I agree with the comments that a large part of success is mindset. I believe that it is very important that the students really feel that I am there to help them through the process and care. I always give praise for work and skill sets before I suggest areas of improvement as part of the feedback. Trust from my students is very important to me.
Mahmoud,
Good point. They have already made a step toward their future by going back to school. They need to realize that they are creating career opportunities for themselves each and every time they attend class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I tell students to celebrate every achievement, as I do for them. The first celebration MUST be the decision of going back to school.
Jamie,
This is the human part of teaching and is critical in keeping students engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Margaret,
Good balance in how you approach the delivery of content in your classes. You are sharing content in a way that enables students to be successful if they are willing to put forth the required effort.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Assure them that they will have the correct tools to do their assignments. Let them know that you care and try to encourage them often.
One of the first things we do at our school is to help students get their materials organized. This helps with the student's sense of control. Material is then introduced at a pace they are able to manage. Frequent and positive reinforcement is provided as needed with new subject material. Individual assistance is also offered if the student is not feeling confident.
Anne,
This is an important part of the learning process. Helping students to see themselves as graduates and successful is a great way to enhance their motivation and retention.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
By visualizing yourself graduating and seeing the big picture will motivate students in being successful in college. The help of educators explain the process will also help them be encouraged in this mindset.
Dennis,
I am a big fan of grit and self discipline. I think students need to be given examples of how both can be developed and be a made a part of their career development. I talk about "branding" in terms of what skill sets they can bring to the workplace and I make these two a part of the developmental process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Recently I heard a presentation on TED TALKS (http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html) by Angela Lee Duckworth on the student success factors of "grit". In her work she found that "grit" a student mindset with a combination of long term passion and persistence, is a good predictor of student success. Do you have any suggestions on how to develop this "gritty mindset". I believe such a mindset would not only help individuals as students but also in their career success.
Jeff,
Helping students to understand that even though there are challenges in their lives outside of class they can still be successful in the course if they will put forth the effort is a great service we can provide to our students. The more success, the more confidence and at the end everyone is a winner.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is just too easy to recognize the negetive influences in a students speech as they live the challenges of school and balancing the work load that comes with it.The difficulty is queing on those patterns early. A genuine confidence in the student and conveying a sense of support will definitly be heard over the student's frustrations.
Tracy,
You are a great example for your students. You are the person that they can talk with and model after because you did it and was successful. Yes, coming back to school is tough but with early success and the building of self confidence it is possible for each student to do well in the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Sharon,
Thank you for these good comments on how to support student success in the classroom. You are right about how early success can create even more success for students. Knowing they have the support of their instructor and that they can depend on their life experiences to help them means a lot in terms of course success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One of the ways I feel that I can help students accomplish this is to relate to them that I too was a career college student with the same fears. For me, going back after so many years out of school was daunting. I had to put myself 'back on the map.' I reminded myself that many people do this, it's not some unattainable idea. The ability to learn was already there, I just had to do it.
Nothing succeeds like success so it is important to give students many opportunities to be successful beginning with the first class. Positive reinforcement begins with discussions, by acknowledging the contributions that students make to the classroom discussion you are encouraging them to continue to be active in the course. Students should also have a variety of graded assignments so that their final grade does not rest on only a couple of assignments or their score on the final. Moreover, the positive feedback they receive on earlier assignments will fuel their confidence and motivation for future assignments.
It is important that feedback be genuine. Even if an answer is incorrect or an assignment poorly completed, the instructor should provide positive feedback and help the student to improve their understanding of the material. This individual attention with also help students to overcome their fear as they realize that they will have the support needed to learn the material and be successful.
Madelaine,
Early success really helps with building student confidence. This is especially true for older students that are returning to school. Once they see they can be successful their motivation levels increases greatly and they start to really enjoy being students again.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One of the ways to help students overcome their fear in being successful in college is to provide encouragement and support to help them believe that they will be successful. I also will promote self confidence and encourage their efforts to be successful.
Kara,
Segments of content enables students to grasp the key concepts while slowly building toward the big picture. This is the model that construction of physical objects such as buildings follow and this is the same model for building content in the minds of students. Good strategy to follow to the benefit of everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
