Month: July 2023

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 3

(photo by S.B.)

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 1

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 2

Image someone who works in a cement factory who meets 100 people every day who have made houses with their cement blocks. Or a restaurant in which a cook makes the food, then sits at the table and watches the customers eat the meal and comment on it.

That’s what teachers do – we have to face the recipients of our work every day. I always tell new teachers that they need to teach from their personality. You can walk into a class and decide to adopt a persona but if it’s not your personality, the “new you” is not going to last. Which is why I say that it doesn’t matter as much how you teach as it matters that you stay consistent and explain your reasoning, especially if you have to change your mind.

Students in high context cultures like Oman usually learn about behavior by observation, not explicit directives. When students are trying to understand an teacher, they value consistency because they are trying to figure out what the teacher is doing and why. Acting the same way and keeping the same rules day after day makes for a calm classroom.

My second suggestion is to always keep on top of the paperwork – after a major assignment is due, write down the names of students who did not hand it in and make a quiet comment to them in class so there can be no future arguments about what was turned in or not.

Also, in terms of class management and assignments, I recommend teachers make statements, not ask personal questions. Some teachers like to put students on the spot and ask questions such as “Why are you talking?” or “Why did you come late?” or “Why didn’t you turn in your paper?” To me, this opens up all sorts of unpleasant options such as a student saying a relative died or a cheeky, “I wanted to.”

If students are talking when they should be listening, reading or writing, then it’s good to ask “Do you have a question” or “Is something not clear?” to help get students back on track, but “Why are you goofing off?” is not helpful. If it’s an issue of class management, a flat statement is usually best: “Please come to class on time.” If it’s an issue of a student not doing work, again a flat statement lets the student know you have noticed the omission without getting details of the student’s personal life.

If a student is way out of bounds, I sometimes use. “What on EARTH are you DOING?” which focuses on the action, not the reasoning and since not all students know the idiom, it can create a moment of confusion which stops the action and allows me to refocus the class back to our work.

Lastly, if a student is upset and the problem is unsolvable, distract them. Change the topic so they can focus on the future, not get stuck in an escalating situation. For example, if a student did badly on the midterm and wants a new exam or for you to change the grade, start talking about the next assignment, stressing if they do well on the up-coming work, their grade will improve.

Staying consistent, keeping an eye on students who are doing poorly, making statements and distracting angry students means a peaceful atmosphere in a class and fewer explosions.

For example, I accept papers up to one week late (with a late penalty) and on the last possible day to submit, I always check my grade book before class to see who might need to still give me a paper. In one course only one student hadn’t done the assignment, so in class, I walked by their desk and said quietly, “You haven’t given me the assignment.” Then I stood and looked at the student until they responded by nodding.

Months later, 10 days after the course ended and two days before the final exam, this student came to my office with a few papers stapled together and said, “This is the assignment. I did the work but you didn’t accept it.” This is a situation in which I could have said “that’s not true” but the basis of the student’s speech was fear of failing the class. So I addressed that aspect, not the lying.

I briefly explained again my policy about accepting late work and reminded the student that I had checked with them in class on the last day they could have submitted. Then to change the focus, I took a piece of paper and wrote out the grading scale for the class, adding in the student’s grades so far and showed that if they did well on the final, they could pass the class. The student was not happy but I avoided a long, angry discussion.

When the student was ready to leave my office, I said, “You can’t get a grade for what you wrote, but if you want me to check it – I will read it now and give you feedback so if  there is a mistake, you won’t make the same problem on the final exam.” Saying this is a good way to make peace by showing that you want to help the student and it’s often a check on the student’s intentions. If they took the assignment seriously, did the work themselves and want to do well on the final, they will hand over the work and let me look at it. If they got the work from another person, my comments won’t help them and they will not show me the paper. That student did not show me the paper.

My last point is that, if it works with your personality, using humor is often very effective in Oman. Omanis have a great sense of humor and respond well to joking. It can be an helpful way to get your point across, but have a back-up plan ready.

