I have been contemplating this question for weeks already because this truly bothers me. I have been a Science Lecturer for almost eight years, and I am still struggling to decide what to do with those students who are not performing well in Science classes.
The straightforward answer to this, especially since I am designated as a Program Chairperson, is to advise them to shift to other courses. Maybe they aren’t just designed to become Science educators someday.
How can they teach hard Science content when they can’t even prove they understood the lessons? Low grades may imply they are not grasping the gist, understanding, and competency they should meet for each subject course.
But should it be the only way to remedy this? Should teachers give low grades and let the program chairperson decide if the students should stay in the program? Should there be no intervention necessary? Should we make extra efforts to help the students? Should we first know the reasons that contributed to these low grades? Should there be no second chances?
Policies exist, but when the students are performing low and they are already near the boundaries, it is hard to decide to make proactive approaches of just letting them go and advising them to shift before more problems emerge in the future or take the risk of giving them more chances to do better next semester.
What are your thoughts?
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