I think retention begins with the first day of class. Just letting them know what the days are going to be filled with, some of the things they will learn, keeps them coming back day after day.

I think this topic will help me in the future with my classroom skills. Before I started working here, I had the mind set of, conform or get out, I guess that's not the PC way.

I have had some great times when I was well-rested and focused on the students but I have also had times when I was teaching too many hours and going to clinical sites and having a hard time of just getting enough sleep. My work at home was grading papers and my family / social life was next to nothing. Focusing on students happens best when I am well-paced at work and not overloaded with tasks.

I believe that it reinforces the students choice of career study.

Tell me about proven ways to keep students excited about the material and the learning proccess.

What gaming techniques are available to keep students focused on their studies.

What are the alternatives to firing uncoperative/disruptive employees.

It was a bit daunting to be the older student in class... As an instructor, I find that just treating all students with respect and treating them all as adults assists in overcoming issues taht circle the age differences.

I have been a student for many years, both in undergraduate and graduate schools. Some professors didn't show much enthusiasm and it showed in how my fellow students followed the classes. Some would be on the Internet, while others would do other work. Having more enthusiasm about subjects keeps students glued in to lectures and discussions. It's also important to not lecture continuously (over 20 minutes) as it tends to cause students to lose focus and cause minds to wander. Plans should be setup to offer a wide variety of teaching methods such as class projects and discussions to freshen up learning methods.

I have had some issues with maintaining focus in classes where lessons did not flow the way I wanted them to. Often times, it called for making changes "on the fly." I always have some backup plans set aside when classes don't go the way I want them to. I may have a game, a class discussion, a documentary, or a contest for the students to participate in. This allows me to refocus my thoughts and feed off of whatever comes from these backup plans.

I agree that maintaining a strong human factor with students is a key to a positive learning environment. I learn all students names on the first day, welcome each of them, and play off of their strengths. As a result, classes seem more positive and cheerful and I have little issues with students not participating in class activities.

I have noticed an increase in older students in my classes. I tend to find that most are looking for a career change due to some setback such as layoffs or a needed change in their original career if it's not working out for them or they want more job satisfaction.

Keep the classroom enviroment exciting. Let them know what its truly like out in the feild. The topic we discuss in the classroom they will take to the feild and apply what they learned. I talk about the money they can make. The skys the limit.

When you are an instructor managing your class you are, like a manager in the work world, always dealing with intrinsic and extrinsic student/worker challenges. The big issue is successfuly dealing with all of the Diversity issues that exist in your class all at the same time. It is sort-of-like beign in three or four places at one time. A possible solution is to over prepair and then go with the flow.

Are students more easily motivated by having early classesor later class who knows what is the best learning time is. What are some of the stress problems assocaited with early classes or late classes?

some time you have to teach students in the class to be on time. Its an issue within the the students. need to tell them how inportant it is to be in class on time.

some students have financial burdens and must work harder in order to support their family

We get all types of students age,disabilities. We have to adjust to there needs. We need teach to the class thats in front of us at that time.

I have very rarely had difficulty in understanding how someonelse learns. Yet on one particular occasion, I was completely at a loss. I had a student who could not visualize any action or movement, she physically had to see a finished product. This is sometimes easy when everyone in the class produces the exact same, but when each team has a different course or meal it can be trying. I worked with her, drew diagrams, even sketched 38 images for her to no avail. While walking through a fleamarket I found a text book from the 50's, even though the pictures were not really upto date they were applicable to the class. I bought it for a whopping $2, and in class I gave it to her with the understanding that I thought it might help her visualize what she was to accomplish. The next class session, she was exstatic and in the trenches with the other students. She was so appreciative, but I still don't know exactly what I did. I admitted that we all see things differently, and that I wasn't sue how she saw te world but that another textbook may be helpful. And in this case it was the fix to a very difficult situation.

In the intro to the first module it mentions how many high school students were "coddled" during their time in HS. It then goes on to explain that that is not how career college classes should treat them. However, having taught for over 12 years, I find sometimes in a Career College setting that many students come in with a strong attitude of entitlement. I've even gotten the "I'm the customer, so I deserve a better grade" argument in the past. This gets coupled sometimes with an administrative undercurrent of "make the student's happy" due to pressures over maintaining retention numbers. I guess I often feel stuck between a rock and a hard place regarding balancing between making sure the student is accountable to the level they must to be successful in the chosen field; and keeping some "entitled" students happy so as to not have to find myself on the wrong side retention issues. How does one walk that fine line when sometimes the thing that the student is demanding is that coddling?