For example, I am very consistent that I should never see a phone in class – phones need to be inside a purse or pocket or set face-down under the chair. I say this during the first few classes, then in the 2nd or 3rd week, if I see a phone I act like I saw a snake and yell, “OH NO! What’s that?” as I back away in horror. Everyone starts looking around to see what I am pointing at asking, “What? WHAT?” Then I point and say, “That black thing there!” They realize I am pretending to be scared of a phone and laugh while the student puts the phone away.

Or if I see a phone I cover my eyes and yell, “OH NO! That hurts my eyes!” Again everyone looks to see what’s wrong, then laugh when they realize it’s the phone. And they understand that I will always react when I see a phone.

After the 3rd or 4th week, I say, “we have talked about the no-phones rule, now if I see a phone, I will take it and put it on the front table.” Then if I see a student is looking at their phone in class, I walk by and quietly say, “give me the phone.” If the student tries to put in their purse or pocket, I shake my head and say, “No, you have heard the rule – either you give it to me or you can walk up and put it on the front table. Your choice.”  Then I do not move from their side until they give it to me to put on the front table or they have put it on the front table themselves.

If they refuse, then I say quietly, “Your choices are leave the class, give me your phone or put it on the front table.” I have never had a student refuse at that point, but if they did, I would say, “I am marking you absent,” then I would walk to the front of the room, mark the attendance sheet, then continue to teach the class, ignoring that student.

To me, it’s important to avoid anger and “no-win” situations. Using humor saves me from having to say over and over “no phones.” After I do a fake scream two times, everyone knows to look for who has a phone out – and everyone knows that having their phone on their desk means they are going to get negative attention.

Talking quietly and giving students a choice of “give me the phone or you put it on the front table” allows them some privacy and autonomy over what happens. (They can take the phone from the desk at the end of class.) Yelling and/ or saying “give me the phone” is too public and direct.

Sometimes I am told that I am “babying” students but taking away their dignity is never going to create a positive learning environment. I want to uphold the class rules in an equal and fair manner which allows students to concentrate on learning.

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 4

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 2

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 1

Overview

All people have strong memories of their school days. Sometimes these memories become an inviolate template, so that teachers think “X was a great teacher and she did Y so I must do Y also” or “I was a good student and I did Z, so all of my students must also do Z.” Sometimes when teachers say “this is the ‘best’ way to do it,” they actually mean “this is the way my parents did it,” “this is what I am comfortable with,” “this is what is usual in my culture” or “this is what I learned from my teachers.” This might be useful if the teacher is working in their own culture, but such generalizations may not be helpful when working in a foreign country. Actions that might be seen as beneficial, such as using a student’s name in a sample grammar sentence, might be problematic in Oman where students might resist having their name used in public.

I will discuss five common cultural constructions within Oman which can affect student’s behavior. I am specifically not talking about any particular subject of study, but issues related to classroom management and creating a positive, pro-learning atmosphere.

Understanding Cultural Constructions within High Context Cultures

Oman is a high context culture meaning that most learning about proper social behavior is done by observation, not explicit instruction. When a teacher also comes from a high context culture that has different definitions of what good students do, this can lead to unintended confusion. It is much easier when teachers use low context techniques such as explaining all expectations clearly with written explanations and detailed rubrics.

The more organized and confident a teacher is at the start of the semester, the easier it is to create a positive learning environment. To use Krashen’s terms, when a teacher appears confused or uncertain in high context cultures, students’ affective filter is up, meaning that they students might be anxious to focus on learning.

Worrying about new concepts or new types of assignments can block students from being able to work effectively, so teachers should clarify exactly what is expected. For example, one teacher asked students to do presentations but did not specifically say that students would be interrupted with questions. When the first student was asked a question mid-presentation, they froze up and were unable to answer, nor could they finish the presentation. The rest of the class immediately developed sore throats with raging headaches and stated that they were not able to do their presentations.

