Educator's Voice
Vol 10, Issue 5
September 16, 2009
Fairness in the classroom: Faculty versus Students
Because fairness is a perception based on interpretations of behavior, not intentions, many instructors may inadvertently engage in what students perceive to be unfair behavior. Could that include you?
This article provides a historical overview of the current assessment and accountability climate in higher education and suggests a path forward that focuses on improving the student learning experience on campus as a win-win situation for all constituencies.
“Just ask my students. I know they would agree that I’m fair.” I imagine that most instructors, online or in the classroom, believe that the previous statement describes their instructional behavior. However, not all students rate their professors as high on the “fairness scale.” Why does this disparity in views exist? One explanation is that the perception of fairness, the very definition of fairness itself, often differs between instructors and their students.
In order to create a climate in online courses that students consider “fair,” instructors must understand how students perceive fairness in an educational environment. Dr. Rita Rodabaugh’s seminal typology of perceived fairness provides an excellent reference including: Interactional fairness—the nature of the interaction between instructor and student(s), Procedural fairness—the policies for assessment and course administration, and Outcome fairness—the distribution of grades among students.
Interactional Fairness
The majority of students consider interactional fairness as key to a “fair” course environment. The prevalent view appears to be that if interactional fairness is present, then fairness (from a student’s perspective) in grades and other important areas will follow. Fairness in the interactional area is perceived to include:
- Respect: Students commonly enter a course respecting the instructor, and expect to respected in return. Forms of showing this respect to students includes using a polite tone in Announcements and the Syllabus and behaving in a calm and professional manner with individual students in postings to discussions, emails and feedback given on assignments and exams. If a student must be corrected in any way, it should be done in a private manner.
- Impartiality: Students expect an instructor to treat everyone in the course equally. In the online environment, equality of treatment is most apparent in the tone and frequency of an instructor responding to individual students in a threaded discussion or chat room interaction.
- Concern: Students want their instructors to be engaged in their success and in the pursuit of their educational goals. Demonstrations of concern can begin with an effort to get to know students—such as by using an Introductions threaded discussion site and by introducing yourself to your students in the course syllabus. Concern can also be shown by having an online office, emailing students who seem to be struggling and providing constructive feedback on assignments.
- Integrity: Integrity revolves around clarity in presenting course policies and procedures and consistency in applying them to all students in all situations. This argues for a well-written, thorough course syllabus that ensures students understand policies and procedures and any consequences for failure to comply with course requirements.
- Propriety: Students expect instructors to act in socially acceptable ways and to follow the rules. In the online environment, propriety is most clearly applicable in communications with students whether in discussion postings, emails to individuals or teams, or comments on written assignments and exams.
Procedural Fairness
From the student viewpoint, procedural fairness also ranks high. If procedures are established fairly and conducted in a fair manner, then students believe that fair outcomes will logically follow. Fairness in the procedural area is perceived to include:
- Policies: Policies and procedures should be clearly set forth and explained in the course syllabus. Policies of particular concern to most students involve such items as participation in discussions, plagiarism, other students’ participation in team assignments and the handling of late assignments. The degree to which policies are applied equally reflects upon perceived instructor integrity, a factor in interactional fairness.
- Workload: Students must see the required workload as reasonable given the type of course and course overview/objectives as stated in the institution’s catalog. What is reasonable will depend, to some degree, on the type of students in your courses and the level of students in the program or institution. Obviously, within higher education, the workload will be greater for both graduate students versus undergraduates and in upper level courses versus entry level courses.
- Policies: Policies and procedures should be clearly set forth and explained in the course syllabus. Policies of particular concern to most students involve such items as participation in discussions, plagiarism, other students’ participation in team assignments and the handling of late assignments. The degree to which policies are applied equally reflects upon perceived instructor integrity, a factor in interactional fairness.
- Workload: Students must see the required workload as reasonable given the type of course and course overview/objectives as stated in the institution’s catalog. What is reasonable will depend, to some degree, on the type of students in your courses and the level of students in the program or institution. Obviously, within higher education, the workload will be greater for both graduate students versus undergraduates and in upper level courses versus entry level courses.
- Assessments: Students appear to consider a number of factors when deciding if assessments (exams and quizzes) are fair. For example:
- Do the assessment questions align with the learning objectives in the syllabus?
- Do the assessment questions relate to content presented in the course?
- Is the level of difficulty of assessment questions appropriate for the level of course and the students enrolled in that course?
- Are the assessment questions well designed?
- Feedback: Students consistently provide high ratings to online courses where the instructor presence is visible. Providing constructive feedback on assignments and assessments helps ensure that students (1) view these activities as fair and (2) view the course in a positive light.
