Attendance
as with most classes we have an attendance policy for our students, as of late I have noticed I am having issues with students on this, they are constantly late to class or missing more than the allowed number of absences, I am constantly trying to impart the need for attendance in both keeping up with the class lectures and projects needed to pass and also the facts that the industry I teach in attendance is one of the key goals employers look for, are there any other thing I could be doing as an instructor to get this accross to my students?
Veronica,
By relating attendance to the work world you are helping your students to see that once they graduate they must meet certain employment standards if they expect to be successful and grow in their career.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This is a very good Question just think of it as you help the student but how will that reflect the school when they go out and find a job.
Kim,
Good to learn this lesson early in your teaching career so you know not to follow that path again as you mention. Experiences like this help you go expand your expertise and knowledge in the areas of student management.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
i am new at teaching but the point of being consistent hit home early and painfully. I put a punctuality policy in place and failed to enforce it one time for one student and it unleashed a firestorm. I will not put a policy in place again that has any chance of being difficult for me when it comes to follow through.
Patrick,
This is so important. If you are not consistent you will lose control of the class. I mention this often to new instructors because they need to realize that they are the learning leaders of their classes so if they are not consistent the students will quickly start to question their abilities and feel that they do not need to be listened to.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find it to be important to be consistent from day 1 on the attendance policy and participation grade. I set a point scale for time attended each day along with an assignment/lab grade. I get started write away so student know they are missing important information if they are late. They also find that everything presented in class will be on their test.
RICHARD,
Students need to realize that they are not going to be successful in their career if they cannot be counted on to be at work on time and there everyday. In addition, they need to have good communication skills on top of their technical skills. The more they can be held accountable while in their training program the better because they need to develop their soft skills throughout their course work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It seems that the students who work in the trade are some of the worst but some just don't seem to care. We have an attendance policy and some students take it right to the edge. Is it a good policy to not help students get jobs in the trade until graduation?
BERKLEY,
Good idea. This hopefully gives the students a touch of reality when it comes to the soft skills like attendance.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I do believe that giving a student the chance of being the owner of his own company and have his fellow students as employees of the company may make him see that late or absent behavior is not tolerated in the work force.
Glenn,
You raise a very good point in relation to helping instructors to increase their effectiveness and appeal to students. With a personal development plan they can work with someone, like a mentor and hopefully expand their expertise as communicators and learning leaders.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Virginia,
Good strategy to follow as this shows the student what the expectations of employers are and what they need to do to be perceived as viable employees.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree that it is very important to relate student attendance to the industry expectations. Their are also other techniques that can be used to increase student attendance. As I look at our students attendance and our faculty I see a pattern. Instructors who are dynamic in the classroom, engaging students thru discussion and hands on activities, display soft skills and are supportive of their students have a significantly higher attendance rate. The difficult part is to help instructors with lower student attendance rates recognize and develop these teaching styles.
I agree with Virginia. Give the students real life examples of how being late or not attending their job would affect their careers.
Grant,
This is a tough one because it seems to be too common with our students today. In my setting I am like you consistent and demanding when it comes to being on time and there each day. I give professional points for both and they can help or hurt a student's grade. I warn students about either or both and document when such an event occurs. I do have the backing of my administration so I can remove a student that does not conform to the attendance and tardy polices. For some students this works and others just will not do anything about anything including their future. I try and work with them but in the end it is up to them to earn a grade and pass the course and if they do not then the consequences are theirs.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Besides stressing the importance of being on time and explaining to them that this would be unacceptable in the work field. Give the an example as if they were the owner of a company would they want their employees late all the time. It brings down workers moral as well as slows down production.
