Model, Monitor and Monitor
How does Attention = Retention work?
Matthew,
This is a very good point. For many of our students, school is the most positive experience of their day. So just asking how they are as you meet them in the hallways can count for positive encounter.
Many students have never had anybody who cared at all. Showing them that you care, even the smallest amount can go a ong way.
The more attention you pay to students, the greater the retention and than they follow course outline.
We all like to be shown some type of attention, the more pleasing the better. It is nice to be with people that care about us, that are interested in us and take the time to show it in one way or another. Once that type of behavior is recognized to be desirable, most humans want to revisit it again and again. Would you or anyone you know repetitiously visit people that you know don’t care about you or what you are trying to do? No, we would much rather visit people that care. It is the same with our students, they just have a goal to enter a career that requires the training our facilities offers.
Some research shows that students who CONNECT with at least one student, one faculty member and one administrator will persist. They must CONNECT with all three however.
Most of our students have relocated to attend our school. The staff, instructors, and other students become their foster family. A little attention goes a long way.
Showing you care is always beneficial because you have formed a connection. If I have a student who misses a class, I will always ask the class if they know where the absent student is? If nobody knows where that student is I will wait one day and see if they show up. If they are a no show a second day I will try and reach the student by phone. Often times one or more students that are present for class will contact the student and let them know I was looking for them. This of course sends a very broad message to the entire class about I need you present for me to teach. Many times the students will show up early the next day to class apologizing for not being present the day before and ask if there is anything extra they should do to catch up.
I totally agree. I hear it all the time from our students that they appreciate the attention they receive at our school and they can tell we care. Some students really need that.
showing you care is not always easy, as with 20 or more students you sometime can miss a student, you need to make sure that all of your students know that you care from the start then work on getting to know them on a more personal bases.
The secret is ATTENTION=RETENTION!!!!! The kind of retention really doesn't seem to matter as long as they know you care.
Faculty and staff also need to have an "Intelligent Heart" and have a lot of patience as well!
IF YOU SHOW THAT YOU CARE THEN THEY WILL AS WELL
Excellent response!
We all are always looking for "connections."
When faculty members make students feel important...there is a connection.
I believe attention=retention works through mental magnetism. When you seek to understand the identity of a student as an individual; a collegue, you plant within them the ability to be a part of the industry they are studying. They will seek to understand the part of you that is interested in them. Every student desires to know that someone sees that they are special. They will go about seeking the truth you see in them through your lessons and class activity if you plant the seed of faith within them.
Paying attention to students on a more personal level will even get the less willing participants to try harder, and do better. Sometimes its the little things in life that picks us up, and drives us further. Knowing that someone else has even a slight interest in our succes or care on a more personal basis, can make all the difference in that success
Attention offers instructors and administrators a number of opportunities to increase student retention. Getting to know the students and taking the time to greet them and talk with them builds community. A sense of belonging to a community increases a student's attachement to the institution and encourages retention. Another opportunity is frequent attention to students may alert you to problems before they become reasons to drop. Helping a student at the onset of a challenge builds a sense of security. Finally, by building relationships with student you build trust. Students are more likely to come to you with concerns and take your advice if you have built trust with that student. As an academic dean, I greet all the students in the classrooms everyday. Sometimes, I chat and sometimes I just stick my head in to say hello. This small guesture makes me more approachable to the students.
Everyone likes attention. Students in career schools may actually have a greater need for attention. By supplying positive attention by showing interest in the student as a person and as a student we fulfill that need in a positive way and help the student want to "stick around".
It is important to pat attention to the students because this significate more retention for the school.
As per the written material in this unit, the more attention(of any kind) you pay to students, the greater the retention will be. Can you list some examples and best practices you may have utilized at your school?
Joe
