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Professor O spent some time processing students’ lack of preparation. He empathized with their heavy school workload and reiterated the importance of coming to class prepared. These actions were consistent with his teaching philosophy. In this case, the incident could have been mitigated with better planning on the part of the instructor. Although Professor O discussed expectations, more explicit directions may have been helpful for students. For example, he could have provided discussion prompts prior to class to help students prepare ahead of time rather than relying on students’ ability to recall specific concepts from the reading.

As a result of this incident, Professor O provided more guidance by developing questions for review prior to class. He adjusted the class format to give students an opportunity to engage in small-group discussion prior to large-group discussion. Students discussed prompts with a partner before coming together for class discussion. This helped accommodate students who were not comfortable speaking in front of the large group. In future courses, Professor O tied class discussions based on readings to course credit to help students feel more invested in the activity.

Professor O confronted students about being prepared, but he ultimately did not hold them accountable by reducing participation points. He also could have required students to complete readings or an additional activity or assignment to demonstrate understanding of the topic as opposed to moving on with the class. Although he processed students’ reactions, he could have spent more time processing expectations for active participation. For example, he could have started by getting a sense of students’ preferences and their comfort sharing in large groups. Professor O could also have sought more explicit feedback on course readings. It could have been that the readings were not interesting or were too difficult for students to understand.

As a result of the incident, Professor O gained insight into more effective ways of interacting with students. The students were honest with him about feeling overwhelmed. This interaction is encouraging within a humanistic teaching philosophy. Students seemed to appreciate an empathic response and became motivated to participate in the class. However, Professor O also learned that his student-centered approach required adjustments to fully work. He recognized the need to be especially clear about expectations. Students may know they will be expected to contribute to class discussions, but they are more engaged when they know which topics from the reading might be discussed.