Understanding Cultural Constructions of “Power” and “Authority”

Some teachers come from cultures in which teaching is very authoritarian. Teachers speak – students listen. Students do not have the right to question what a teacher is doing or why, much less complain about grades or that they have been treated unfairly. Also, some teachers have the idea that since many Omani cultures are based on tribes, that there are very top-down, repressive cultures, e.g. sheikhs speak and people obey.

This is not the case. Sheikhs might have the last word but it is their duty to listen as part of the understandings within tribes is that the person without power gets to state their case, sometimes emphatically and at length. Also, a good sheikh will not issue commands, but talk in an intelligent way so that the people will agree with him or at least agree to follow a specific course of action.  

Oman has many cultures which are oral-based, meaning people talk far more than they read or write. The powerplay of shutting people down without listening to them is rarely used. Further, refusing to discuss an issue can be perceived as being weak. The thinking is: if a person can’t listen and/or debate, maybe it’s because the person knows their case is not defendable. Someone who can’t support their position will try to run away from conversations. Thus a common model of a person in authority is a person who listens and explains their thinking. It is also necessary that their words and actions match each other.

Students expect that their reasons/ excuses will be listened to

Because of this cultural constructions, an Omani student might come to complain or plead for a change in the rule several times. This can frustrate teachers who come from backgrounds in which students should not repeatedly ask for something. In this case, the American communication strategy such as saying “I’m sorry” to defuse a tense situation is helpful, as is setting limits such as saying, “I’m sorry, I would love to discuss this with you but I have to go to class now, I will be back in 1 1 2/ hours and if you are busy then, I will be in my office tomorrow morning at 9am.”

If a student continues to speak, the teacher can restate with questions which will break up the flow of complaints and force students to refocus: “Did I tell you that I wanted to continue the conversation? Did I tell you that I had a class at that time? Did I tell you when I would be back in my office? Did I tell when I would be in my office tomorrow?” The problem is deferred and not escalated.

When a student comes during office hours, I usually write down the exact time they start to speak and let them talk for ten minutes. Then I interrupt and say, “I have listened for 10 minutes, now I would like you to listen for 1 minute.” If I am not going to grant the student’s request to change the rules, I will explain WHY I have that rule, then say, “if you would like to continue to talk, that’s fine, but unless you have NEW information, I need to do some work.” Then I will listen for a few moments, if the student is simply restating their objections, I will start doing desk work such as e-mail and entering attendance without asking the student to leave my office.

Teachers need to explain their reasoning

In some cultures, teachers can make blanket declarations, but it’s easier for students in Oman to have foreign teachers explain the class rules in a clear manner both orally and in writing on the syllabus and on-line teaching program.

One example is that I carefully describe how I grade tests. I turn the cover page over so I don’t see the student’s name. Then I grade all of the first pages together so I can see if students are having any particular problems with one question or if several students have answers that are too similar. Then I re-shuffle the papers and grade all of the 2nd pages, without looking at how a student did on their first page. When I have finished all the pages, I add up the scores and record the grade. I believe the reason I receive very few complaints or petitions about final grades is that I take the time to make sure students know exactly what I am doing with their tests. This allows them to feel more confident that I am being as fair as I can.

A second example happened one semester in which I was given a class to teach and I planned the syllabus alone, thinking I was the only one doing that class. During the add-and-drop period, a second section needed to be opened, but I didn’t know that had happened, nor did the other teacher know I was also teaching the same course. A few weeks into the semester, the fact that the two sections had different assignments became clear and there was some worry that students would complain that my class would be perceived as being more difficult. I said that I felt there would not be any problems because I had spent a lot of time explaining what work I was assigning and why I chose to ask for that work. By taking the time to say why I felt the homework was helpful, students did not feel that they were being treated unfairly.

