Keeping the no so interested student involved
This is my biggest challenge. There is always at least one student that doesnt want to be there and its hard to keep them involved.
Peter ,
Providing learning opportunities with no assessment attached allows the students to learn risk free.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
With some of these students I have found it beneficial to assign them a task outside of the material they are graded on in an effort to get them moving. Sometimes doing something other than what the rest of the class is doing and they successfully complete it gets students feeling more accomplished and increases their involvement.
Gerry,
Ask the difficult students "how are you doing?", Directly ask them to answer questions or demonstrate for other students. Engage them in some manner.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
We have many ex-military enroll in our school. Some of them are highly motivated. Others are simply there because it is something to do and Uncle Sam pays them while they are in school as well as pays the cost of their schooling. They thought it would be "fun' to learn about motorcycles. Then the reality that there is hard work involved sets in. One of the biggest challenges is keeping them from interfering with the education of their classmates. We are rated on retention among other things so simply hammering them and weeding them out is not an option as it reflects negatively on the instructor. Self interest aside, writing people off is not what a true teacher does. The challenge is creating a learning environment that keeps some of the fun they anticipated while sneaking in the learning when they least expect it. Sometimes I feel like a boxer that is a "counter puncher." I have to evaluate what is being thrown at me and devise a plan to deal with it.
John,
Many students that attend Career schools did not fare well in K-12 nor do they always have a good support system outside of school. I find that in almost all cases it is not a lack of motivation but a need to be engaged at a different level and/or a need to have some success early on. A student that had difficulty in K-12 often lacks confidence in their ability. If they fail a quiz or have difficulty early it is a self-fulfilling prophecy that they will not succeed.
Ron Hansen, Ed. D.
This is almost everyones biggest challenge. It seems that we are getting more students presenting with little or no motivation to be in class. Asking the student about their classroom and family history sometimes gives insights into how they came to be at this point. Thers is no single approach that is effective. Different, classroom techniques, input from enrollment advisors, Dean of Academics, Program Directors and Student services can all be of benefit.
