I agree. In an online environment there is little more we can do than email and call the student and do our best to help them. We can contact the student weekly to just let them know we are there and able to assist if they need it, just remind them that we want to help and it is then up to them to take our hand and allow us to help. It is much easier in face to face classes to offer help as it is very easy to ignore a email or a phone call.
Hi Rhonda, I think you bring up an important point about diagnosing learning issues and working with dependent learners. One of the biggest problems is getting these learners to interact to let us know the problems they are having. Many times, despite numerous outreach, they will not engage in a dialog to understand their needs, so we can support them. Tina
I am going to disagree, students can have many different learning disabilities so if we can get to the root of the issue and rule out a dependent learner maybe there is hope, I believe if youre motivated enough; you can bring a horse to water, and make them drink.
I disagree. An instructor may send a response to offer help to a student and the student initially may not respond to the offer, but as a partial responsibility of an instructor, it is important to offer that help more than one time. Just because the student does not respond the first time does not necesssarily mean he/she will not respond on the second try. Its always good to know that as an instructor, the best effort has been made for the student. It is also the students responsibility as well to ask for the help and respond to the offers.
Hi Stacy, I agree with you. The faculty in my program are required to communicate with all learners on a weekly basis if they are still enrolled in the course. Many times the outreach is successful in re-engaging the learner and working through any issues he/she may have. Tina
I strongly disagree because there could be many reasons why the student didn't respond. 1.Because of embarrassment 2. They could be too busy to respond. I would sen them resources and documentation to possibly help them. I would also send the offer to let them know I care and am there to help. In the end I will know that I at least tried with full efforts to assist them in any possible way.
Hi Elizabeth, I have my faculty give individual feedback on discussions in the first few weeks of the course and then move to just posted scores. We have found as you have that students make decisions on the extent to which they meet the requirements of discussions, so continuing to give the same feedback on points missed doesn't change the outcomes of learner posts. Tina
agree and disagree. Encouraging and timely feedback seems to help tremendously. However, I do believe sometimes students just want to get a passing grade and have the system figured out to where that is all they aim for. Then there is not much more the teacher can do.
Hi Joan, it is really important to provide learners with the right kind of support to help them overcome issues. I think the problem is getting them to communicate with you to determine the specific issues in order to develop a plan for success. I also question whether it is appropriate to pick up the phone and call them. I go back and forth on this because it is much more confrontational. Tina
Disagree, if you simply offer to "help" a student via email. You can continue to provide resources for the student that are specific to the students needs. This may allow a student to seek help they need on their own, but they were unsure of where to go for help before. You can also find different means of contacting the student.
Glad to hear that others use a similar approach. I think it is more critical in an online environment to be proactive with student retention since the format causing alienation by design.
Letting students know that you are there for them means a great deal to their success and by reaching out to them they are more likely to stay in school.
Yes, Kristin, it takes a village to support our online learners:-) Tina
Hi Chet, we use a similar three stage proactive communication strategy; however, our third communication actually includes a cc to advising, so they can continue the outreach. Tina
Tina, for the most part I would agree with this statement.
I send personal emails to those who seem to be having difficulties in the course offering advice and encouragement.
I follow up with a second email if there is no improvement.
If there is still no improvement I ask them to contact their student advisor.
Assisting online students is just as difficult as assisting students in face-to-face classes. I would additionally notify our Student Learning Center of the student's unresponsiveness to my offer for assistance and request she reach out to the student as well. The student advisor is also a good resource for getting assistance for the student.
Kristin
The online environment creates challenges if a student does not actively participate and respond to communications offering assistance. If the student is on-campus it is wise to have someone on-campus who can assist in meeting with the student face-to-face. Otherwise, phone calls some times reach students who do not respond to emails.
Hi Rebecca, it makes perfect sense. Many times after we have stopped proactive communications, learners will contact the faculty wanting to re-engage and our faculty will try to work with the learner to help them get caught up. Tina
Yes -- that is I agree and disagree both.
I Disagree because there is more that I can do if an online student does not respond to my offers of help. As noted by other forum participants in their posts, it is best for everyone concerned to NOT make assumptions based on your own personal experiences - meaning, we must keep open to the possibility that the student has encountered extenuating circumstances or a tragic life accident that prevents them from responding to the Instructor's emails and requests for a response to offers of help. My guideline, personally, is that as long as the student is enrolled in my onine course, they are on my radar. I must always include them in communications and continue to announce my availablity to assist them in meeting their educational goals. to use a famous mantra from Churchill -- Never, never, never give up.
On the other hand, I can agree with this statement somewhat. We discussed a bit of this issue in another post--the one about knowing when to "move on."
I would like to make a small point here.
I think we Instructors and teachers should not place ourselves in the position of pandering to the students--especially those of us who teach advanced degree courses.
There is a fine line that should be kept between student and teacher. The line, if it were words, would be respect, leadership, empathy, motivation, professionalism. This line requires the Instructor to pull slightly if necessary, but not drag the one holding on.
I hope this makes a little sense, as I tend to write in analogies and metaphors when making a point.
Hi Frederick, I agree with you. Online learners are trying to managing a number of roles and responsibilities in their life and it's important to understand that and try to be as flexible as possible. Tina
I really appreciate your response to this question, Michael. I am of the same "ilk" in that sometimes we can support, encourage, cajole, email, call, offer examples, all but stand on our heads, with little if any response.
Time to move on is an important piece that we educators need to keep our sanity and Perseverance in this helping profession--yes, at times I consider it a helping progession, like nursing.
I believe that some students need a little "pull back" (i.e.moving on) at times to impress upon them that we educators are not giving away grades based on a very sad story or life accident -- not enabling students--if we could help them understand that earning their grades leads to high self esteem and eventually toward self actualization, then I think we may have a key to unlocking these type situations.