Do not make false threats

When talking to new teachers, I often give the example of a child crying for a sweet while a parent says no. After a few moments, the parent gives in and hands over the sweet so the child stops crying. The parent has now taught the child to cry. My point is: don’t teach your students to create problems.

Think through realistic assessments and policies for your classes which you can defend. If you need to change something, do it explicitly in front of the whole class, write it on your on-line teaching program and make sure you have a built-in support ready to go. For example, “I was not marking who came to class without the course book but this is turning out to be a problem as many students are coming unprepared, and then bothering other students to share books. This means it’s harder to some students to take notes. So, now I will be checking to see if you have your book and marking that as part of your class participation grade. If you forget your book at home, please come to my office before class and I can lend you a photocopy to use.”

A related topic is that making broad threats only shows students that you cannot be trusted and invites students to attempt to change your mind on ALL aspects of your class. Saying “if you talk during the exam, I will take off 5 points” is not helpful. A teacher who tells students to come to class on time, but then arrives late is teaching students not to trust their words. Some teachers come from cultures in which older people are not expected to always follow their advice, but in Oman the idea of “do as I say, not as I do” can lead to classroom difficulties.

Understanding Cultural Constructions of “Magic Words”

Tied to the above discussion about power, some cultures work with what I term “magic words,” meaning that a teacher can simply say “this will not happen” and (like magic) it does not happen in a manner reminiscent of Gandalf blocking the Balrog by saying, “You cannot pass.” This construction does not work in Oman.

Simply telling students “do not…” will not work effectively. Words have to be connected to specific actions. For example, for a midterm exam, stating “do not cheat” is not useful. A teacher needs to think through the problem and create concrete steps to prevent cheating such as making sure students are seated apart from one another, writing tests with essays questions or having different versions of the test.

Another example is that many students like to solve exam questions in pencil, then go over their answers in pen. This creates a whole series of problems. First, to do this, students will need a pencil, easer and pen. First year students often forget one of those three things, then create havoc by asking loudly to borrow an eraser, etc. Also, some students will not start re-writing until the very end of the exam time, so that you are trying to take exams as students are trying to erase and re-write. If you take the exam still written in pencil, the students are upset and if you give them extra time to re-write, then the other students are upset because they feel that the pencil-using students got extra time.

The way to deal with this is not to say “don’t use pencils” but to be very clear: “If I see a pencil in your hand, I will take it out of your hand.” I also make sure there is blank space on the exam. Once the exam starts, I walk around and take pencils away from students but at the same time, point out the blank space and say, “if you don’t like your answer, cross it out and write a new answer here.” Or if students complain that they circled the wrong answer on a multiple-choice question, I suggest that they draw an arrow to point to the correct answer.

The combination of words, actions and making sure that students know you have thought through the ramifications creates a quiet exam.

Understanding Cultural Constructions of “Patience”

There is a strong Omani emphasis on covering/ hiding feelings and emotions. I believe this is connected to the fact that most Omanis live in multi-generational family homes with 20 or more people. Living in close quarters with so many relatives, creating a peaceful environment is important. This is on contrast to other cultures in which living in nuclear families or alone is common.

Living with so many people requires high levels of patience. For example, if several people want to go on a picnic but one child is sick, the family may delay plans so as not to leave two or three members at home.

Further, in many Omani cultures, getting angry is seen as something that children, not adults, do. A proper adult will not lose their temper but always stay in control of their emotions. Other conceptions of “patience” include not rushing to judge behavior. This means it is usual in Omani cultures to give people second chances and to look at their intentions, not only their actions.

Self-control

Sometimes when I explain the values of patience to teachers, I am told, “But students yell at me! They are not patient” There are a couple of issues at play. One is that the belief that the older the person, the better they should behave, so that a student who loses his temper might think, “I am yelling because I am young, but this teacher is older than me and should not yell at me.”

