This is a serious problem in our institution. We have students who do not possess basic communication skills, written or verbal. How can they succeed if we do not address the problem? Our success rests on the shoulders of our students. We MUST provide them help, whether it is tutoring, basic english classes, workshops, etc! And, it must be mandatory!
If you do not understand the level of your students or what they are lacking, it can be difficult to introduce, communicate, and educate the students. The more you understand their ability the better you can teach.
I agree. I am also a 3rd yr med student. And over the years of my ongoing education, i have realized we are creatures of practice. Practice, practice, practice, makes perfect! I know at one point or another most of us have heard this. One thing is hearing and saying yeah yeah we know! Another thing is actually putting it to practice. Since the point i actually realized this is something we need to do as students and as educators to better ourselves in whatever field we are trying to reach, it has helped me a great deal at tackling big tasks by nicking at them everyday little by little. Before you know it, you find yourself practicing everyday little by little, and now what you call little, is the BIG task itself. By practicing everyday, we help perfect and better ourselves. This is something i share with my students as well to help them face any big obstacles in their way.
As an English Composition and Speech Communication instructor, I find that there are very wide ranges of knowledge in a given classroom as far as reading, writing, and speaking skills are concerned. It amazes me how many of them have never written a research paper or given a short speech before. My students are preparing for careers in the medical field, therefore I feel I must fully prepare them for the rigors of their upper level classes with writing and memorization/study skills, as well as for their future dealings with patients, with speaking and listening skills. It's a lot to accomplish in one semester, but I feel it's very important to their future classes to take both courses very seriously. I constantly remind them why these two courses will help them in the near future, as well as years down the road.
Knowing the general education skills of the students helps the teacher target instructional and evaluative levels. If the teacher doesn't know the general education skills of the students, he/she may lose the students due to teaching "above their head" or teaching at a level that bores the student and does not challenge them.
Hi Miriam, Yes, unfortunately we too often see students who are lacking these basic skills! It is a real challenge to try to provide remediation in the short time that we have them as students. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Very important it is so sad how many students you will received that just finished high school with high grades but are unable to master basic reading,communication,and math skills. These skills make such a difference in future education.
Its important to have a overview of the students general aptitude (Math,reading,and english) in order to tailor your instruction to meet all the students needs.
It is important to instructors so we can knowwhat level our students are on.
I have to agree 100% I am an electrical instructor and general education skills are the hardest thing about teaching. some students have them and others dont. some are calculator generation and some are long hand generation.
Hi Jacqueline, This unfortunately is a common problem. You are making a great effort work with those students!
Susan Polick
This type of assessment is invaluable to the instructor for lesson planning. With this knowledge, the instructor is able to determine if there is a need strengthen the G.E. skills of the student. I have noticed a need for improvement of written communication skills of my students. The way I have handled this in the past is by taking time to have review of basics of written communication. I have also used a rough draft, final paper approach. This allows me to make comments and suggestions to the student regarding spelling, punctuation, etc. The students then make changes to the paper and this results in improved skills and better grades.
Hi Jamie, A very caring comment on a significant problem. How do we as higher ed teachers address the lack of basic skills? Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
I worked with adult literacy learners in the past with our local literacy council. Some of the learners were been able to hide their illiteracy from friends and family for years due to embarrassment.
Our society has placed a label on those who are illiterate. The assumption is if a person cannot read/write well or at all, he or she is unintelligent. That, of course, is not the case. But many learners are aware of this label and don't ask for help when it is readily available.
I believe continued encouragement is important.
General education skills are very important to instructors for one, a student needs to know how to read for reading assignmets, a student needs to know how to write for research papers and so one. General education if the root foundation for every learner to have. If the foundation is not there, you can not build on it. If the foundation is lacking, then it's shaky and run the risk of loosing the learners attention at some point.
Hi Michelle, Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, unfortunately we too often encounter students with deficient basic skills. Knowing that in advance can certainly help us to better assist them. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
An assessment of general education is important to evaluate the students reading, writing and comprehension skills. Classroom discussions, test and teaching methods can be tailored to different levels of thinking.
and to build on that very accurate assesment:
I teach at a small-ish career college that has most of the General Education classes for the core classes offered ONLY in an on-line setting.
I am expected to "monitor" the academic progress of my students not only for the class room work thay do for me, but also for the grades that they recieve for on-line work that I have very litle ability to influence.
In that those on-line courses are more "basic" (math, science, etc) I really wish that the educational ability of the students was more highly regulated and reviewed before they are put into this on-line "sink or swim" situation.
I like to review and recap with students so the class will grasp the material and understand it to the fullest.
So true if you don't use it you will lose it.
