Over time I have struggled with motivating timeliness in students submitting work. Many approaches involve some kind of reduction in the score earned: no credit at all, 25% off, 10% off per week late, etc. Students view these approaches as punitive, and I have had many students react negatively to such approaches. A few years ago, I started scoring multiple facets on assignments, such as giving scores for content and quality, format and mechanics, and timeliness. This way a student is always earning a score (a positive effect), not being punished for being late (a negative effect). Since instituting this approach, I have not received a single complaint about unfairness in scoring timeliness.

I go back to the Forum 3 posting about creating "ownership" in the learning process and then have the students "teach" other students about what they have learned. Or, if the project can contain some type of community service or external processing, etc then the student can go back and show that organization, etc what they have learned and what they recommend for changes, etc.

Staying focused sounds easy and for some it might be but for others it is very easy to fall into the same old routine as always. Some will be teaching the same class the same way for the past 20 years. That is wrong. We as instructors MUST be utilizing technology in our classes to bring out the best learning experience possible and we need to ask the students what they want to learn and how they think they can learn it the best. For example, I have asked my students what they want to learn for a Midterm project, etc and after we have agree on an idea or two, then I have them tell me how they want to conduct that learning experience. Sometimes it is a paper, a power point presentation, a community event, or a presentation where they are teaching other students and then assessing them, etc. *** This process creates "ownership" of the learning experience and very few will fail. Leadership 101 has said over and over again, if you want someone or some thing to change, let the employee (or in this case the student) tell you the best way to accomplish that change (or in this case, learning experience) and they will then have "ownership" in that process and will excel! If we run things like a dictatorship and tell them how to achieve something then we will always have rebels in the group who just won't do it.

Student retention is easy - you just have to work at it! It is a must to give each individual student time and attention by responding to their questions and needs. It is crucial to monitor each student's progress (or lack of) and then to properly reach out to those students who might be struggling. This can be accomplished by a phone call, email, chat session, person meeting, etc. However, we must also realize that this is college and that we can't force someone to do well or to try. But ,,, we must encourage them! We can "hold their hand" so to speak but we can't write for them, read for them or speak for them. But ,,, we must encourage them!

It is very important to take the necessary time to understand your students, where they come from, who they are, what they want out of the class and how they learn best. Then, design the delivery method of the content so it custom fits that specific target audience. For example, some students will learn best from reading and taking a quiz, while others want you to explain and show them, and others need to just do it for themselves.

It seems that any student that has issues in class, lacks the confidence to try for fear of failure. In those situations, I will stand with them, urge them to push the button - and fail or succeed, once they realise that the world did not end, they learn something. I am not one for just giving an answer. I try to present the thought process, allowing students to problem solve each small question. Then, as the light comes on, I stand back, let go of the bicycle and they find they are riding by themselves. I then point out how little I presented in the way of answers - that they figured it out themselves - that is when they get excited - they feel a success.

I always let my students know that the best way for them to assist me in learning their names is to play a bit of "Where's Waldo" in our 3rd class session. All I ask is that each student sit in the same spot for 2 class sessions and on the 3rd day switch seats with each other leaving me to sort them all out. I'm usually at least 98% correct, but the students get a kick out of trying to "stump the instructor". I've also found that when I take time to learn a student's name, they will learn mine...a connection has been made and we build from there.

ONE THING I ENJOY WHEN I GET A NEW CLASS IS GOING AROUND THE ROOM ASKING EACH STUDENT TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND TELL A LITTLE ABOUT THEMSELVES.AGE,WHERE THEY ARE FROM,MARRIED,ANY KIDS,WHAT BROUGHT THEM TO CHOOSE OUR SCHOOL ECT.IT IS A GREAT ICE BREAKER FOR MY FIRST DAY WITH THEM.

When a student gets off to a bad start of the class or falls behind after a few weeks, what techniques are effective other than opening lines of communication? Most times people feel awkward about opening up to much and, as a teacher I don't want to push the issue if it is a personal matter.

Adult learners come to school with real world knowledge and experience. Often these adults have learned the incorrect or unsafe way to complete a technical task (This is the way my Dad taught me). What is the best way to shift and change their methods without damaging their self esteem?

Non traditional students are very proud. It may be hard to get them accept extra assistance as this is viewed as weakness within their culture. What is the best way to suggest extra support for these students?

We all have students with different needs. Whether those needs are age related, esteem issue or a disability of some sort. As instructors we need to take the time to identify for each student what those are. Our goal is to an effective instuctor but without knowing the student base in your classroom we will be leaving students behind in the learning experience. Each group of students will be comprised of diversity it is our jobs to apply who they are to what they can achieve and be successful individuals.

Is it important to have empathy toward your students?

Do you think students like hands on more then lecture?

I agree with the age difference and how the students work harder when they are older then the younger age students. I feel that no matter what age you are, the student needs a good support system to help them. It is also important to have supprot from there family as well as support from the instructor. I try to help the students that have english lanuage differences because I dont want them to feel anymore stress then classes can already be.

Hello, everyone. All of the reading for this beginning part of the course seemed very valuable. In particular, the "Support Systems" part caught my attention. I teach strictly online and feel my school offers abundant support for online students. For that reason, I am convinced that the "internal support system" for our students is indeed in place. I found it interesting, and a bit unnerving, that some student's "external support" (friends and family) may be lacking or missing completely. For years I have basically assumed that all of my students have family and/or friends helping them succeed in college (that’s likely based upon my own experience). As the reading suggests, having that support is easier for the student. NOT having that support, though, seems like a huge barrier for students to overcome! It makes me feel more compassionate towards my students and think more about how I can best facilitate their success. Isn’t it great when courses like this make you think more about your students; how real-life affects their success; and how to best serve them? Melonie

Sometimes when I'm bogged down with grading I have to pause and remind myself that each student needs to see something positive even if they handed in garbage.

What are some examples of effective motivation techniques that career college instructors can use in their classes?

What are some examples of effective motivation techniques that career college instructors can use in their classes?

What are some examples of effective motivation techniques that career college instructors can use in their classes?