I agree with the fact that adult students seek practicality and relevance to what they are learning. In doing so I try to express my expectations to them and set achievable goals on a weekly basis.
Hi Carmen,
Good way to hold the students accountable for receiving the information about the course as well as the syllabus. As you say it gets them looking at the syllabus so they know what the course policies, expectations and requirements are and how they will be enforced.
Gary
I go over my expectations and give them a hand-out with what I expect on it as well as have them sign a paper stating they received the hand out and understand the expectations. I have found making them sign a paper makes them stop and look and end up receiving questions so the students can gain clarification when I do this. This really does help and the students retain what was covered.
I always ask questions to the students to make sure they are understanding the material. Just the other day I gave a pop quiz and was shocked at how many students were struggling with things and were not telling me. I reinforced the issue and walked around the classroom watching them do their labs but they didn't ask questions. Now they are, ever since that pop quiz. I told them my expectations were for them to learn and if they're not being honest with me then they're the ones who are going to suffer and get the least out of the class.
This seems like an interesting approach, and it seems like you're able to touch upon every facet of your learning objectives.
It eliminates unnecessary negative manipulations and excuses from students, but at the same time, the instructors also must be committed to those expectations.
Every class begins with review of: a) outline, b) learning objectives, c)lesson plan. I noticed that once I started doing this, most of the questions then focused on the content.
Hi Darren,
Good job of laying out the course expectations, requirements, and policies so your students can get settled into the course and prepare themselves for learning. By setting a level of comfort in the classroom you are going have a more engaged group of students.
Gary
Making your expectations clear is essential for a positive student experience. In attempting to do this, you should present the expectations in an oral manner with reflection in your voice, followed by handing out the expectations in a written form, and then look for opportunities to reinforce the expectations as they arise.
I use a multitude of methods from the very beginning of class with my students. I start with demonstrative (modeling a swedish massage) Visual is also executed in my first class through this method. Students are then required to put on paper what they have seen with their eyes. We go to the paperwork that is used for the rest of the term to see how and where things were missed.. this improves understanding of not only what I expect but what the program expects of them. They follow up with their first attempt at a full body massage. I use this to gauge future needs in relation to their deficits.
Great idea! That way you can tell that you need to use another method and the students don't have to let the whole class know that they didn't "get it."
My syllabus has daily topics to be covered, and each day I hand out the next day's team challenge along with the individual assignment so that each students knows the expectations for the next class.
Elizabeth
This is very important because if the expectations are not clear, the students can not be expected to deliver what the instructor expects. This is especially important when there are special projects due.
Discussing my expectations after the icebreaker and then having the students ask me questions so I can review or go over anything they dont understand.
Caroline
I believe in not only explaining it to them but also writing it on the board for those who didn't read their syllabus or student handbook. I have to make sure they have no excuses as to what I expect from them.
I do this as well. Not only does it help the student know what is specifically expected of them, it allows them to check in over the course of projects to make sure they are on track, and it helps me be consistent while grading their papers.
In a writing class, I try to be as specific as possible, plus lay out consistent rules for the point values I will deduct for certain types of errors, because I would hate for any of my students to think I'm showing favorites.
Repetition, repetition, repetition. This is very important and it demonstrates consistency as well. People will not only get it, but they will begin to do it because they typically don't want to hear it as often.
I think it's important to communication expectations in various forms to ensure the students are clear as to what is expected, it's important to provide it in writing and also communicate it during the course instruction.
Hi Katharine,
Good method. Through the repetition you are reinforcing the importance of the course content and how the students will be able to use such content. This validates what you are doing as an instructor to your students.
Gary
I find that if I tell the students what I expect from them the first day, put it in the syllabus outline so they know what will be covered week by week, tell them what I expect to cover in the beginning of class, and then reinforce what I covered in class at the end of class the repition seems to be affective and their mind is put at ease.
