I agree that one has to monitor the situation and may assign a leadership role to a more mature person in the group; which may be the older student, but not necessarily.

I remember my first try at post secondary education. It was at a local college with poor parking. I can remember being frustrated with a lot of things at this school but the one that finally broke the camel's back was the parking. I ended up quitting because of parking; of all things. It's funny how you bring parking up in this course. We, as instructors, have quite a challenge on our hands to try and get to the bottom of student frustrations. In this course you talk about frustrations due to limitations. I've found one way to help reduce student frustrations and that is not to add to their frustrations by expressing my own. A good example of this is in a course I teach that constantly has limitations in lab. Sometimes the lab trainers can be in such poor condition that it's embarrasing to take students out to work on them. There are two ways to approach this problem. I can either whine about it or I can use it to my advantage by challenging the students to try and make the trainers better. In the latter case they get excited about bettering the previous class and we all leave lab feeling we've accomplished something.

What I have noticed is that the student's level of anxiety tends to affect their performance and experience as well. I have had student's get so anxious while taking a test, that they forget almost everything that they have studied or learned. Then, the student gets frustrated and discouraged. Other than supplying them with information/tips to help with anxiety and offer support, does anyone know any other techniques to help student's dealing with performance anxiety?

I returned to college in my mid-forties for a degree in business, and believe I got much more out of the college experience the second time. Thus, I feel comfortable with the different ages of students; or different generations. I realize the value of their learning styles and how very much they differ; there definitely is a difference in the definition of "patience" in the generations--my challenge--one I enjoy is working to comingle my teaching style to be effective to the different generations.

I have a sibling who is a physician, and she has taught me a great deal about the importance of mnemonics in teaching. I have also worked with the students a great deal in developing acronyms that make sense to them and work with their learning style to help them be successful. I am a true believer in memorization with mnemonics and acronyms.

I am intensely interested in this topic. I have tried in all the years I have taught to make absolutely certain--inasmuch as I can--that the students know they are the reason I am there, and how privileged I am to be in the classroom with them. They offer me more than I can ever teach them, and I learn so much from them that I look forward to what they offer each and every class period.

This course has been very helpful in reinforcing the fact that it is so important to be respectful and courteous and acknowledge the differences in the personalities of the students and applaud their successes by encouraging their individual and group participation during classtime. I have been committed to drawing out those who appear as though they would like to contribute, but need to know that the support for them to do so is there by the empathy shared, or the connectivity felt at the first class session. I have been encouraged by the results I have seen by gently and consistently encouraging all students to participate and know their ideas have value.

In the “Make Students Active Participants in Learning” section there is an example of offering mini-lectures and than having the students apply the concept allowing them to become active learners. This is a very common technique I use. The problem I have is there are some students that finish the lab before others. I want to give all my students the time they need to “get” the concept –I never rush the slower ones. I tell my students that if they are done early to start working on next weeks homework assignments. Does anyone have other ideas of what to do with the faster students so they are not just sitting there waiting for others to finish?

In the Brakes course I have them research information on thair own vehicle pertaining to specific chapters or certian concerns. After teaching them the material or subject matter we go to lab and apply the learned skills. Then we referance the researched data and diognisis the problems from what we have learned. This helps them releate to the feild experiances and recorces they will need in the future.It also makes it more interesting when they can use their own vehicle to learn with.

I try to learn about the student to understand what I can do to assist them in obtaining the information that my course offers in that they need. By modeling what they are required to do the students feel at ease with completing the required labs. I also keep them informed with were they are in their progress in my course.

In my class the students are given information and then an assignment on a vehicle that relates to the information. Plus, they are given a problem and they must work thought the steps to obtain the correct results. Then they tell me what they had determined the cause of the problem to be. When they come up with the cause, I ask them questions related to their cause and problem

Yes, the connection is that they both are the key in retaining a student. By applying the care part, the student feels as if the instructor values the reason he/she came to school and that the instructor wants to assist him/her in obtaining their goal. The human factor is a main ingredient in teaching.

I always start my classes off by telling a personal anecdote about how I've applied something that we've been learning about regarding the law in my own civil litigation practice. The stories I tell are anecdotal in nature, but there is always a hidden moral that ties together what they have been learning. I think that this sets the tone for the class that what we are learning is important and will be applied readily when they enter the "real world" and start working in the law office. An alternative to my personal anecdote is using a story in the news to highlight what we've been learning...I've found that either of these methods opens up great questions and discussions from the students and I see the interest in their faces b/c they know that someday the stories I am telling could happen to them.

I will often try to relate a course topic or concept with a students job or life experience. This seems to personalize the course, and it helps students retain the information.

I like the idea of REFOCUS. It is a very good exercise to reevaluate where you have been with the class, what has been accomplished, and what needs yet to be done. It can re-energize you.

I have 150 students each quarter, in 6 classes, 4 different course topics and at 3 different campuses. Each day I encounter students with many of the frustrations described in this session. I start out all my classes with a time for "class news". This is where I give my students an opportunity to talk about anything going on with them since the last time we met. We set a time limit for this "venting". Usually students find something positive to talk about, but many do find it a great opportunity to unburden themselves with no fear of repercussions.

The first day of class I not only ask names and goals, but also ask them one specific question about themselves like: 1. What are your hobbies? 2. How did you get your name? 3. Who is your favorite uncle and why? These things help me remember that person, and it helps me remember their names.

Another role I see that instructors have is identifying those students that are comprehending the material and matching them with students that need help. This helps both students by encouraging one to help another with his/her knowledge, and by giving the other student a mentor or study buddy.

Something I noted about my adult students in class they like to mentor the younger students, the experience that they bring helps the younger student to understand some complex concepts, and I found the younger students will respond to the older students Vs me. At the same time you have to monitor that the older students do not try to take your place, from time to time.

How far should we go to assist those with special needs. I have had many students that have difficulty reading, writing and expressing their questions. I work with those that really show the desire but I have had a few that do not want to go the extra mile, and is quite satisfied with their substandard work. we have programs that assist the students with tests but i feel that has become a crutch for most. they rely having things done for them.