I can leaner 1 if I can be of any assistant. I can post reference and material that can assist him/her in researching the topic under consideration. I will inform him/ her that this a learning environment and it is OK to feel that the assignment is overwhelming at times. I can ask him/her to read his cohorts submission to learn form them and to strengthen his/her knowledge on that subject matter.
Austin,
Your positive, reassuring and timely response to the learner is a good approach. Keeping the advisor in the loop, so you may work as a team to support the student is a strong addition. Keep up the good work. Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Dr Vaillancourt,
Learner1 is definitely overwhelmed by the course and requires timely intervention. I would reassure learner1 and inform the learner that I am available to answer any concerns and would work with the learner to succeed. I will blind copy the academic adviser any correspondence with the student, so that the adviser would provide any possible career related support
Austin
Sarah,
Very good. "Praise in public and correct in private." Good strategy.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
It sounds like Learner 1 is losing confidence in him/herself. I would probably write an encouraging post on the discussion board, but I would also call this student and address his/her concerns over the phone. Often, reaching out to a student like this will help them feel more confident and get back on track.
Annabel,
Very good responses to these students. Encouraging and accessible are two instructor traits that are highly associated with online student success. Very nice.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Annabel,
I like that you include the affective goal of an enjoyable experience. Very nice.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Hello Joel,
I agree that it is important that we focus on helping them with the material. I, also, believe that we should help them enjoy their experience. I find that providing time management techniques usually assists many of the students. I, also, provide students with weekly tips on the material and techniques for studying the material.
Hello,
I would write a private email to Learner 1. In the email, I would provide encouragement and let he/she know that I am here to help he/she succeed. I will ask the student if he/she has any questions regarding the material that I can help them with. I will, also, let the student know that we can have a phone conversation regarding the course and any material that he/she needs clarification on. I would remind the student regarding the school resources, such as tutoring and any learning labs available to support the student.
Gregory,
Your general approach is perfect. Implementation of the details comes as each situation unfolds. Nice work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
This is a good question. My approach to dealing with this situation is through positive reinforcement and privately contacting the student. Through positive reinforcement, the student can be encouraged directly by the instructor to keep pressing forward (you are doing a good job). Through private contact, the instructor can inform the student that he/she primary goal is to see the students' success in the course. I like saying "by any means necessary".
John,
Very good. Gentle correction in a one-to-one form, while affirming students contributions. Excellent approach.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I would approach this student in a one on one format, either email or telephone call. Try to get to the root of the issue and discuss the contributions the student has already made in the class and his openness to with his fellow students.
Nancy,
Very good. Encouragement is almost always a valuable part of the communication. Nice work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I would send learner 1 an email and then follow up with a phone call. I would complement them on have the courage to begin the program and then encourage them to continue. I would find out what is their biggest problem and help them solve it.
Waqar,
Taking this conversation into a private email thread can also help get the student focussed on the route to success once again. Good post. Thanks.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
This is a very common phenomenon in my classes. First you have to get the student less overwhelmed. This can be done by telling them that there is still enough time in this class to be successful (hopefully the student starts venting early), and then outline steps that the student can take to feel more confident/capable in the class.
Carol,
Good question. Thank you for asking. I am probably more conservative than most, but the risk to benefit doesn't work for me. Only a couple of times have I seen it start to 'run wild.' Praising in the open forum is almost always great, but the possibility of providing too much validation to the challenges sometimes brings an attitude (out of the group) that the class requirements should be changed instead and diverts the conversation. Just my two cents... ;-]
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Dr. V.
In your experience, do you think opening up the forum as described in the thread would cause a huge diversion? I'm aware of the risk, but my experience is pretty limited and it may be too risky. Just wondering what you thought about it.
thanks.
Carol
Carol,
Very good - keep bringing all activities back to accomplishing the instructional objectives.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
