Teaching a Course Students Don’t Want to Take

There's always a course students don't want to take. Most likely it's a required course, maybe a general education option, probably dealing with content students are convinced they don't like (even though their exposure to it may be minimal) and requiring skills they're certain they can't develop. These can be difficult courses to teach. How these courses get launched plays an important role in determining the direction they take for the rest of the semester. Here's a rundown of some of the challenges and some potential responses that are more effective at the outset than later on.

To continue reading, you must be a Teaching Professor Subscriber. Please log in or sign up for full access.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles

I have two loves: teaching and learning. Although I love them for different reasons, I’ve been passionate about...
The recent report from Harvard College on grade inflation (Claybaugh, 2025; hereafter “the report”) is an important reminder...
Students often enter a new course with some degree of trepidation wondering whether they belong (Wilson & Wilson,...
Online students are not only reading our words; they are interpreting our intentions. That realization changed the way...
I’ll probably never stream Netflix’s The Chair or read Julie Schumacher’s Dear Committee Members trilogy, even though colleagues...
As we gear up for a new semester, how can we ensure our planned collaborative activities and related...
When instructors sit down to write their syllabi before the semester, one challenge they face is how to...

Create a free account, or log in.

Gain access to limited free articles, news alerts, and select newsletters

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Login here

Get unlimited access to The Teaching Professor

Stay informed. Subscribe Now.

WELCOME OFFER

$19.00 $14.00/month

for your first 6 months. Use coupon code TP6MO.

$19.00 thereafter. Cancel anytime.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Teaching Professor

You only have  free article views remaining.

WELCOME OFFER

$19.00 $14.00/month

for your first 6 months. Use coupon code TP6MO.

$19.00 a month thereafter. Cancel anytime.

<!-- This site is converting visitors into subscribers and customers with OptinMonster - https://optinmonster.com :: Campaign Title: Reader Survey 2026 --> <script>(function(d,u,ac){var s=d.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';s.src='https://a.omappapi.com/app/js/api.min.js';s.async=true;s.dataset.user=u;s.dataset.campaign=ac;d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(s);})(document,6063,'i4icjbiidtzffhxinqwt');</script> <!-- / OptinMonster -->