Enhancing Student Retention

Public

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.

Glenn Hobbs

Remembering through Relevancy

If the student can apply the concept to a real world situation, even if it is not related to the subject matter, it will help them acquire the skill. I teach my students binary to decimal conversion, which is intimidating to a lot of them. However, we have find a way of using a real world situation (making change with money) to help them grasp on to this concept. Even our most challenging students will get it.

Trina Aziz

setting the stage for learning

It is really important to be organize with lab settings before class starts..it will gives instructor a piece of mind and the session will going so smooth and not being embarrass in front of students and no room for them to not paying attention to the subject.

Elaine Wong

Surprise

Your Surprise section helped turn a light bulb on. Adding brain teasing activities at the start of class can warm up the minds of students to prepare them for the lecture coming it. I like the idea of dividing them into groups to solve the problem. A reward could be added as extra points for the day, or letting them go a little earlier than the rest of the class.

Peter Staffa

Motivation through Support and Resources

I don't spoon feed my students. If they need help, I provide them as many resources as I can.

Peter Staffa

Evaluation

I always ask the students if they learned something by the end of the course. I need to know if the students are happy and that they feel like they are learning something.

Peter Staffa

Retention

I give it my all when teaching. While my students work on their projects, I give them my full attention. I also reply to all my emails immediately, so that I don't get backed up and start ignoring them.

Peter Staffa

expectations

I let my expectations known to the students and they are well aware of the objectives they have to meet by the end of the class.

Ashlyn Russell

Instructor's Are Human

It is important to remember that instructors are human and in adult education we are teaching our peers of all ages. I have found that the more "real" I am and relatable to my students, the better my course outcomes are. They need to see us as human and not unreachable so that they are not scared to ask for help or assistance when needed. I believe one of the biggest attributes of a teacher or human being is to be approachable.

Kathleen Meskunas CHEP

students as customers

I try to break the information regarding the class down and give them examples that they can relate to so they understand the material. Afterall they are customers paying for a service.

Jeremiah Gomez

Motivation

The issue I have with motivation is that I teach science courses at a design school. Most students are here because they have no interest in science. I find that showing interesting or crazy videos or pictures helps increase interest and thus motivation. any similar experiences?

Jeremiah Gomez

Refocusing

I think post term/semester refocusing is a good idea. Throw out what did not work or students didn't like and try something else. It is always good to have your course evolve over time. Any thoughts?

Jeremiah Gomez

Rapport

I think rapport with students is the most important factor when teaching. Even if the content isn't great or if the course is poorly organized, students can get a lot out of a class that has an instructor that demonstrates this ability.

Jeremiah Gomez

Students as a Resource

I often have students that know a lot more about a particular topic than I do due to their career experiences. In these cases, the student can be a great resource during a class discussion for the other students as well as myself.

Jeremiah Gomez

Tangents

I have learned that a good method to keep students engaged is to explore tangents in the subject matter that come up during class. I teach Anthropology and Environmental Science though most of my background is in Biology. So when an interesting question comes up, it is sometimes fun exploring it even if it does not directly relate to content. It sparks interest in the class and gives students something to remember.

Pandora Neiland

Mystery Motivation

I was glad to see mystery listed as a motivation. I have often been perplexed as to why a student made the decision to be in school. Listing it as a motivator made me realize it is ok if I cannot pinpoint the reason they are in my classroom. Sometimes it is just a mystery!

Lisa Dellapina

candy makes math fun

I have 3 weeks of my 6 week course that is focused on math. Most of my students are not motivated to work on math problems during class. I offer candy to those that will come up to the board and try a problem, they don't need to get it right, just try.

William Bruns CHEP

Class rewards

I teach a public speaking course. Only one student is rewarded with a special #2 pencil for the best daily presentation. A different student is rewarded each time. I have former students come up to me and tell me they still have the pencil they 'earned' during my class. It actually becomes competitive for this reward.

Pandora Neiland

The advantageous mix of traditional and adult learners

I try to take advantage of the differences between these 2 different groups. the older students can share real-life career experiences while the younger learners add a contemporary twist. It can help both in learning.

Yordy Brito Aguila

nursing students on accelerated programs

Nursing program is really short;15-18 months is a really challenge. Important tool is just teach by outline or keep points using the board a lot to breaking down concepts. I learned in 4 years experience that the majority of the students are adults and visual learners to keep them engaged and motivated the traditional class (lecture)does not work to much. We made some changes and introduced more videos, diagrams, schemas.

Elizabeth Singleton

motivating students

i tend to motivate my students by sharing positive work experiences. this gives them something to look forward to when they completet their program and also gives them a solid foundation. it also gives them a positive outlook that someday their hard work will pay off.

Related Learning Opportunities

ED102 - Student Retention Methods

ED112 - Influencing Student Motivation

ED144 - Student Empowerment for Learning Success

ED209 - Students as Customers

ED406 - Motivating Others

ED409 - Gamification in the Classroom

ED410 - Increasing Student Retention by Flipping the Classroom