Perhaps a student is mad because of perceived unfairness, a teacher is requiring something that other students have not done or that other teachers do not ask for (such as coming to class on time). Or a student might be testing the teacher to try to get the teacher annoyed enough to say something wrong, which the student can then use as against the teacher.

So staying calm is absolutely vital. Sometimes the best choice is to explain that you cannot continue the conversation now for X reason, but that you are available to talk at Y time, giving you both some breathing room.

Sometimes you can plan ahead for how to avoid tense situations. You will know that X type of event might induce panic (and hence anger), so you can figure out how to keep a calm atmosphere. For example, the end of exams can be a difficult time for students who do not know the answers. Perhaps, they have been sitting and starting at the exam for over an hour, but when the times comes to give in the paper, they can get upset, try to quickly write something and yell if a teacher tries to take their exam paper. Handled wrongly, the situation can end in tears and/or fury.

Therefore, I make plans to ensure a smooth ending without me having to raise my voice, much less grab a paper away from a student. First, I give verbal warnings about the time such as “you have one hour.” I make those as clear and short as possible, not: “now dear students I want you to know that we have finished half the time and you have one hour remaining.” Simple, short statements are best.

When there is 10 minutes left, I say “you have to finish now, there are ten minutes.” And then when the time is finished, I don’t say, “the time is over, give me your papers.” I say, “time to finish” and then give a count-backwards from 10: 10 – pause – 9 – pause – 8 – pause, etc. When I get to “zero,” I start talking (sometimes singing) very loudly, “let’s go home – let’s go have ice cream – time for tea,” etc. It’s silly and distracting. If someone refuses to hand over their exam, I stand next to them and talk very loudly about how I really want to leave and go have an ice cream. The fact that I am talking loudly means they can’t concentrate; they quickly give up and hand over the paper. The students might be unhappy with how they did on the test, but they do not feel attacked or antagonized.

Believing the Best of a Person

A second issue related to patience is that Omanis often believe a person, especially a younger person, should be forgiven the first time they make a mistake, even if it was a deliberate transgression. Thus Omani students might breezily say “first time/ last time” when, for example, they have cheated on an assignment. A teacher from a culture which believes “do it right the first time” might feel insulted by a student who is not taking a problem seriously. One way to handle these situations is to make a great show of writing down the student’s name and what happened, then saying, “this was your ONE chance to make a mistake. And I have noted it, so if it happens again, then the consequences are…”

Judging on intentions not actions

 Something that has really helped me as a teacher in Oman is that I spent two summers learning Arabic from Omani teachers. Being a student in an Omani-led classroom gave me a lot of insights into how teaching and learning is conceived of in Oman.

I was once, painfully slowly, trying to say a sentence in my Arabic grammar class but the Omani grammar teacher kept trying to help by interrupting me with hints. I got really frustrated and yelled “STOP!” He walked to the corner, turned his back to the class and raised his hands over his head (punishment for misbehaving school kids). The other American and European students were appalled but the Omani teacher was not angry with me because he perceived my intention in yelling was to express my exasperation with myself, not an attempt to be rude to him. The action of yelling was rude, but there was no intention to be rude so we kept a good relationship.

From his comments in class it was clear that, to him, it was less rude to shout from frustration than to play with a cell phone in class or sit silently seething. I was making mistakes and inappropriately yelling, but at least I was trying to speak and learn so I was judged positively.

Some students might work out of the same framework. For example, students might whisper questions to each other while a teacher is talking. If a teacher assumes the talking is social (not class-related), the teacher might become angry, making the students also angry as their intention was not to disrupt the class but to understand something. As always, staying calm is the best idea. A teacher can stop talking, look at the students and ask quietly, “is something not clear?”

Understanding Cultural Constructions of “Shame”

In some cultures, involving students in the lessons is seen as a method of improving learning, thus teachers might ask students to write something on the board or use a student’s name in a sample sentence. This can create issues because Omani students are often uneasy when they are singled out, especially in first year university classes. Having special attention paid to one student can also be problematic as many Omanis have very strong memories.

