I teach a couple of courses where it is apparent there are older online students and young (fresh out of high school) online students. In the training it suggests small cross-age teams to help integrate. I wonder if anyone has had success in organizing online teams to achieve this goal in a class? Gordon

In all of my classes I have incorperated a calendar along with my addendum that informs the students of what we will be doing each class period, so there is no gray area in what we will be doing each class period, as well as my expectations of them as students. I have found this extremely useful in keeping the communication lines open.

The first day of a new class, I always have my students introduce and give a short background on themselves and then they have to tell me why they are in my class as well as what their future goals are beyond their degree. And then I share mine. :)

Have some more experienced instructors found that Millenials need more recognition and reward than previous generations?

Students respond more positively when they are given positive feedback. I've also found that when they are praised for what they do well, they tend to work harder and come to class with a positive attitude.

In our program, we've tried to add a quarterly retention activity that will give students an opportunity to network in the community, meet other students/staff, and blow off some steam. Examples are going to batting cages in the middle of winter or a group bike ride in the spring. It is a nice way for students and staff to interact outside of the classroom and oftentimes creates mentoring relationships between students in the same degree program.

I've found that when students have frustrations and they don't have someone to go to, or someone that can listen and then tell them what the solution is or why something is run the way that it is, it can become very confusing and hard for the students to understand. Which makes them even more frustrated in the end. I've also found that students are more willing to come talk to you when they know that if they don't I will never know about the problem or the situation is. Communication is the best way to get through student frustrations.

How do you provide positive feedback on assignments without repeating yourself with "good job" or "well done"?

How do you motivate a class made up of different age groups and edicational attainements.

How do you combine a class of hyperactive, giggly high school students with elderly professionals in search of a quiet career later in their lives?

You know, someone telling you Your doing Great goes a long way. Aknowledge yourself, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it!

It is good for the instructor to review where he is and where the students are at the mid-term period. The is allows for any changes needed to make sure the class is a success for the student and the instructor.

In addition to finding out background informaltion about a student on the first day of class, I always try to find out if they have a job, what it is or if they are looking for a job. In today's economy it is good to know where they are in this area, and if I can be of any help based on my experience.

I share with my students my experiences and what I did to be successful. I also share the expectations of employers so the student knows what to expect in the field.

When I fall into a rut, the student is the one who suffers. I think it is important that our administration should give us opportunities to become more invigorated, and recharged to teach. Holding seminars that might give us new ideas for teaching the same subject would be helpful.

The best example that I implement in my classrooms is the real life factor. I work as an accounting instructor and it is a challenge to make it interesting for students. I share my experiences in the field and how it works when doing reporting and putting together the journal entries that the class has assigned. I also turn that question around on my students and ask them to share any work experience they have in any of the concepts we are covering. In most cases, most of my students have experience doing these types of entries from a professional and personal perspective. Having them share this gives them ownership in the learning process.

I really enjoyed going through this module and looking at the concept of REFOCUS. It is so important to do this as instructors because teaching is a job. It can become stale and repetitive, like any job. It is important to recharge the batteries and have breaks from the materials and students. Some of the ideas that I have used in my current classes are reinforcing prior week’s materials with quiz to reinforce concepts. Focus on the material and stress the importance of the concepts in the overall learning objectives of the degree program each student. Having an open dialog with the students through discussion and sharing my professional experiences in the field helps students understand the importance of the concepts.

Having rapport with students in the discussion board on a daily basis will keep instructors aware of how students are doing each day with the assignments. One issue that I do face as an online instructor is getting students to ask questions on assignments. In most cases, they come in late or not at all with incomplete work with specific assignments. I make sure to give positive feedback to students and show them how to complete those problem sets. I also let them know in my feedback that I encourage them to post questions in the discussion board or to me by email so that they can earn the most points on these assignments.

How does an understanding of learner characteristics help in the instructional planning process? From my experiences working in an online classroom, I create a positive environment through discussion forums for both the adult and young students. I ask questions of my students on how the concepts we are learning apply in their work experience and life in general. I share how I have used these both in a personal and professional setting to give them an example to discuss in the classroom. This breaks the ice and gives the student a chance to share their experiences as well. Getting students to respond to these discussion questions allows me to see the level of each student in the learning process of the concepts so I can work with them in understanding where each student is. This can lead to further discussion and allow students to open up with specific questions regarding any of the assigned work in the classroom.

If a student becomes frustrated it is important for them to know that they have a support system at school that cares and most importantly will listen.