do in these situations?
1. A student leaves class daily for approximately 10-15 minutes.
2. A student arrives 2-3 minutes late for class every day.
3. A student uses his cell phone throughout the class.
4. A student does well in class but never completes online work.
5. A student does not purchase the course textbook, instead working with a partner on all
exercises.

3. GROUP DISCUSSION
• Are these lazy or irresponsible students?
• What behaviors do we see that are troubling for educators?
• What explanations, other than laziness or irresponsibility, could there be for the
behavior?
• What would you do if you were the teacher in these situations?

4. THE PROBLEM
• There is a general lack of classroom management training provided in the United States
(Stough, Montague, Landmark, & Williams-Diehm, 2015).
• Those teaching ELLs face additional challenges, having to make additional decisions about
English-only policies, electronic translators, and cultural allowances (Alqefari, 2015;
Auerbach, 1993; Cakir, 2015)
• International students bring their own expectations about classroom norms, which are
sometimes quite at odds with the expectations of their instructors (Niehoff, Turnley, Yen, &
Sheu, 2001).
• A lack of critical evaluation can perpetuate unfair systems that disempower students
(Auerbach, 1993; Macfarlane, 2013).

5. MY BELIEFS
• Because our policies can have a profound impact on students, we have an ethical
responsibility to carefully consider them.
• Just like other aspects of language teaching, we should not simply follow the same path
as more seasoned teachers.
• Policies reflect our values and beliefs about education.
• Policies should consider our specific teaching contexts.

6. TYPICAL POLICIES
• Attendance/Tardiness
• Late/Missed Work
• Cell Phones
• Language Use
• Cheating/Plagiarism

7. REASONS FOR POLICIES
• Student Success
• Soft Skills
• Classroom Environment
• Respect
• Institutional Mandates

8. THE SURVEILLANCE OF LEARNING
• Stakeholder Argument: We have a responsibility to governments, parents, etc.
• Compliance: We have a legal responsibility.
• Learner Community: They need to be responsible to one another.
• Academic Success: Attendance leads to success.
• Student Care: They might be having personal problems.
• Real World Argument: They need to learn this for the future.
• Professional Practice
(McFarlane, 2013, p. 359)

9. THE SURVEILLANCE OF LEARNING
“In the context of a higher education, university students should be treated as adults rather
than children. Attendance requirements remove choice and judgement about the value of
personal time and how this is best spent. This curiously contradicts the oft-espoused
commitment of universities that students should become independent learners”
(McFarlane, 2013, p. 366).

10. THE SURVEILLANCE OF LEARNING
“In a broader sense, attendance policies conflict with the basis of student academic
freedom in the German tradition of lernfreiheit prevalent in the nineteenth century. This
meant that students were free to learn in the same way in which academic faculty enjoyed
freedom to teach (lehrfreiheit)” (McFarlane, 2013, p. 367).

11. GROUP DISCUSSION
Does McFarlane have a point? Where do you agree or disagree?
How does his description of lernfreiheit line up with higher education in the 21st century?
How have things changed?
Do the students he describes resemble our students?

12. THREE EXAMPLES
• To Solve the Skills Gap in Hiring, Create Expectations in the Classroom
• It’s Time to Ditch Our Deadlines: Why You Should Stop Penalizing Your Students for
Submitting Work Late
• A Failure of Empathy: I Once Learned a Lesson in Empathy That Changed My Teaching.
• InsideHigherEd.com and Chronicle.com

13. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
• Already navigating new linguistic and cultural waters.
• Might not be prepared for this freedom.
• Experience inconsistency.

14. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
• How much power do you have to create and enforce policies?
• What is the purpose of your institution?
• What do you or your institution expect students to learn, if anything, beyond the course
objectives? Is there an identifiable hidden curriculum?
• How at risk are your students for failure? What would be the consequence of that
failure?
• What values underlie your decisions (e.g. fairness, grace, consistency)?

15. PRACTICE
Let’s take a look at the following scenarios. Try to determine not only what you would do in
this situation, but also why you would do it. Consider the underlying values and beliefs you
have about education.

16. SCENARIOS PART II
Kendra is a non-traditional Guatemalan ESL student in a first year composition class at a
university in the United States. She works well in class, answering questions and
engaging with peers, but never checks in on the Learning Management System (LMS).
Even after several conversations explaining the significance of the LMS and offering help
with the technology, Kendra has only taken one out of seven quizzes and has only
completed two out of ten forums. She says that she’s “just not good with computers.”
These grades can make the difference between Kendra passing and failing the class.

17. SCENARIOS PART II
Agatha is a Japanese student completing a one-semester study abroad opportunity at a
university in the United States. She is consistently a top performer in class, asking
questions, engaging with peers, and adding critical insights into class discussion. She has
never been absent or even late. Unfortunately, she missed the midterm due to
oversleeping. A zero on the midterm would lead to a failure of the course.

18. SCENARIOS PART II
Jonathan is a Somali refugee studying at a community college in the United States. He
began his education in Somalia, but finished high school in the United States. He does
well in class, but is five to ten minutes late every day. When asked why, he explains that
the problem is the bus system, which is always late. According to the syllabus, Jonathan’s
continual tardiness should be costing him points.

19. SCENARIOS PART II
Jack is a Nepalese ESL student in an Intensive English Program in the United States.
Jack does very well on quizzes, but struggles to participate in classroom discussions. He
often falls asleep in class and seems distracted by his cell phone. In one-on-one
conversations, Jack is very polite and promises to do better. Nonetheless, he continues to
exhibit the same behaviors.

20. SCENARIOS PART II
Kelley is an international student from Togo studying at a small rural liberal arts university
in North Dakota. The campus is isolated from the town. Kelley started the semester well,
but stopped attending class after the midterm break. She returned to class after a three-
week absence saying that she was homesick. Kelley wants to make up the homework
assignments she missed during her absence.

21. REFERENCES
• Alqefari, S. (2015). Difficulties of Saudi Arabian Female Students Studying English Abroad. Arab World English Journal, 6(4), 231.
• Auerbach, E. R. (1993). Reexamining English Only in the ESL Classroom. TESOL Quarterly, (1). 9.
• Boucher, E. (2016, August 22). It’s Time to Ditch Our Deadlines Why you should stop penalizing your students for submitting work late. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from
http://www.chronicle.com/article/It-s-Time-to-Ditch-Our/237530
• Cakir, I. (2015). Opinions and Attitudes of Prospective Teachers for the Use of Mobile Phones in Foreign Language Learning. Contemporary Educational Technology, 6(3), 239.
• Kent, C. (2016, February 17). To Solve the Skills Gap in Hiring, Create Expectations in the Classroom. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from http://www.chronicle.com/article/To-Solve-
the-Skills-Gap-in/235206
• Macfarlane, B. (2013). The Surveillance of Learning: A Critical Analysis of University Attendance Policies. Higher Education Quarterly, 67(4), 358-373. doi:10.1111/hequ.12016
• Niehoff, B. P., Turnley, W. H., Yen, H. R., & Sheu, C. (2001). Exploring Cultural Differences in Classroom Expectations of Students From the United States and Taiwan. Journal
Of Education For Business, 76(5), 289.
• Stough, L. M., Montague, M. L., Landmark, L. J., & Williams-Diehm, K. (2015). Persistent Classroom Management Training Needs of Experienced Teachers. Journal Of The
Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning, 15(5), 36-48.
• Warner, J. (2016, August 2). A Failure of Empathy: I once learned a lesson in empathy that changed my teaching. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/failure-empathy

22. CONTACT
mwestwood12@apu.edu
@teaching4peace