always looke happy when your sad. staying on you toes. the students need your smile and motivation to push them to the end.

reminding youself that you succeeded as an instructor than you need to make sure that they also have a chance at it to. by staying focous on preparing them for success

The key to keeping Retention down is talk to student and see what you can do as an instructor to help the problem, and help to focus on the goals.

What are some effective ways at gauging student's unique fears or concerns at the very beginning of a course? Is it appropriate to ask students, either in class or on a written questionnaire, to express their personal anxieties about the course and their ability to succeed? And how can we go about addressing students' unique needs without granting them special allowances and without prying too much into their personal lives?

It is difficult to overestimate motivating or relating to students. In the first class it make sense to have pre-test to find out their level, adjust study plan, and to measure success of teaching process. How it may be used also to motivate students or help instructor to relate to students?

Even in career education we use the "Carrot" or "program completion" as the goal of learning. What if, at the end of each course / quarter/ semester our student would write a resume of additional skills they have because of the learning from the / quarter/ semester and then listed additional jobs they could apply for ... i.e. Maybe they can't be a hand on tech yet, but they could work a helpdesk ... As faculty we need to see that even one course in a program can give our learners a wider access to employment - even before program completion.

I have a specific case in one of the classes I teach where a student is frustrated because she feels she already took a course similar in nature at her previous college. She was angry and I could sense she wanted my help in solving this problem. I listed to the student's complaint; I said, "I can understand why you must feel frustrated; and I offered her the suggestion of discussing her feelings with someone in academics. Despite my discussion with the student, she has proceeded to show frustration with the course, and has voiced her objection to taking the course again. I keep saying something to the effect, "I can understand why you are frustrated, and I hope you can find value in some of the activities we do that are different from your previous class." Do you have any other suggestions for me as far as trying to help this student feel that she will, in fact, get something out of the course (even if is IS similar to another class she took) if she changes her outlook of the situation?

As the previous session noted, this writer tends to take the opportunity to gauge the varying levels of student skills, ages, time out of school, courses taken to date... such that all information is available to instructor to provide the best possible learning experience. This also allows the opportunity for others to get together as they may feel "they can relate to one another". It's a great start. I am sure to mention how important a support system is throughout our course.

I find I need to use many different types, and styles to motivate my students. inc. their age, life experiences and culture. this has been very helpful in the way I interact with my students.

I found this information very helpful I teach a derverse class age ranges 18-59 and different cultural backrounds. Understanding these differences helps me to be a better teacher

The suggestion of the crisis management exercise was very helpful I liked the use of time limitation interjected with new info. and changing time lines. I can use this in my class

I see this as the most important factor in retension.. it shows caring and concern not just from a student in a seat more torwards the students in your heart.

To motivate students, often I will ask them what they have witnessed in the news or read in a magazine since we last met. Then, we discuss how that topic relates to class. By being able to draw correlations between course material and 'real-life,' students become more motivated to continue learning.

I have found that focusing on what the students already know is beneficial. For instance, instead of me explaining a story, I ask them for examples. They may not have recognized that they did already know some pieces of knowledge about the topic until you do this. Often, they just did not know the correct terminology or recognize it as something applicable to the classroom. When they realize they have knowledge, they are more excited and motivated, which spreads throughout the classroom.

At our university, we encourage retention and attendance as critical success factors. We have a policy as follows: if the class as a whole receives 95% attendance through the quarter, the class receives a free meal complements of our campus director. It is interesting to see the students then hold each other accountable for attending class.

As a way to better understand the student characteristics of the students in the classroom, I have required an introductory letter for certain classes (such as Business Communications). Not only does this allow me to check their writing capabilities, but the students are able to provide information about themselves that helps me familiarize myself with their individual characteristics and future goals. As an assignment that is completed at the beginning of the quarter, we are able to build a rapport among the students in the classroom that can be built upon for the remaining of the course.

be nice to people.

I try to show them that they made it this far what about the dream they had, look how much closer they are.

Adults are goal-oriented, Adults are practical, Adults are and self-directed, adults need to be shown respect and instructors must acknowledge the wealth of experiences that adult participants bring to the classroom. These adults should be treated as equals in experience and knowledge and allowed to voice their opinions freely in class.The best way to motivate adult learners is simply to enhance their reasons for enrolling and decrease the barriers, is to always encourage them to be self achievers and a constant reminder, that there is no shame in failure, the only failure is to stop trying to reach your goals.

As educators we do not believe that all learners are the same. We also know that an individual learner's culture, family background, and socioeconomic level affect his or her learning.These beliefs, principles and theories have an important impact on the opportunities for success for every student in our schools. In one sense, the current imbalance is easily understood. Sameness is always easier to accommodate than difference, and education practices often have been developed to consciously promote the same education for all students. We have few teaching models that appropriately accommodate both consistent educational values and human diversity.