Dealing with students you do everything for and they still complain wh
We have recently had an extra work session and have found that students still complain about the instructor being too hard.
Hi Teresa,
Good instructors find ways to break down the course content into units that the students can grasp. This helps the students to have success and will keep them motivated to continue on with their training.
You make a number of very good points about this very effort.
Gary
I have found in my experience that sometimes the students we are teaching have never been motivated to succeed, so allowing them to start succeeding even at a small level motivates them to continue to acheive...that is why (in my opinion) making the course harder than it needs to be is going to contradictory to your eventual goals with your students. Again, in my opinion, too many teachers perhaps have too large an ego and need to not lower their standards, however make the curriculum easier to learn especially when teaching in a setting that I am currently employed.
Dr. Meers, I agree with you completely but they come with some very lame excuses like my baby was sick or I was sick. This goes on week after week. What ends happenening is that the seeks progress and they become dependent and you as the instructor become disgusted becauses the school refuses to support you in handling this type of behavior.
Hi Girgis,
We as instructors need to offer instruction through different methods and mediums so the students will have the opportunity to acquire the course content through a variety of ways. These different learning methods will enable the students to focus on learning preferences in which they feel comfortable.
As instructors we need to provide instruction supports for students to help them in the learning process but we can't so much for them that they don't learn how to perform the skill tasks required or serve as enablers for them. They are in school to learn content and skills related to a career field and have to stand on their own feet while doing this.
Instructors have to be class leaders and be specific about their course requirements. If this is seen as being hard by the students then so be it. On the other hand instructors have to be consistent and firm in their expectations so the students will be able to grow, learn and realize their career goals. That is what being in a career college is all about.
Gary
Thanks for submitting this question.
I need to clarify two different points
1- What is the meaning of doing every thing? Does it mean that the instructor used all the instructional styles, and involving the students in the learning procedure, making it learner centered procedure?
2- What does hard mean? Does it mean that the students find difficulty to learn or the difficulty related to the perception and acquisition of the content and skills?
I believe that according to the answers we may get, the problem can be treated.
Hi Rob,
Great question. An instructor has to be fair and consistent in requiring content and skill development in an area based upon industrial/business standards. For some students that is unfair because it causes them to have to work and study in order to be successful. For other students that want to learn the material and develop the skills then their definition of hard will not be that of the student that is not dedicated to learning. Being too hard is a common complaint but generally is only being voiced by one or two students that are not focused on learning.
Gary
What is the students definition of being too hard?
