GETTING STUDENTS TO SHOW UP
I have one student that just doesnt show and when he does he skips out and doesnt stay involved at all?
Hi Gretchen,
I preach the same sermon to my students. I let them know that an employer would rather have an employee with impeccable attendance than to have a 4.0 graduate.
Patricia Scales
Our school also has more than 10 hours absent limit then "your out" policy. I find that about 25% of my students think they HAVE to take that free/ day off time - that the 10 hours is like a gift for them to not come to class. I try to overcome this thinking by showing them the results of not coming to class. In particular, that it gives them a Class Participation grade of "0" for those days and it usually affects their homework grade as well because they usually don't meet the deadlines for those. So not being in class has far reaching effects. I also tell them that their choices have consequences, good & bad, and that future employment could be impossible without good attendance at a job site.
Amber, That is an excellent idea. I have suggested to some of my students to use this type of day planner but didn't think about having them implement it and give me a summary the next day. I plan on trying this immediately. Thanks! Diane
I have a sign in sheet that students sign at the beginning of class and at the end of class with this being a health care class its like their time card. This has cut down on late students including very few students are absent.
That's a constant struggle for us as well. I teach a class near the end of our program, and still deal with it. I would chalk it up to senior-itis, but our program is only 15-21 months long.
Our program is extremely hands on (culinary school), so the interaction piece is relatively covered. In addition, our attendance policy is also clearly defined, in each class. But alas...
What I have done on the first day of class is to let them know if you miss class you will miss alot. I stress I have guest, I have different participation credits you can only get if you are in class.
With our school policy you are allowed to miss 10 hours max, if you go beyond that you are dropped from the course.
I also let my students know if you need to leave an hour early, I will apply this to the 10 rule.
Hi Timothy ,
Your student may need to implement an attendance policy so that students are encouraged to attend classes.
Patricia Scales
I have had the same thing happen to me. I pulled the student aside when the rest of the class was involved in a project discussion. I told the student that I had noticed (s)he was having difficulty making it to class on time and asked if there was a specific reason/issue for it because (s)he was missing out on alot of interesting information in the classroom. The student told me that (s)he just wasn't good with getting everything together and being on time. So I printed at a sheet that listed all 24 hrs in the day with a space next to each to write in what needed to be done. For example 0600-wake up and get dressed for school. 0700 leave for school. 0800 School starts. 1200 lunch. 200 Dr.s appt. 400 homework/study for test. 600 dinner. 700 shower. Etc. I had the student implement this everyday for one week. Giving me a quick summary the next day about how the schedule worked and why. After that, my student was never late again and even his/her GPA improved.
