Case #3: Gina Gilbertson

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As she taught her discussion section of Engineering Dynamics, Gina Gilbertson wrote out an expression for momentum on the blackboard. Outside the window were the metal struts of the engineering building. Inside were twenty-five college students in various stages of alertness. Half of them were paying attention, and the rest seemed to be otherwise occupied.

In the third row sat a group of five students from China. They often talked with one another, but did not socialize with the rest of the class. Next semester, Gina thought, she would start the class off with an ice-breaker to get the students to step outside of their cliques.

Gina had asked each student to fill out a card with his or her name on it and set the cards out at each class period. This made it easier for her to call on people.

After she was done writing out her equations, Gina turned to the class, looking for someone to call on. Her eyes fell on a young Chinese man in a blue athletic sweatshirt. His card read, "Jay." She had not called on him yet this semester.

Gina took a deep breath. "Jay," she said, gesturing towards him, "what is an everyday life situation where momentum is important? We've talked about the equations - let's think about how to apply them."

Jay said something that she could not understand. The other four Chinese students- three men and one woman- laughed. The rest of the class remained silent.

There was an awkward pause. Gina was not sure how to handle the situation. "Could you repeat that?" she said. "I didn't hear you."

Susan, another Chinese student, spoke up. "He is just making a joke," she said, attempting to spare Gina further embarrassment.

Gina shrugged and turned to a white student who was looking out the window. "Mike, what situations can you think of in which momentum would play a role?"

Mike grinned at Gina. "What about those little silver colliding balls executives put on their desks, where you pull out one ball and the other bounces back?"

"That's a great example," said Gina, relieved to have found a cooperative student whom she could understand. She turned back to the class. "What about some other examples from everyday life?"

As the discussion continued, Jay leaned back in his chair and went to sleep. Gina noticed this and thought about calling on him again. She decided not to do so. She tried to think back to her teaching assistants' orientation the previous summer. What was she supposed to do?

 
 

Worksheet

Link to PDF version of this worksheet

Before you read the sample analysis for this case, you may want to consider the following questions.

1. What issues does this case study raise?

2. What questions for group discussion come to mind as you read the case?

3. What could the instructor do in this situation? Generate several possible responses.

4. What might be the consequences of these responses?

 

An Example Case Analysis

Some Issues Raised By the Case:

We do not know the nature of Jay's comment. The comment could have been innocent, sexist, related to her teaching style, or a joke completely unrelated to the topic. What we do know is that Gina is uncomfortable, and perhaps her students are taking advantage of her discomfort. Gina is still learning basic teaching skills, including how to dialogue with her students. She has not attempted to bring her Chinese students into social contact with other students in the course. This scenario is not unusual; students from the same country often do sit together. On the positive side, the students provide one another with social support; on the negative side, they may become segregated from other students - and even from their TA. Gina is somewhat uncomfortable teaching students from a different cultural background than her own, and is not sure how to deal with the language barrier. There may also be other cultural differences at work.

Possible Discussion Questions:

  • What do you think of Gina's response?
  • Could she have set up the situation differently to avoid the problems that occurred?
  • Does Gina frame her request for the student to repeat his statement effectively? How else could she state it?
  • Does Jay's behavior require a disciplinarian response?
  • How might Gina respond constructively to her discomfort with students whose cultural background is different from her own?

 
A Possible Set of Responses and Their Consequences:

1. Response : Gina could laugh with the student and then ask the question again.

Consequences : Laughing and asking again neither approves nor disapproves of the behavior, which deflects the issue of discipline. However, if Gina did not understand the comment, laughing would not be a natural response for her.

2. Response : Gina could ignore the student in the future.

Consequences : Ignoring the behavior would allow the students to control the classroom atmosphere.

3. Response : Gina could increase the course relevance to get the students focused on the course content and establish the teacher/student hierarchy. Relevance, in this situation, does not mean connecting course content to real life experiences, but giving the students an incentive to answer the question. For example, Gina could offer extra credit for class participation.

Consequences : Students will see that they have a stake in the learning environment. When students feel that the topics being discussed are irrelevant or peripheral to the course, they are more likely to be disruptive.

4. Response : Gina could make a statement at the beginning of class that she will ask for clarification if she has difficulty understanding a student comment. Then, when a student makes a comment that is hard for her to understand, she should ask the student to repeat it, and be firm.

Consequences : Gina's students would probably improve their behavior. Gina's growing communication skills and leadership ability would also improve the classroom climate. If Gina communicates effectively with her students, she may be able to draw them out about their relevant experiences, as she is attempting to do.

 

Useful Resources

Reaching All Students: A Resource Book for Teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)


 

Diversity Institute Literature Review 

 

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