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Ask a question from your peers to help you in your professional work. Seek different points of view on a topic that interests you. Start a thought-provoking conversation about a hot, current topic. Encourage your peers to join you in the discussion, and feel free to facilitate the discussion. As a community of educators, all members of the Career Ed Lounge are empowered to act as a discussion facilitator to help us all learn from each other.

motivation

i have found that if a student is beging to lose the spark the drive the ambition what ever is was that caused the excitement in the beging is easy to recindle and get the excitment going again just get them to talk

Keeping it fun

If the instructor is not enjoying the class the students won't either. Be creative with the subject and find something about it that could make it a fun time with a little extra effort. That will keep them coming back.

First Day of Class

This is why we need to be prepared for our class before the first time we see them. If possible go over your roll sheet and check up to see how diversfified your class is going to be. Most of this information is available if you know where to look and spend the time to look for it. You can also take notes during the early part of the class to help you plan future classes. You must be ready to make minor changes in your lesson plan if necessary to see that it fits the class. Remember they are there to learn so be ready to make adjustments if necessary. Having been a professional soccer coach, I know I couldn't do a shooting drill if my goalkeepers were out injured.

"Ah-ha" through deviations

I teach computer classes, some of which include keyboarding. If you’ve ever taken a keyboarding class, you may understand that the repetition can become boring for the students. My primary challenges have been to keep motivation high and make it relevant not only to their educational career, but also to their future career goals. I find that by deviating from the canned curriculum I can keep the motivation high. Every other class period, I use Internet typing games, PowerPoint games my colleague and I designed, simulations of what they may encounter in the workplace, and other relevant material that breaks up the monotony. For some students, the “Ah-ha” moments come through these deviations.

Can one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch........

Just wondering what others experiences have been. If you have any level of student frustration (in my case it's been primarily a student's (perceived) limitations such as a lack of resources combined with rules and impersonal problems. I know students will vent their frustrations out of the classroom with other students which cause a decrease in motivation. One student possibly lowers the value of the overall experience for the others. Anybody else feel this happens and have any advice on preventing it or minimizing it? - Mark

Personal Attention

Some students need more than others,but in all cases treat everyone the same.I had to learn new way to help the one s that needed it more without offending them, because some of those student will not come to you,you have to help them.

Age Diversity

age difference can be a concern for alot of people not being able to fit in or not being accepted by others. Ive had that experiance.Have you?

Retention

We have discussed retetion in this module my question is some students will not be able to succeed in the field we are instructing in. I have been at a lose for words to tell these students this is not for you.

Repetition to achieve the ah-ha moment

I find that when I have my students perform a task repetitively to the point that they can do it in their sleep that is when the ah-ha moment comes....finding them doing something that is very easily done now that they have done it so many times they can clearly see how they have progressed over the amount of time from their beginning of the class. This lets me know confidently that no matter where this student goes into they can perform this task easily.

Getting a new outlook

I find that midway through the course if I give the class a knowledge review or quiz and they can actually see just how far they have come from when they first started the class....then as I go over the quiz and we see how well they did I will ask the class just how many feel they could have passed this quiz before taking the class...and then they see everyone in class are all in the same boat and that they are all learning together....this really proves to them that they truely are getting the information and making progress.

Building rapport for purpose

I have found that by building good rapport with students, understanding them, knowing about their hobbies, and interests, but not being too personal has helped me, help them with a little better approach to some of the ways I would deliver the information to them by knowing what excites them and by putting that excitement into their education and the delivery of the information I give them.

Students

We get all types of students age,ethnic,disabilities. We have to adjust and Instruct to there needs. We need to cater to the class thats in front of us at that time and the next class we have will be completly different.

Many Languages

Regarding cultural diversity, I remind the students that if they speak other languages, put that on their resume. It may help them to aquire a job.

Keep it Fresh

Your attitude towards the subject,school, curriculm, etc, will be noticed by the student body. Be positive, love what you do, and be excited about the subject matter. If your not, ask to be cross-trained to a new clinic so you will be challenged again.

I do care!!!

The other day a student was sleeping in my class. I stopped class and told him that he had to keep awake. I gave him suggestions on how to do this. The student jumped out of his chair and told my that he had a medical problem and I didn't care about him. When I got to him as he was trying to leave the building I told him I do care. I explained to him that I have a son with the same disability, I also told him that I'm the kind of person that looses sleep over things like that. we talked awhile and I found out that he was out of medication which was the root of the problem. I gave him a few suggestions to fix the problem and now this student is doing great. Communication is the Key. I've also had simular situation go the other way. Teaching is a never ending battle to communicate.

students with attitude

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with students that only hear negativity? No matter what I say to this one student, she just shuts down and accuses me of putting her down. She really twists my words around. I don't have this problem with any other student. It is almost to the point where I will just not say anything so that she won't get the wrong idea. She's got plenty of potential, but her attitude is holding her back.

Getting students to show up on time

I am curious of some strategies to get students to show up on time. I teach 8:00am classes and I find, even though they registered themselves for the morning class, it is "too early" for them to be prompt. They often come in thirty minutes late. I have tried encouragement or not providing them with the notes for the day but it does not seem to be effective.

Introduce yourself

I always introduce myself to my class, with my background and some of my personal info. I believe that this gives the students an oportunity to see that we are also human and in some cases alot like our students.

Introductions

I find that on the first day of my class, that when i go around the room and have students introduce themselves and say where they are from, is a great ice breaker. This also gives me as the instructor, a chance to make small talk with each student, it also turns out that alot of the student may live close to one another. This helps in recognizing some of the characteristcs of your students as well as identifying some familiararity with other students that may be able to assist students with some issues.

retention

I always make a point to know as much as possible about my students so that if they need my help with anything I know about them, their home life, their family, their time restraints, etc. I think it is important in developing a rapport with your students to know what they are all about.