Students in my class are very motivated to do well. When they are coping with the overwhelming expectation of the school, it is true that they often think if all this work is worth it. My job as an instructor is to refocus them and acknowledge all the effort they have invested. Most of the time, the students just need someone to validate that what they are doing is the right thing to do. Therefore, it is very important to teach students coping techniques to help them through stressful times.

I spend some time with each of my students expaining that our Career Services department is staffed with the same experience that our classroom are staffed with. That as a resouce, the career services department is a valuabe stop in the path to a legitimate career. Career Services is a real place, with real people, with real experience! Our students should not be allowed to consider them an after thought!

We have a small enough population that everyone is actually involved in retention. We have blinker system that allows faculty and staff alike to share when a student may be absent. It speaks volumes about how much we care about our student body when, during the normal course of a day, we are armed with information. When I can ask a student who may not be in my class if everything is alright and offer help, there is usally a smile of safety that creeps on their face. Helps to show that we are all in this together.

It has been my observation that when the admissions reps, during tours, have the most information possible about the daily curriculum, and food we are cooking, they are better situated to answer any question the chefs my be to busy to answer. I teach an international cuisine course, we deal with some faily unique and exotic food. I spend time with the admissions reps explaing; history and geography and food timelines. Understanding the where and what and why of food has seemed to allow the reps to better speak about admissions on behalf of the school.

we cook. It is sometimes difficult to translate the theory of cooking into practice. It is essential to the success of my students to allow my classroom to be an open lab where mistakes and successes are allowed to happen freely. We acentuate both prospectives and use them as teaching moments.

At our orientation we are above and beyond about the positive realities of our business. That ethos allows for us to be completely honest about the rigors of having a career. The dedication it takes can be daunting, however if we are positive in our approach to relaying that rigor, we start on an honest footing with our students. Allows for us to be more open in our discussions later on in the program when those issues arise.

Understandably, many of my students have issues with failure. Many are adults and have not been in school for some years. It has been my practice to buttress my learned skilled with regards to aswaging fear with my ability to be affable. With all the psychology that entertains the notions of fear, I find that just being human with my students is usaully the best way to break through.

It is vital that as instructors we have new and interesting ways of delivering course content. Many times, I believe, retention issues can be better served if the classroom is a place where learning is fun.

I have always considered myself and engaging person, I can see when people are "off" and may need to chat. I have found that by just being 'human', being myself I can better indentify the needs of my students and get them the help they may need. It has been my experience, that a kind word and good listening skills will undoubtedly foster a good communication relationship with my students.

I used to fight the notion that our schools should be uniform. I was falsly assuming that meant I would lose any autonomy to teach the subject with my own sense of ownership. I now understand that the unifromity is key in how students interpret our function as a unified faculty and that that unity speeks volumes about our caring that student stay in school.

Most of the faculty at my school are trained in areas other than a traditional teacher. I remember a very bright day in my career when I began to understand attrition and that, with some very simple and logical changes in my behavior, I could affect the attrition rate at my school. I is good to take this course and understand that these issues seem daunting to an "under-trained" educator, however the information provided here is a useful resource.

This is a great module and many institution should include retention meeting and convey what are the retention tools available for new instructors

I thought surveying method was very helpful in getting a student to identify what the problem is and figuring out what they can do to resolve or at least address it for the moment.

Learned alot about students and stress. As an instructor, you never really think students are stressed out even when you walk them through the material step by step.

This is a very good course and addresses the challenges of quality vs. retension instructors face everyday. In the end, I have to ensure the quality of the course is not compromised because students will begin to expect more of themselves in the end.

The best classes are those in which it is understood that learning is to take place.. The environment is conducive to learning. This starts with the way the class is designed, the teacher's preparation, and most importantly the teacher's attitude! If we approach our students as though they want to learn, most will rise to the occasion. By signing up for their programs, the student has at least vocally said "I want to learn" so we should give them what they signed up for! On the other hand, if we walk in with a jaded idea that our students should not be here, do not have the maturity, capability, or desire to learn, then we unconsciously support the behaviors that make it so.

One thing that our school has done has been to change buildings. Our old campus was full of narrow winding halls where students could "hide out" and we did not really have a central location. Our new building has a great central gathering area that is right in the middle of the school. This adds to the sense of community. Also, we made our faculty area more accessible so that students could locate them between classes. We have also started "galleries" down the hallways so that both teachers and students can display their artwork.

Many returning students feel unsure and afraid of failing. If we help develop relationships to support students, it will be less likely that a student will quit by surprise. Someone will get to the student before matters get worse. Great information was provided to help get a program started thank you.

TOO OFTEN WE WANT TO SOLVE OUR STUDENTS' PROBLEMS. WE FEEL HELPLESS WHEN WE DO OUR BEST AND THE STUDENTS CONTNUES A DOWNWARD SPIRAL. WE LEARN THAT WE CAN LISTEN, SUGGEST AND ADVISE BUT WE CANNOT SOLVE ALL PROBLEMS. I LIKE THE IDEA OF BEING A SOUNDING BOARD FOR OUR STUDENTS. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS MODULE. I WOULD LIKE TO TEACH MY STUDENTS THIS INFORMATION.

If we could manage stress how great life would be. It isn't so much the things that happen to us that do us in.... no... it is our reaction to the stressor. Now at 55 I can get this. How do we get through to our students and kids that we have the magic answer and get heard? Good luck to all my fellow teachers. Let's go in there and share our pearls of wisdom. We learned that, "Stress promotes thoughts driven by how many resource reserves remain for coping. The greater and more prolonged the stress, the fewer reserves remain, and the greater the psychological pressure to escape. Academic Erosion (feeling unimportant) and Academic Stagnation (feeling dead-ended) are the strongest specific influences on attrition, and their effect is increased or decreased by the perceived level of School Commitment. I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE A GREAT RESOURCE. GOOD TEACHING!!!