I review the Syllabus then explain how this class is going to help them in the long run in their chosen field and then ask what their goals are for the class. What do they want to learn from it.
Hi Steven,
Great approach to getting buy in's from your students. I really like how you make the first few days really impressive and encouraging. It is the instructor's responsibility to sell the course to the students. It sounds like you are effective as in instructor when it comes to getting buy in's from your students.
Patricia
Hi Dana,
Students really love practical experience stories. You certainly have a great advantage. You can speak from real world experience.
Patricia
stories from my ER days at county... the students loves them and want to learn.
Hi Kathy,
I agree some classes are just a lot easier to sell to students. Regardless of the class, do a quick PowerPoint presentation on Day 1 expressing the purpose of the course and the employment marketability of the course.
Patricia
The old adage “Well begun is half done†is particularly applicable to the classroom/lab. The relationships and routines I establish at the beginning of each class resonate throughout the entire 3-week course. I think carefully about what is important in my classroom, and how I can convey those values from the first moments students enter the classroom. The physical arrangement of the room and its contents send powerful messages to an incoming class. The earliest experiences I offer my students can provide memorable starting points for what is to follow.
I establish rules, routines, and expectations during the first few days, giving students a sense of security. In addition, students need to trust that their opinions can be voiced safely. More importantly, I focus on the strengths students bring to the classroom, not just gaps in their knowledge. I provide opportunities for dialogue within the group. I have found that taping their experience is a major source of enrichment to the class.
The beginning days of each course, however, are the most difficult, for both instructors and students. Typically, instructors have a number of administrative obligations to meet in addition to getting acquainted with their students and getting the course off to an effective start—both personally and educationally. No matter how much I have heard from their predecessors, students enter a new classroom anxious about a number of unknown factors: What will the instructor really be like? Will the work be boring or too hard? Will they be successful?
Keep your students informed. Let the students know the relevancy of what you are teaching. Be a facilitator, let the students be part of their education... give them a chance to make some decisions in their educational process.
Hi Matthew,
It really starts at the top with the instructor. We have to have very high expectations of our students and normally they will respond well to our high expectations. I firmly believe that you get from students what you expect.
Patricia
Getting buy in from students is easier in some classes then others. Most students like the hands on classes the best and thus the buy in of students is harder in the lecture mostly classes. In these classes I try to keep things up beat and interesting, buy using interactive computer programs, group & individual projects and some times we play games with the information that we are to cover during that MOD.
I struggled with typing, because I didn't want to learn (or practice) it. Now that I'm older, I wish I'd have paid more attention because, even thoguh I type fairly well, I have bad habits that are now difficult to break. If only we were as smart as we thought we were when we were young Hahaha.
I teach Information Literacy, and one of the joys I experience is that I can associate the subject matter with more effective and efficient reasearch for papers in school (who doesn't love to save time?), the ability to set themselves apart in the workplace, and the ability to develop skills that will serve them well in their personal and family life (finding a good pediatrician, for example).
Yep. I've found that even in courses where students have to do what they perceive as too much work, they respond well when they feel as though the instructor is actively engaged in their success. Often, it motivates them to be engaged in their own success, too.
The primary strategy I use to create student buy in is to relate the course to the real world. Students who see the connection between a course and their future employment/careerare much more engaged and interested in the material. This is particularly true of students who are already motivated about career choice, but it also works with students who are unsure.
My experience is that students can often make some of these connections for themselves with career specific courses (medical terminology for allied health students, for example), but that as an instructor, connecting math or presentation skills to future employment can be a tougher challenge. Students don't always see what ubiquitous skills math, writing, and speaking are.
Hi Wendy,
These are super things to share/discuss with your students to sell them on the course. Students need to know how they will benefit from the course.
Patricia
I like to present an easy to understand syllibus and review it with the students, answering any questions as we go.... then explain the "purpose" to the class and how it will relate to their career choice... I then like to tell a personal story on how the class benefited me and how I use it in every day to day work situations.
Hi Anthony,
Students need to and love knowing that the instructor is there for them. We must always remember that students are the most important people in the building.
Patricia
Hi Becka,
Students are sold once they see the relevance of the course as to how it applies to them professionally/personally.
Patricia
I agree with your comment of making the sense to the students. If an instructor starts off with big words to sound impressive, the student (who are already nervous) may get scared and drop out of class. And yes, the syllabus is a vital tool in any classroom. If the syllabus is clean and clear the students should be able to recognize the instructor's expectations from the beginning of the class and the student can refer back to the syllabus during the course to ensure they are on track with the expectations and deadlines of the course.
I like to use real-life experiences (my own and others I know of). I feel offering real life experiences make me (the instructor) appear to be more "like" the students. When I share stories of how I have "been there, done that", students tend to sit up in their chairs and feel more likely to join in the conversation because now they have an experience to share.
By simply showing them how the course material is important to the students career choice and profession.
I beleive that your phrase "buy in" means,getting students interested in the course.
my strategy is to address and deliver recent information and to meet the diverse lerning needs of my adult learners( students).
I have to maximize their learning experience through my support and coaching, as well as teaching. Once students become motivated, they become more involve in their career goals.
With this strategy I need to utilize training and class discussion, along with my (instructor) observation of their performance, feed backs and analysis, counseling and tutoring. Bottom line is to let them know I'm here for them.
