Knowing the motivation for the enrollment with help determine how commited the student is to the program and the work it will entail. The reasons behind a students decision can hlp us see why they are here and how serious they are about school. Someone who has lost a job and is in it for a career cjange and has a family to support will be self-motivated because of the need to finish to support ones family. The flip side is someone who is attending because they thought the job sounded cool and has no real urgency to finish.
It helps the instructor know how serious the students are about the material being taught and what their ultimate goals are. Knowing that the instructor can vary the class to present conceptional and real world illustrations.
Hi John,
Good point about students having goals for their careers. You bring up an important point about the younger students. They have the desire but not the life experiences so this is why it is so important for them to have rapport with the instructor and an opportunity to be mentored by those that can assist in their career development.
Gary
I instruct at a technical institute, dedicated to the repair and maintainance of automobiles and diesel trucks, I find that most of my students know what their career goals are, some older students have a back ground in this field and have found they need more education tobe able to succeed with their career goals The student just out of high school seem to have a passion for working on autos and trucks, and need and are looking for instructors that have the expertise help guide them in the right direction .
In knowing the reason the student has enrolled in the class would help you as the instructor to know what topics would be very helpful to the student to succeed when you plan your lectures.
Communication with every student is important. Provide real world advise will build trust. If the student is comfortable than the instructor is also. Trying new a new activity when another fails is important to keeping students attention for the best possible learning enviornment.
Knowing why students have enrolled in my program will help me direct my instruction and plan so that students are finding the information and method of delivery most beneficial.
Thank you for your comments Gary,
It is very rewarding to turn a student on to a topic (like math, for example :) ) that they have never really been fond of in the past.
I enjoy taking the students who come into the class with a strong foundation and interest in the topic and really helping to broaden their knowledge and stretch them with more challenging material. But, there is a completly different satisfaction in working with a student who has always had issues with just the fundamental components of the material and helping get them to the "ah ha" moment where the lightbulb flips on and you know at that point that they get it and the light is on for good and we can move on to the next concept :).
If I know why the student enrolled in the program, I can guide them by giving them advice from personal experience.
Hi Joel,
Good comments about the ways an instructor can support student success. As you well know there are always a few students that are in need of extra support and encouragement. When these students are successful it is so rewarding for both the student and the instructor.
Gary
I think that having an understanding of why students have signed up for my classes helps me to understand the level of "cheer-leading" I may need to do with some of them as well as the amount of positive reinforcing through the quarter.
I teach fundamental and intermediate mathematics. So, I get a mix of students who really enjoy math as well as those that are not comfortable with their own abilities, enter the course with bad prior experiences and a poor starting relationship with the topic and tell me that the only reason they are there is because it is a requirement and their only goal is to pass the course and not need to re-take it.
Understanding the 'why' students have enrolled gives me a very good starting point of the involvement I need to take with some students at the outset to alter their incoming perceptions of math. By taking some extra time in the first few weeks of the course to focus on their successes with the material, really pays off throughout the remainder of the quarter.
I am a big believer in positive reinforcement for all of my students. But, with students that have a poor self-perception with the topic coming into the class, extra encouragement and involvement really helps get them on-board with being successful in the class, beyond just passing it and getting out.
I believe it's about keeping students engaged. A lesson plan for a daytime drawing class at a university should not be the same for an evening drawing class at our school because the students are generally there for diferent reasons. Our students need more practical instruction and justification for how they wil use the knowledge on the job. Not every student is the same so managing different personalities at different stages in their lives becomes a challenge. I find that working with students one on one during lab time helps in this regard.
I can spend more effort concentrating on tailoring my instruction to each classes needs. This , of course, would still need to accomplish the course objectives, but they could then be 'customized' to enhance that class experience.
Hi Brenda,
They need these reminders off and on throughout the course so they don't lose their way in the process of studying as well as living their lives. All of these things can come together and cause them to become discouraged leading to poor performance.
Gary
It will help us, as instructors, for planning out the syllabi. If we know they are here to pursue art careers, we can make the curriculum more hands on, as is necessary for creative students.
Knowing why students have enrolled in our program allows us to understand their final goal and to help direct them towards this goal.
When students begin feeling discouraged we (instructors) can remind them of their ultimate goal and encourage them "to see the light at the end of the tunnel".
This is a question I ask them the first day they meet with me - Why are they here - and What do they want to learn? This enables me to establish a framework of outcomes that they wish to achieve. I believe in delivering to them - with the best of my abilities - what they ask for. They need to know it is my best intentions to listen and follow through with their concerns for their future education.
This is a fast paced program to prepare the student for employment and everything counts from attendance,lecture notes,practical demonstrations,test scores,study habits and homework. It all plays a role toward graduation and employment.
By knowing why each student enrolled or what their ambition is, we as an instructor can know what the students expectations are.
By knowing why they have enrolled I now have a great idea about what students want to achieve out of the class and what they hope not to hear or learn. Having said that, I still have to cover all material but it gives me an understanding of how much the student wants to be there and how much I need to motivate them and which teaching skill I need to apply!
