Teaching independence

As I wade my way through my first school year, this is my first bona fide post on teaching. Instead of just complaining about life, that is. But don't worry, dear internet, there will still be some complaining to be had. I gotta be me.

A huge part of a university degree is learning about how to learn independently. How do you teach independence? Before university, they've basically been spoon fed. Here's the material. Learn it. Vomit it up on a test. Good job, A+.  Honestly, a lot of bachelor's level courses are the same way - but from grad school on, it doesn't work.  I've known multiple people who have dropped out of grad school or languished there for eons because they couldn't figure this out. They still expect to be spoon fed, and get frustrated with the professors when it doesn't happen. It's always the professor's fault, of course.

As a fledging professor, I'm trying, trying, to shape these students to prepare them for grad school, should they choose to go that way. If they don't decide to go to grad school, that's fine, since these skills will serve them well in real jobs too. But it's grad school I focus on, because that's where so, so many students fail.

In our standard course evaluations, one of the questions students have to rate says something like "in this course, I learn how to learn."  Funny thing, a bunch of students responded "not applicable" last semester. I had made what I felt was Herculean efforts in that course to teach students how to figure these things out on their own. I taught them the material, but I also taught them new ways of approaching the material. Not applicable?

So, here I am, at it again. I have an upper year optional course -- full of students who really are candidates for grad school. In this particular course, figuring out how to do it on their own is almost as important as understanding the material itself. I spoon feed a little bit in class, and then I give them TOOLS - lots of really good tools, with instructions to use these tools to help them understand the material. Do they do it?

Of course not.

I did a quickie informal assessment today, to make sure I was on the right track in this new, challenging course.  For the most part, all is well and I'm very happy with my work.  The few negative comments I received? Every single one could be traced back to the fact that the students haven't used the tools I gave them.

At some point, the students need to take responsibility for themselves and their own learning. I need to come down on them on this point. But, I'm afraid that if I do, they'll evaluate me poorly.

How do you be a hardass about things when your teaching evaluations are so important? This is my first year. Whether or not I get a second year depends largely on my teaching evaluations. Do I sacrifice what I believe they need - a hardass teacher who refuses to spoon feed and who points it out to them - all for the sake of pretty evaluations that help me keep my job?

Evaluations aside, would being that hardass teacher actually teach them to take responsibility for their own learning? (Shouldn't they already be doing that, as university students?)

Not fucking applicable. 


When does it get easier?


And, more importantly, do I want to stick around until it does? Or can I find a way to go back to research?