Reaching out to Students Who Early in the Class are Not Participating
Here is a message that I email to the students (and their advisors) in the second week if there has been no participation in the class.
Subject: Welcome to the Class!
Welcome to the class! We will have an exciting xxx weeks, and I just wanted to send this quick note to remind you that due to the accelerated nature of this course it can be challenging to catch up if you fall behind. I want to see you do well, so be sure to read the “Hints†announcements that I will each week, and of course if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me via email. I am sure that together we will figure out "what needs to be done" so that you excel in this class!
School is an exciting time, and going to school is not easy, but the long-term benefits and the unbelievable sense of accomplishment when you are done will prove to you that you "did the right thing!"
Vince,
I feel your pain. I teach about 250 in a class and work to keep them motivated. However, I don't send that many emails per week. I post announcements (which are automatically sent via email as well to everyone) and have a FAQ Discussion Board. That FAQ DB works the best. Students can ask specific questions about the course, assignments, etc. I offer extra credit (VERY MINIMAL) to other students who answer questions completely and correctly and I answers the questions as well all within 24 hours. This seems to motivate students to ask and answer and get engaged in the conversation. Works for me. I also don't allow late work. I explain to the students that I can't allow late work when there is one of me and 250 of them. They may miss a few at the beginning, but they learn quickly and get on board. Hope this is helpful.
This has gotten out of control. At one of the online schools I work for, I have 160 students, and I have to send 60-75 e-mails per week and call via Skype the same students that have below a 70 weekly. Generally, out of that number, I will have less than 5 do something. The failure rate due to lake of participation is sky high. A 50% participation out of 2,000 students is the current benchmark. This is insane. These are grown adults with kids and families that are paying to be there. On ground campuses, it is another world. It seems the same problems are at all online schools too. No one in the for profit world wants a strict late policy either, even though that would stop the non participating from being so bad. Clearly, I am against this. I feel that if students can't get off of their rearend and do their work, they should fail because that is exactly what will happen when they get to the real working world, which always had deadlines. Online schools boost enrollment numbers by trying to force faculty to send e-mails like these, but they hurt themselves in the job placement category in doing so because word spreads. This is why I am a fan of the gainful employment act, even though I work in the for profit sector.
Albert,
Thanks for this clarification. It's always interesting to see how various institutions work. Thanks!
At my online university we instructor/facilitator for each course. Advisers assist the students with decisions on courses and participation. Our program chairs, lead faculty and Deans assist the instructors with academic policy decisions.
The course instructor must be a facilitator, an instructor, and an evaluator for student assignments.
Albert,
It's nice you have advisors to touch base with. Are you the facilitator in the course as well as instructor or do you have a facilitator helping you as well? That would be nice to have.
Thanks!
Whenever a student is not participating early in the course, a reaction by the facilitator is required.
I begin every course with a Community forum so that I can learn information about students. Even though I will not learn a reason for not participating, I will know if the student is engaging the course with other students.
My university expected me to send out welcoming letters and follow up letters (emails) if a student does not participate. If I do not receive a reply, I immediately engage the student's adviser. Someone must contact the student by phone.
I weekly send out Friendly Reminders to students who have missing assignments.
I will telephone the student if I have permission from the student to make that telephone call. I will make and use appointments in live chat to discuss the course with the student. I always search for students at risk using Instant Messaging.
My personal experience is that if the student and I exchange messages, the student will become engaged and participate.
Albert,
Well, just name it what it is - Community. Good idea. Anything that makes the course seem more personal is great. Thanks!
In every online course I open a forum called Community. Student can meet one another and sometimes find previous class mates.
I use their posts to begin conversations, ... the Community provides a personal introduction.
Traci,
Thanks for your post and noting this way to reach out. We have to reach out many times and if we can encourage many students at once, that may be helpful. Thanks!
This is a great way to reach out to the students without having to pull them individually and speak to them.
Vimlarani,
We do have a variety of students in our classes and need to learn how to communicate effectively with them and help them become effectively engaged learners. Thanks!
Non participating students could include:
The hostile, aggressive, angry student
The excuse-making student
The silent, non-participating student
The student who believes that current scientific knowledge is absolute truth (Biology).
It is impossible to indulge the first category, it is easier to tackle the second and third category, and the fourth category require justification of the topic and a lot of interaction from the students with other students and instructors.
Victoria,
How nice it would be for all instructor to have a person like you. I would LOVE it. The contact and communication you provide is essential. Thanks!
I find the same is true. I am an advisor/tutor, not an instructor. Particularly for students in online classes, their instructors will notify me if students fall behind early-on. In addition to the instructors, I contact the students and remind them they are welcome to call, email, or stop by our Learning Resource Center so I can act as a liaison if need be, or help them face-to-face until they become more comfortable with the LMS, assignments, communicating with their instructor, or whatever the case may be.
Emory,
Just keeping in contact with students is the Katy and connecting learning outcomes to assignments/projects/etc. so they understand whether are doing what they are doing. Nice job.
Welcome emails are a great start to letting the class know that your there for them. Each week I have new assignments and quizzes so I usually will send two emails a week. One at the start of the new assignment, and the other on the last day it's due. The first email will have the objectives of the assignment and the goal after completion. The second email, is more of a reminder to the students that have yet completed the work and a thank you to the ones who have.
Amer,
I agree. When the instructor is supportive in the learning environment, the students see them more as that facilitator that they are. Nice job.
I think providing those weekly announcements along with the weekly outreach e-mails are part establishing the supportive presence of the instructor towards his/her online students.
It is something that I always do when facilitating an online course.
Cynthia,
I'm glad you are learning from this module and we are continuing to learn from you. Thanks for providing information through this forum. The timeliness and quality of communication is essential.
