How to help students who miss class
We have an accelerated hands on program. What are some tips besides having them gather information from class-mates that will allow us to help them make up work without slowing down the pace of the rest of the class?
Kathleen:
I think this is where I'm headed. I need to get away from the students not having ANY notes to take, but still need to be able to produce a copy to a student if they've missed the class. I will just have to send the FULL version to the student who missed, and not to the other students. They will get lazy and take advantage if they know I will post the lecture in its entirety.
Thanks for the tip!
WE MAKE USE OF OUR MENTORS TO HELP THOSE WHO HAVE MISSED DAYS GET CAUGHT UP. THEY HAVE THE EXPERIENCE AND KNOW HOW SO THE REST OF THE CLASS DOES NOT GET BOGGED DOWN.
I try to have a short outline of the prior days lesson to help them get back to speed with the lesson plan.
I try to set up a time they can get with the teacher for help.
i do a similar thing. i often have a few students that miss days and i offer to catch them up as a group outside of class time. i also try to get their fellow students to get them up to speed if it is appropriate.
At our campus we utilize the student portal to communicate with the students. I find it very helpful to upload all material that will be given out in class the day before class so that the students can take a look at the material beforehand and may come to class with questions making our discussion even more productive. Also I find it helps those students who have an unforeseen emergency since the material is already there and they don't have to scramble to get the notes, PPTs, etc. that they missed.
I keep extra copies of the lecture notes and and any handout ., give it to the students when thay return to clas., or I will call the and tell the what they missed
I provide a copy of the power point slides at the beginning of a subject. If a student is absent I let them know what portion of the slides were covered and they can review through their reading, or by asking classmates what was missed. I also tell students if the person next to them is absent, they are responsible for keeping a copy of everything handed out and putting it in the missing students class folder. This is a win/win, as the student keeping copies for the absent student will be assured that the same will be done for him/her when he/she is absent. Students as always encouraged to come in for extra help if too much material was missed.
Kathleen,
This is an excellent method for enabling students to be self-directed, in regards to obtaining class notes. With this method, the student is held accountable for keeping pace with class, by having access to all session materials.
Tremayne Simpson
I design presentations with key words/concepts only on the slides but consistently use the Notes section in the PowerPoint presentations as a typical lecture. It's not what I say in class verbatim, but it essentially provides the students with 100% of the topical information needed for success on the planned course assessments. They certainly get a deeper understanding (and hopefully a bit of entertainment) from attending the lecture, but if they do miss class, they've got all the information they need. I post presentations on our student portal so everyone has access. I also review how to use PowerPoint in my early classes to ensure that everyone is familiar with printing the slides in both slide-only and Notes formats.
Evangeline,
In the past, I have provided students with class session notes, however I began to notice a "dependency" from the students that missed classes. Therefore, instead of providing notes, I began to provide them with "session reflection questions", which enables them to thoroughly review the chapters, in order to be prepared for the chapter quiz.
Tremayne Simpson
I try to have notes on the main topics discussed and then hand them to the students upon their return along with the assignments missed. Also tutoring is available.
I will often schedule one on one tutoring to help the student make up for missed lecture and class time.
Sara,
This is an excellent question. Do you have a student portal for your course? If so, you can post course Power Points or lecture notes after the class session, so that they can be available for students that missed the class or are in need of review. In addition, project/assignment guidelines and announcements can be provided, in order to keep students updated and aware of what is going on in the course.
Tremayne Simpson
