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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.

student motivation

student motivation has always been an issue. i've taught pretty much every grade from kinder to high school to a community college and now a career college. i've always felt that the knowledge of the subject matter is always the best motivator. this, however, must be in conjunction with other factors of teaching; susch as, humor, empathy or leniency, understanding or caring. once a student see that you are willing to bend over backwards for them they do set to complete their work, and even try to please the instructor, and hopefully with that they learn what is necessary to graduate and succeed in their career choice.

Ability to Benefit Students

If your school has ATB students, do you give them any reading or other tests to help determine the students basic learning abilities?

rapport with students

in my last forum topic i mentioned that the students find me to be a stickler to rules. i, however, do build a good rapport with my students regardless of this perception. i find that if i can relate and interact outside the class i get the needed classroom attention and work product. i build this rapport outside as well as in the classroom by joking around with them. i feel this helps put them at ease.

The classroom as a simulated Work Site

If you use your classroom as a simulated Work Site, how did you set it up and how do you evaluate your students?

how much rewarding should be done?

many of my students feel that i'm am rather a stickler to rules. i feel that a structured environment is conducive to the learning process. i rarely if ever have a class luncheon at the end of our semesters. i try to utilize as much of the classroom time that i possibly can for the students to receive and learn information that will enable them to succeed in the career chosen. i'm my hardest critic in that if the students don't get what they want once they graduate i blame myself for that failure,if you will. so how much should i lighten up and reward the students?

social behaviors

recently our school had a couple of verbal altercations amongst students and with educators. when students come in with certain expectations and even high standards from the school and don't receive them they do get frustrated and vent out either verbally or sometimes even physcially. it is understood that educators must be the motivating factor for their education, but how far must one go in motivating students who may have already have a mindset of not following through or even following rules? i am enthusiastic about my decision to educate in a career college, but must i babysit constantly? i do become frustrated myself in that i question sometimes if i want to continue. any other ideas on how to be a better motivator for my students and the student body as a whole?

Motivation

Sharing personal experiences has been a key motivator in my class. I have a wide range of age diversity in my class they all have discouraging times but I am able to share personal experiences that influence all, no matter what the age is and produces encouragement amongst each other. No matter the age, everyone can learn something new!

Active Learning

I find that the most entertaining and productive classes are when all the students participate in the lesson. It gives the opportunity for students to relate the material they are learning with class topics and sometimes it even helps other students understand material better.

Student Retention

I just taught a course on Insurance Billing and Collections and the biggest complaint was difficulty with retention. The textbook contained alot of information and that was frustrating to them. I suggested to my students to break the studies into sections. I told them to make sure to have good notes from the lecture and every night to review their notes and try to read the section in the text which corresponded to my lecture sot that they wouldn't find themselves reading the whole chapter the night before class. The could re-read their class notes and skim through the book. The class found this very helpful.

Test time limits.

If a student always takes longer than everyone else to complete a timed exam, quiz,or assignment,what should we do? Is it fair to make the rest of the students wait for them to finish? Please help.

Motivation

Not only is it important to be able to effectively motivate your students, but we have to remember to motivate ourselves, as teachers. Often times we can lose sight of what it is we are doing when difficult things come our way outside of work, but it is always important to keep looking up and remember you are there to enlighten someones life! If you are feeling less then motivated to continue, the students can see it and it makes them feel even more uncertain about continuing.

Gaining control of the Talkers!

I know every teacher has experienced these types of students in class, and I am currently dealing with 3 students this quarter who can not seem to cut their side conversation. At times, they are discussing class material however, at other times they are chatting about things that have nothing to do with class, which to say the least can be very frustrating! I have tried different tactics, some working only temporarily, others not working at all, but after having read this module, I feel as though a new light has been shed on the situation and how I can best deal with it. I look forward to trying some of the techniques with my sutdents today in class!

Keeping Student Retention Up

I am constantly having to deal with Student Retention, as our program has the lowest in our college. The corporate office often is putting the blame on us, the instructors, as to why our retention is so low. I find something that works with every student no matter what their background, is to get to know them on a personal level and constantly show care and concern for what they are going through, in school and out. I know this was something mention in the module as well, and I can attest to it working. The students feel like they belong and they are not just in school but they are in an environment where we care about them succeeding and their education. I know some of the students deal with many different issues outside of school and they do not always receive the support they need to continue, so to receive this type of encouragement from their instructor is really motivating! It makes me happy to be doing what I am doing!

Young Students vs. Adult Students

I often find myself having to struggle with the younger students and adult students being at odds with one another. The Adult students are always looking down on the 18-20 year olds as immature kids and the young students are always treating the adult students as they are too old to be in school. I am trying to come up with an activity for each of the groups to interact and see how much they really can learn from one another and how being in a class with such a diverse mix of students will only help them even more. Has anyone had any experience with anything like this? Any advice?

Motivation is Easy

When I offer suggestions to fellow instructors, my main point is be happy and love your material. Students will not motivate themselves so it is up to the instructor. I also recommend the text by Jenson titled Active Learning which offers activites that will engage learners with lesson content. The days of standing in front of a room and spewing information are gone.. students want it real, relevant, and exciting. Talking heads go home!

Focus on Students

An instructor needs to understand that once in the classroom "it is not about me". The focus must always be on the students - are they learning, are they paying attention, did they understand the concept? I have made a conscious effort throughout my career of leaving my personal feelings, pains, or concerns outside the door. Students pay a lot of money for courses so they deserve 100% - not a half-hearted 75% because I have a pain!

Be here and do what we are doing

I share this sentiment with students the first week of classes... be here and do what we are doing. It reminds them of their responsibility in my classroom. If they can meet this challenge, I then must supply the reason for attending. If I create an exciting and interesting learning environment along with positive nurturing feedback, they will return each day. Retention is the sum total of many different steps and strategies with the instructor at the hub. I love being the hub!

Cultural diversity

My classes have been very culturally diverse , and on occasion , there may be a bit of a language barrier . These students definitely require some extra attention to ensure that they understand the material . Once they feel comfortable in class , however , they all have been very eager to share their cultural traditions or whatever is appropriate for the discussion . The extra time spent with them really pays off to enrich the class .

Enthusiasm

When you enter into your class room you should always be filled with excitement about what you are about to teach. Students feed off of our motivation to teach each lesson. They look forward to learning if learning is approached correctly.

Share time

I think when you take the opportunity to allow the student to share what they may have on their minds very early before class time begins, they will appreciate what the instructor allowed them to do and respect the instuctors authority in the classroom.