Tuesday Tip: Delayed Gratification
Posted by Jay Savage on April 1, 2008
Despite the date, today’s tip is no joke: it’s often best not to answer your students’ emails as soon as they come in. This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s usually a good idea to let student emails sit in your “to-do” box for a while before you answer them.
Too often, student emails generate a false sense of urgency. If you are like most faculty, though, the bulk of emails you receive–at least the ones that aren’t last-minute pleas for extensions–are requests for clarification about some aspect of the course. If you are teaching online, you probably also get frequent technical questions about Blackboard and other technology. Whatever the case, the first student to email you with a question probably won’t be the last. Waiting to respond gives you the ability to assess the situation and respond appropriately. If a number of people are having the same problem, you can address your response to the whole class using Blackboard or a group email, instead of sending essentially the same email response 20 or 30 times. On the other hand, if only one student is struggling, you can work with him or her just as effectively in a few hours as you can right now.
Of course, sometimes things arise that do require immediate attention, but if you are following our previous week’s advice and not encouraging students to wait until the last minute to get their work done and contact you, you should be able to give most issues raised in student emails an appropriate, considered response. That will be better for you, and your students.
