Hey everyone. I teach ethics every spring (Gen Ed at a SLAC). The course has two exams—a midterm and final—and weekly, short writing assignments that basically amount to three summary comprehension questions a week.

The weekly assignments are meant to keep students on track with the material, and they usually work quite well. This semester, though, many of the students just aren’t doing well on these assignments. It’s clear they aren’t reading, although I write them in such a way that if you take good notes during class, you can still do well enough.

The writing is pretty abysmal across the board and many of them just aren’t getting it. They seem to get bits and pieces but are really not able to bring ideas together.

(Yes, when things like this happen I reflect on my own pedagogy. I’ll be making some adjustments going forward but I’m not sure how much more straightforward I can make it if they just don’t read or take notes.)

So my question: the midterm is coming and it’s usually two essay questions for which they can prepare ahead of time. I’m really starting to think that they just can’t handle this. For the first time in 8 years, I’m considering making part of the exam multiple choice, because at least they’ll maybe come away with some basic content since many lack the higher skill of synthesizing. I can usually assume a baseline of the material and then assess their ability to bring things together.

Appreciate your input. Please don’t rip me apart if I’ve said something here you disagree with.