Conflict

Even in this best case scenario, some things will go wrong. And if you’re less prepared along any of these dimensions, many things might go wrong.

More often than not, the reason things go wrong is because of  mismatched or vague expectations . If you’re not clear about what you want students to do, they either won’t do them, won’t do them to the level you expect, or will be frustrated that they don’t know what you want. If your classroom norms don’t set clear expectations, and you don’t enforce them, students won’t follow them, and your class culture will break. And the list continues: in group work, in labs taught by TAs, in grading, and every other dimension of your course, if you’re not clear about what you want, students will be frustrated, they will seek more guidance, and in the worst case scenarios, they’ll escalate to a higher authority (e.g., the program chair of Informatics or the Associate Dean for Academics) to try to create pressure for you to set your expectations more clearly, or meet the expectations they brought to the class.

Some of these challenges are inevitable. For example, when designing a course, you can’t  perfectly anticipate  what expectations students will bring, what prior knowledge they will bring, or what norms they will bring. If these are in conflict with your expectations, you’re going to have to resolve conflict. And in some cases, no amount of planning or clear communication change students’ expectations: some will want so strongly, for example, to learn a specific technology, that if you refuse to teach it, they will be frustrated and initiate conflict. And in many of these cases, they will be justified: your authority and expertise aren’t absolute; you may be wrong or have misjudged what students need to effectively learn.

So what can you do when conflict arises? Let’s first consider conflict around  authority . Suppose a student isn’t happy with what you’re teaching or how you grade something because you didn’t meet their expectations. Do you assert your authority? Do you try to persuade them you’re right? Do you just do what they ask? And do you just do it for them? Regardless of what you might think is “right” in this scenarios (that’s a value judgement), none of these approaches really work. The only reliable way to resolve conflict around authority is to  listen and then make a judgement . This shows that you understand their concern, that you’ve considered their concern in light of all of the circumstances, and that you’re willing to admit at least partial fault. More often than not, I find myself making judgements about how much my design choices and communication led to the problem, and give students slack to the extent I was to blame. Sometimes I’m entirely to blame and I decide to change my decision, sometimes I decide the student is entirely to blame and I hold firm. But in all cases, I listen, decide, and clearly explain my rationale.

This general pattern of conflict resolution plays out somewhat differently depending on the nature of the conflict. For example, suppose a student comes to you with a  disagreement about a grade  (the most common conflict at UW). Patiently listen to their concern. Take the time you need to reflect on whether the expectations you set about grading were vague, and if you need more information about the student’s interpretation of your expectations, ask them. Take time to deliberate on where the responsibility lies (it might have been shared), and brainstorm ways you might remedy the confusion. You might even promise to get back to them with a decision after you’ve had time to decide. Importantly, if you decide to change a policy on grading, announce that change for all students. Otherwise, you’ll violate students’ (reasonable) expectations of fairness.

Sometimes students will come with conflicts about  what  you’ve chosen to teach or  how  you’ve chosen to teach. More often, they’ll come to a higher authority with these concerns. In these cases, just as with the grade-related cases, it’s key to be vulnerable, listen to the feedback, and figure out how you might improve. Alternatively, maybe you really believe you did make the right choice of learning objectives; then it’s on you to better explain (or re-explain) the rationale behind your choice.

Some conflicts may arise between students and a  teaching assistant  that you’re supervising. In these cases, it’s still important to listen and decide, but it’s equally important to help educate your TA about how to resolve conflicts themselves. They’ll likely face the same conflicts that you do about grades and learning objectives, but they have even less authority with which to manage the conflict. If they’re escalating the conflict to you, it may be because they don’t know how to resolve it, or it may be that they don’t have sufficient authority to resolve it. They’re in the same situation as you, but for smaller scale conflicts. 

Many Informatics classes involve  teamwork , which can also be a source of great conflict. Just as with conflict between you and a student, conflicts between students also arise from mismatched expectations. Your role in these situations is help mediate conflict between students to align expectations, and better yet, teach students explicitly how to properly set expectations between themselves and resolve conflicts that arise. As with all of the other forms of conflict above, listening, authority, and vulnerability are central.

Sometimes you won’t be able to resolve these conflicts on your own. For example, some conflicts are so large that you don’t have the authority to resolve them. That’s okay. That’s why the iSchool has an Informatics program chair and a Dean for Academics. It’s our job to help you resolve conflicts, and if you can’t resolve them yourself, then make the decisions on your behalf. This escalation path is best for situations where you feel like you’ve either lost your authority, or a student is so resistant to your authority that you need a greater authority to make a decision.