I think assessing general education skills is important because this way you have an idea of what you are working with in the way of the general education skills of your students. These skills are important for functioning in many job situations and it lets you know what you will need to focus on to strengthen for your students.
it gives you a better understanding where the students strong and weak points are.
Since we are preparing students for a particular career, it is important that the students have the soft skills necessary for the workplace. In particular, communication skills - written and verbal - will serve students well no matter what type of job they are doing.
This shows instructors at what learning levels the students are at and what the instructor's obstacles may be.
Hi Rebecca, Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, we sometimes do need to provide remediation for students who are lacking some of the basic skills. Without this additional help it is doubtful that those students will be successful. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Susan,
I think that the assessment of general education skills is important to all instructors. This assessment, while it may not seem directly associated with the topic one is teaching, may give the instructor a "baseline" measurement of where the student is in their education. This may help to detect any learning issues, strong points in the individual or may help one to understand why it may take this student more or less time to complete a task. These assessments may also help the instructor identify where more education may be necessary before the student progresses to a rigorous healthcare program.
Rebecca
Hi Anthony, Thanks for your post to the forum. Ideally, we would like to be able to remediate to improve those basic skills but realistically, in our short programs, this is just not possible. So, as you illustrate, we need to offer accommodation in some cases. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Knowing the general educational skills of your students is very important because it will help you decide on how to set up your courses. Students that have poor reading skills you might have to set up your course to be more visual. Students with poor written communication you would stay away from essay type test questions, and maybe keep written homework down to a minimum. In the automotive field the math is down to a minimum so at times a find that one on one instruction usually helps the student out best.
Hi Mariann, Thanks for your post to the forum. Starting with an assessment of students' general education skills is a realistic approach to instruction. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
General education skills allow us to set a foundation as to where our students are coming from and allows us to base a curriculum and classes around these general education skills,
Mariann Urbancsik, BSRN
It will show what the student's ability is and where they "rank" so to speak within the class. If the assessment shows that a student is not up to speed I will spend more time with them in what ever they lag in.
The assessment will provide the instructor with basic information about student skills to better plan subject delivery & appropriate assessment.
Hi Kristin, Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, and too often we get new students you are sorely lacking those skills. We need to do our best to provide remediation. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
These are some of your basic skills that are needed in every profession. Most employers look for these upon hiring. Communication is especially important for everyone.
I agree 100%! Many students, especially in career colleges dont think that it is important to have general ed skills. They want to get and out quickly and do as little as possible. They need to understand the importance of being able to follow a standard, especially in writing and reading.
Hi Birgit, The employers who hire our graduates are looking for those communication skills and so I agree that we need to make sure they are prepared for the expectations in the workplace. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
It is extremely important to assess those skills as we give students tests and projects to do, which will expose their skills or the lack there of. It is an opportunity to teach or mentor and guide study skills and habits as well as offering tutoring. Our students will go into public service and I feel good communications skills, whether written or oral, will make a difference in hiring actions for those students.
I feel that this helps the instructor have a better understanding of what level the student is actually able to work at. This can help to determine what areas will need more work, and to help shape what types of test the instructor can use.
assessing general education skills in each student is important due to the fact that i teach students who come from different backgrounds,different school systems and different areas of work experiances.knowing the strenghts and weaknesses of students helps the instructor equate the educational level and lifes learning experiances to address and achieve a better quality of absorbtion of the material at hand.
Instructors need to know the basic skills of their students so they can create a good learning and fun environment.