One former student told me how a teacher had made a comment to her about her new purse, then a few days later used that student’s name in a sample sentence about someone who likes to go shopping. That student assumed the teacher was making fun of her and felt unhappy in the class for the rest of the semester. I am sure that the teacher never connected a compliment about a purse to a grammar example but the former student believed that the teacher remembered every comment made to every student and had used her name on purpose.

This is why I suggest that teachers never use their students’ names in example sentences (you can ask your students for a name of someone not in the class) and be careful about personal comments, even if they are compliments.

 Further, if a teacher wants students to write on the board, bring six white board markers and have six students (same gender) write at one time for the first few days, then have four write, then two, then it’s fine to ask one student to write.

Or if a teacher wants to have students do presentations, first ask all students to stand in the front of the class and say one simple sentence. The next day ask them to say two simple sentences on an easy topic such “your favorite food.” In this way, you can gradually get the students accustomed to talking in front of the class so that presentations will go smoothly.

One teacher asked students at the end of presentation to evaluate their own work. When another student gave a positive evaluation of their work, the teacher said that they were wrong and the presentation was not well done. Then all the other students refused to do any kind of evaluation of their work. A simple way around this is to ask students to write a short response to their presentations listing one aspect that they think they did well and one aspect that that they could improve on.

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 3

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 4

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 1

first of a series of essays about teaching in Oman

Overview

The idea that the “right way” to teach is the way one was taught is very deeply ingrained. When I do orientation sessions for new teachers, I am sometimes surprised that, while teachers know that there will be many cultural differences when they move to a new country, they occasionally expect that students will behave exactly as in their home culture.

The result is that teachers can get caught in tough binary of thinking: either I have to accept this unwanted behavior or the students have to change. This might lead to misunderstandings, then escalate to anger on both sides. When I suggest that teachers make small adjustments, the response is often, “so I have to let students get away with this wrong behavior?”

No, I think teachers should have control of their classrooms, but insisting on creating your own (foreign) culture in an Omani classroom is not possible. Small adjustments can create a positive classroom atmosphere by taking in account local understandings.

For example, when students come late to class in some cultures, they should knock on the door and ask permission to enter. In other cultures, students should apologize and explain why they are late; another scenario is that students enter quietly without speaking to or looking at the teacher. When a teacher from a culture in which apologies are expected is confronted with Omani students who simply walk in and sit down, they can become annoyed and call out to the student.

This may create a problem as the student might feel unfairly persecuted for being made the center of attention. As students have explained to me many times, “students feel shy if the teacher makes all the students look at them.”

In talking about situations like this, I recommend teachers write their late policy on the syllabus, on-line teaching program and announce it in class, then talk to the student after class about the penalties for coming late. In one conversation with a teacher who was confronting this issue, they said, “But the student needs to apologize to me! You are telling me that I should allow them to be disrespectful!”

This reminds me of the Rita Mae Brown quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Asking for student apologies for weeks on end and getting angry when an apology is not forthcoming doesn’t help the teacher, the students or the classroom atmosphere.

Allowing students to come in late without noticing them, then enforcing a specific penalty saves time and prevents frustration. Talking to a student at the end of class permits the teacher to continue the forward momentum of the lesson. And if the student starts to dispute about the penalty, the fact that it is time to leave the classroom gives a natural break to the argument. A teacher can say, “I am happy to discuss this more but now I have to teach another class. I will be in my office at 1pm.”

Culture and Pedagogy

When thinking about education I consider the most helpful definition of culture is that it encompasses the objects, actions and beliefs of a set of people who are grouped together by both themselves and others. When I teach classes specifically on culture, I always emphasize to students that they belong to many sets, hence many cultures. For example, a woman might be within the categories of student, sister, Muslim, Omani, artist, daughter, member of her tribe, resident of her neighborhood and that each set carries within in emic and etic expectations of actions (behaviors), objects (for example, clothing) and beliefs.

