Students not reading

[Reading Rainbow]

What do you do in your upper level classes when students have not done the reading?

Backstory: I teach a junior level elective in a discussion format but today the same two students were responding to all the discusison prompts. When a third student asked for clarification on something that anyone who had simply looked at the main headings of the chapter that was assigned for today would have known, I took a poll of how many people had done the reading. 3 of 25. So I dismissed class. I said that we cannot have a discussion if only three people have any clue about the topic.

My feeling is that for freshmen/Intro I dont mind straight lecturing most of class as they are brand new to sociology and need stuff explained; but by junior year that foundation has been laid and so class time is for analysis, application and discussion. One of the students who did read has already emailed my chair to complain that it was unprofessional of me to "rob" her of her education based on other students' behavior. Luckily my chair sees my point of view, that it was her classmates, not me, who "robbed" her since you cannot have class if only 3 of 25 people have any clue what the prof is talking about.

My chair said that maybe I should implement daily reading quizzes. Additional ideas for dealing with this issue would be most appriciated. 

[rookie teacher]

Honestly, I read 10-20% of texts as an undergrad. Weekly/daily quizzing works, but maybe not in the middle of the semester if there is no grade agreement on the syllabus.

I would break them into groups for 10 min to come up with class discussion questions. Then let them lead. That way they're accountable to their peers, and even if they didn't do the reading, they'll have 10 minutes to scramble some thoughts together. It could be messy, but its a start.

[another rookie]

I found these links very helpful, especially the second one:
chroniclevitae.com/news/719-they-haven-t-done-the-reading-again
www.usma.edu/cfe/SitePages/Tips_Reading_Assignments.aspx

[I don't tell them the answers]

Most of my colleagues have had success with daily reading quizzes. Some students actually really like the quizzes, because it lets them know how well they understood the material.

I've taken a different approach. I make students work in teams on class activities that require knowledge of the reading, and they are supposed to apply it to specific cases. Students who have done the reading get a lot out of it and really understand the material. Students who don't do the reading don't learn anything.

The problem is that while everyone winds up doing the reading--very carefully, I might add--some students wind up resenting the fact that I won't lecture and force them to do the reading in order to succeed in the course. Be prepared for a couple really nasty teaching evaluations every class.

[Reading Rainbow]

Thanks for the suggestions!! and for the links another rookie!

[My Freshman Year]

"My Freshman Year, What A Professor Learned by Becoming a Student" --Rebekah Nathan AKA- Cathy Small. Ethnography that explores, in part, how students prepare/or don't for college classes, and the amount of work they do/or don't do.

[Reading Rainbow]

Thanks! I'll add that book to my Christmas List!!

As an update, the same thing happened in another of my classes. I treated the three who had read to coffee in the student center, and while we sat in comfy chairs and discussed the material those who had not done the reading had to go to the library to read and write a summary of the reading or else get marked absent even though they had showed up. The two combined events (the first class dismissal and the second class coffee vs extra writing) seems to have done the trick and students are coming to both classes better prepared now.