My students always seem to enjoy success stories about other students. Telling stories of what graduates have done or are doing seems to spark their interest. I also use a "Choose your Grade" worksheet that I got from another instructor here. It's a worksheet that lets them pick which assignments they are going to do, predict their grade on those assignments, then tally what their final grade will be based on those assumptions. If they choose to skip an assignment, they can see what impact that will have on their overall grade. It gives them an idea from the beginning of what is going to be required, how hard they are going to have to work, and that the control is in their hands.
I teach environmental science and I tell the students that everyone has an interest in the environment because they live their lives in it and they have to travel through it to get to school and then home again. Also, everything they wear and everything they eat came from it, and they are a part of it. It is the stage upon which they play the Drama of Life.
Hi Trina,
Success stories are excellent for getting buy in from students. They see what can happen through hard work.
Patricia
Hi Lorena,
I like to express to my students how the course will help them in the workplace.
Patricia
I have the tendancy to be accurate,and informative, so that they feel relaxed, and I encourage them to ask questions
For my imaging class I would create Handouts with highlited topics and video illustration and also will create Power Point Presentation with photos of our former students and success stories.
Hi Donna,
Students love it when learning is fun! The perfect mixture is to incorporate fun with learning.
Patricia
I usually get "buy in" from my students through relating my personal experiences. As a retired state trooper I am able to provide details of how I applied the actual information I am presenting to my students. When I relate to them the value of observing a person's body language during an interrogation and how certain movements imply deception, it brings the importance of the material to life.
I have been rather successful in getting my students to buy in to the subject matter of my classes. As a retired state troooper with thirty-three years of service I am able to relate, to my students, real-life experiences where I applied the actual content of the lesson. When I show, through experience, the importance of observing a person's body language during an interrogation, the students see that the material I present is valid and necessary.
I tell them that Math is fun and as a funny teacher that I will even make it more fun.
Attendance and retention issues are unavoidable. But usually this issues are related to personal or financial aid that stops them from coming to class. So far I have been fortunate that students do not withdraw because of my methods of teaching. I tell them from the first day of class that they have to try to finish what they have started.
Hi Donna,
Great tactics to utilize to get students to buy into general ed. courses. Students need to understand how they are going to benefit from the course professionally and/or personally.
Patricia
Hi Louella,
Wow, I like your enthusiasm. I can tell you give your students every ounce of energy you have. I am sure you do not have an attendance/retention problem in your classes.
Patricia
Hi Leslie,
I like it, how you get students to focus on the end result and this is how you get there.
Patricia
I get them to discuss their goals for after graduation. Then we addresss how the objectives of the class can help move them forward to achieve their goals.
Since I teach mostly general education requirements, I feel I have to work extra hard to get a "buy in" from students. I always make an effort to explain to the students how the skills learned in the course can be applied to their lives both professionally and personally. For a research course I teach, I stress how the research skills and strategies can not only be used to satisfy the course requirements, but also in their personal and professional lives where they are required almost on a daily basis to research something in order to formulate an educated opinion. Also, I try to make the class vey active so that if even if it is not their favorite course/subject, they have fun learning the concepts through active learning. Lastly, I follow through with everything I say will do (including class expectations).
I always make sure that students have fun in my classroom. I always animated when presenting my lectures. That makes my students eager to come to class and often times sad that the class is over.
I teach COM classes, and these are sometimes hard to get students to buy-in. They often don't see the point in learning about grammar and sentence structure, how to write well and effectively, and how to research. I have them break into small groups and give them questions.
1. What types of reading/writing will you have to do when you're on the job?
Then I pass out business letters and emails that I've gathered over the years that show bad grammar, writing, et cetera. Then question 2.
2. What are the potential ramifications of not being able to write/read well in your job?
3. Why is this course going to be important to you?
Then we have a large group discussion.
Hi Phuong,
I agree! ALL students must be shown attention because they are all important. Being fair is a must!
Patricia
If you show your students attention at all times when they need it and not just put your focus on certain students personally I think that will help you through out your teaching career.