I have lived in five different countries and what often happens is that locals consider that manifestations of their culture, both simple (what’s the usual time to eat lunch) and complex (what are the steps to getting married) are lucid and natural. On the other hand, a newcomer might be bewildered and confused about how to navigate even easy tasks such as giving a proper greeting or writing a memo.

In Oman, foreign teachers need to both try to understand Omani cultures and be clear about the implicit and explicit effect of their background, experiences and education. It might be self-evident to a teacher that of course work can be turned in up to a week late, but students might believe that work might be submitted weeks or month late. Hence the articulation of expectations is vital when trying to minimize misunderstandings.

The “Third” Option

What I call the “third” option means finding a middle way between a teacher acting exactly as if they were teaching in their home country and allowing students to make all the classroom decisions, which might be antithetical to good learning practices.

The comment I hear often is that “students need to change” but often the issue is cultural perceptions. Sometimes when I suggest that teachers need to adjust I hear comments such as “So I should let students be rude?” or “I should let them do what they want?”

The answer to those questions is “no” but, to me, the most important issue is creating an effective learning environment, not recreating the exact behavior that teachers are accustomed to at home. Attempting to reconstruct another culture inside an Omani classroom will probably leave teachers and students equally frustrated.

Another way to look at this is to remember that that your decisions are in your hands; what is not in your hands is other people’s perceptions and reactions to your choices. You can say I am doing X action for Y reason and this choice means that I am Z. But that might only work among people from your culture; there is no validity in saying that all people must understand that X action means Z. In another culture, X might give a meaning of A.

In one teacher’s culture, a student talking back is seen as rude; but in another culture it can mean the student is positively, actively participating in creating meaning. In one culture, students not looking teachers in the eye is considered polite, in another culture it is rude.

For example, Omani students might ask for a mock exam. In some classes that is a good idea but in other classes, perhaps the teacher doesn’t think it’s necessary which makes students upset. This can lead to situations in which the teacher doesn’t think a practice exam is useful, but gives one to keep students quiet. Or the teacher refuses and the students complain later that their low score was the result of not having a practice exam.

The solution is teachers can make a few, small changes by addressing the root of the problem, thus restoring classroom balance and positivity. Students often ask for a mock exam because they are scared about exams, especially if it is the first class with that teacher. Students may have had teachers who changed the date of the exam, put a new style of question on the exam or asked about topics that hadn’t been covered in class. If teachers look at the issue in terms of ‘my students are fearful’ instead of ‘my students are rude,’ solving the dilemma becomes easy.

When I am getting students ready for my poetry midterm, I literally draw a rectangle on the whiteboard with a series of 10 squiggly lines, one underneath each other. Then I say, “This is what your test page will look like, these lines are a poem, one of the poems we studied in class, but you won’t know which poem.” Then I draw a few more lines underneath spaced a little apart and say, “These are the questions. they will not be true/ false or multiple choice. You have to answer in a complete sentence. You won’t know which vocabulary words will go with which poem. For example, for ‘Skylark’ the questions might be about the narrator, setting atmosphere and finding a metaphor. Or the questions might be about the characters, exposition, rhyme scheme and diction.”

Then I say, “I don’t know how many pages there will be but this is what the vocabulary question pages look like. At the end of the exam there will be questions to compare and the poems to compare will be in the text will be included. And there one or two questions of analysis, for example I will give you two poems and ask you which one is better and why.” If a student again asks for a mock exam, I go through the entire small speech again.

I am not advising to give or not give mock exams. My advice is that when students start to clamor and insist that they don’t understand, explaining something clearly, then repeating the exact same words is often effective. Omani students may show fear in ways that can be read as anger or disrespect; when teachers respond with annoyance, the classroom atmosphere can deteriorate. When teachers show that everything is in hand, for example that they know exactly how the exam will be set up and are willing to share that information, students can stay calm.

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 2

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 3

Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching, part 4