- Student Input: Student involvement in the educational process increases the likelihood that they will view a course as “fair.” One way to involve students is to periodically solicit their input on the course.
Outcome Fairness
Grades, obviously, are important to students. In general, students want (1) to know the policies and rubrics by which they are graded and (2) to know that their grades reflect their actual performance. Fairness in the outcomes area is perceived to include:
- Information: Students believe that fairness requires they be given detailed information, preferably written in the course syllabus, specifying:
- The assessment tools and graded assignments that will be used to determine their course grade.
- The weight each assessment tool and graded assignment will have in determining their course grade.
- The grading rubric in a percentage or point basis as well as information about grade determination. It is important to be clear in the type of scale to be used: a preset cut-off score or relative standing in the student group?
- Policy Change: Students expect that the grading policies and rubric set in the course syllabus will be firm and applied equally to all students. If a grading policy is altered for any reason, the rationale should be explained fully to the students.
- Multiple Assessments: Students commonly feel that the use of multiple assessment tools is more fair than reliance on a single type of assessment, such as a mid-term and final exam. In the online environment, instructors frequently use a mix of exams and quizzes, written assignments, individual and team assignments, and participation in discussions. This “portfolio” approach to assessment is generally well-received by students.
- Individual Performance: Almost universally, students believe that fairness requires their grade to be based on their individual performance. This holds true for team or group projects as well. Students feel that their grade should reflect their contribution to the team assignment and not necessarily what the team achieved overall.
In Conclusion
Positive student perceptions of instructor “fairness” can contribute both to student and faculty success in a course. However, negative student perceptions of “fairness” it can also lead to discontent that can impact both student success and retention rates. Omissions or actions, while inadvertent on the part of the instructor, may be viewed as important to the student and can negatively impact students’ perceptions. Many online instructors have found it useful to conduct their own “fairness audit” of their courses. Try it yourself! Then use your conclusions to decide how you can enhance your students’ perceptions of the fairness of your courses and your instructional activities.
--Ken Switzer, Ph.D.
Rodabaugh, R. C. (1996). Institutional Commitment to Fairness in College Teaching. In L. Fisch (ed.) Ethical Dimensions of College and University Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Instructor’s Tip
Recording Graded Work With Audio
Do you spend hours grading essays, speeches, papers, or other products / projects? Is that time often doubled or tripled due to the typing you have to employ? Perhaps using audio would work for you!
As a speech teacher, I must watch the recordings of my students as they present their speeches to a live audience. Then, I have to type my scores and narrative into the grading rubric I’ve created, constantly pausing, typing, and restarting the video. Then, I have to upload that document. For every 10 minute speech, it’s a 20-30 minute process!
However, since downloading some audio software (Audacity <http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/> w/LAME .mp3 encoder is what I use) I have found a more immediate, personal, effective feedback mechanism that saves me time!
Today, I open my audio software, my grading rubric, and the speech video. I then record a basic introduction that every student will receive. (I talk about expectations for the speech, specific criteria, remind them of the rubric, etc. – this only has to be recorded once saving me time!) Then, I begin the first video. As I note elements of the rubric that were performed well or poorly, I pause the video and push record on the audio system to record my thoughts. (Or, I sometimes record as I watch the video – this isn’t a problem as my microphone also has an ear piece so there is no loop of student audio.) Obviously, this process would be even faster for grading a paper, PowerPoint, or other document type. Producing the .mp3 file takes about 10 seconds and then I upload the .mp3 file to the Gradebook, send it via email, etc. This whole process takes me less than ½ the time as typing comments for feedback.
By the time I finish, my student has a narrated walk through of the grading rubric. This gives them significantly richer context for my comments as they hear paralanguage on top of the words and scores. I give them “markers” to guide them so that when they re-watch their speech, they hear me say, “At the 2:03 mark you really lost an opportunity for a narrative…” or something similar. This allows them to watch the speech through my eyes rather than their own. And of course, I spend significantly less time as I’m not typing.
There are dozens of free and for fee audio options out there. Some computers today come with built in software that outputs an .mp3 file. (I do suggest an .mp3 file as most any player a student might have can handle it.) However, a simple Internet search should reveal .mp3 recorders for you. (Here is a start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_software_for_audio)
Good luck and good teaching!
Jeff Borden
Senior Director of Teaching & Learning
Related Links:
Contact Us | Careers | Privacy Policy | Terms of UseCopyright 1999-2009 Pearson eCollege®
Phone: (888) 884-7325