Yes, it is hard to please undergraduates in social sciences as they are born
and raised up in a social environment that is drastically different from
ours. Here are some tips from my teaching experience. I do not deny fatigue
nor annoyance when get stuck in teaching undergrads, but somehow I managed
to deal with it OK.
1. make it less theory-oriented. I have taught intros to American government
and you probably think that everybody knows something about governments.
Well, the assumption can not be further wrong. Stuff them with basic facts
and put all sorts of stories there. Everyone likes stories, but not theories
. Later I figured out that most of them take it because they are required to
. Motivation for understanding theories is quite low.
2. Let them talk. Given them chances to make group discussions and group
presentation. When they vent their not-so-sensible opinions, they can calm
down. Encourage them to talk in class always, but remind them of class
conduct.
3. let them vent their dissatisfaction in the middle of the class. Usually I
do a midterm survey to see their responses. Then I would do some of their
recommendations so that they get a feeling that I am truly committed to
their thoughts.
4. find a mentor from your center of teaching excellence. Usually those
people can help a lot because they have obligation to improve your teaching.
Indeed, I got a lot from centers ranging from how to encourage students to
talk, how to design curriculum to how to deal with in-class challenge, among
others. There are series of workshops that are often provided on campus.
Take them
5. do not use others' materials, better do your own version. That way, you
can be more familiar with the course materials and less likely to feel bad.
At least, you have thought through everything once before you step in to the
classroom. Find a good book and develop your course outlines. It takes
sometime, but it proves worthwhile.
I wish I can offer more, but I can assure you once you have been teaching
the same course five or six times, you get used to it. I would not say I
enjoy greatly teaching unders, but over time, I learned a lot and is ok with
it. Teaching evaluations are important when it comes to tenure decisions.
Do something and show what you have done to your colleagues. Even they do
not significantly improve teaching evaluations, you can say you have
demonstrated strong commitment to teaching, which counts a lot in tenure
decision too. Good luck!
