I am about to hand back an assignment that a lot of students did very poorly on, despite my writing out five pages of guidelines in addition to the detailed checklist they already had outlining exactly what needed to be included. Many of them simply chose not to read these and as a result are getting a failing or near failing grade on an assignment worth ten percent of their overall grade.

I am handing back their drafts with a rubric outlining every lost point in addition to comments throughout the text of the assignment. They know I am available to meet during office hours or by appointment.

So, is there anything else I can do? Do I pull them aside after class, or leave it in their hands to meet if they want to improve for next time?

I have one student in particular who has already asked me for help after failing the first exam. He said he was worried about the rest of the class, and I gave him some suggestions (start your assignments early and send me drafts to edit, do all the reading, come to office hours.). And he continues to make sloppy mistakes, like not picking up the reading assignments and failing the subsequent quizzes, or turning in assignments late when there is a mandatory late penalty.

This kid obviously has something going on that is making him act this way, and he did already come to me for help. If I pull him aside and ask what is going on am I overstepping my bounds? What do I do?

Topics: teaching, students, academics, boundaries, grading