According to Maslow, the feeling of acceptance by peers is an essential human need. In a classroom setting, feeling accepted will aleviate some anxiety and free up attention to focus on course work. Once accepted, students can work together more efficiently and benefit more from group activities.
My students are nontraditional. It is very important for them to feel accepted. The majority of them perceive themselves as failures through lack of support from family, financially, and culturally. It is my job as an instructor to provide support. The way I provide support is referring them to the proper resources that we have available. I also listen to my students and see if their is a way that I can provide support academically through tutoring. I also acknowledge my students by praise. This goes a long way......
It is important for students to feel a sense of belonging within the classroom. No matter what their age or background it is important that they have that feeling. With out that they can't thrive, leaving most students unable to focus on lectures or other material when they are uncomfortable or hyper focused on something else. Once they feel accepted it's almost like they can get out of their own way and soar through the course leading to success. It goes back to the saying, "We are our own worst critics."
It is important for students to feel a sense of belonging within the classroom. No matter what their age or background it is important that they have that feeling. With out that they can't thrive, leaving most students unable to focus on lectures or other material when they are uncomfortable or hyper focused on something else. Once they feel accepted it's almost like they can get out of their own way and soar through the course leading to success. It goes back to the saying, "We are our own worst critics."
Cynthia,
You are right about many adult learners coming into the class with fears of failure. If they find a supportive and welcoming instructor they start to feel much better. After that if they can have some early success in the course they start to gain confidence and then go forward from there. This is a win win situation for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is important for students to feel accepted in class because it contributes to their success by alleviating fears.
Many adult learners come into class on the first day with apprehension and trepidation of the unknown. When adult learners are acknowledged by the instructor and their peers, it opens the door to discovery, curiosity and learning relevance.
As part of the nursing program students needs to compiled to a certain amount of clinical and labs hours besides lectures. What is sometime a challenge is how bring what I was taught on class to the real life because as you know always exists a gap between education and real life so basically students learn on their own a simulated real life experience and we help to put all pieces together.
Ana,
This is so important in terms of getting the students settled into the course and feeling a part of the learning community. By doing this you are settling them into the class and helping them to see the value of the content that is going to be shared and the competencies that will be acquired.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When students feel accepted, they're confident in their ability to perform, and they're less afraid about being judged by their peers. When students believe they can succeed, they will work hard even when they encounter obstacles in their academic paths. I like to start the course off by having students share a few things about who they are, where they came from, and why they're "here" (in college). I find that this creates a sense of community and makes students realize that they have a lot in common. Many of them have similar course and overall academic goals and share similar motivations.
Manuel,
You have been where your students are so you can relate to them and their current status. As a role model it is important for you to show them that through hard work they to can be successful just as you have been. Keep up the good work you are doing in helping your students to see their future.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As for my personal experience beck in my undergraduate studies, i was lost and disoriented. The college I went to lack this understanding. I had to become an adult mush faster than what I wanted to. Example: In the English class I was placed on the international class. I fail this class twice. (the instructor i think was in there to discourage the international students). The third and last try I enrolled in a regular class and PASSED. This was back in the 1980's and I believed the college have improved in quality instructors. Of course this was just a personal experience the first semester.
Lydia,
Reinforcement by an authority figures, in this case their instructor can be a great motivator for students, especially those that are worried about being successful in college. By helping them see that if they will work hard they can be successful and be valued by their families and their communities you are giving them a powerful support boost.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Being accepted goes back to kindergarten for most. Being in a career school as an instructor has been a great experince to make everyone feel they are on the same playing field. When you get younger or older students who need to be good at something, making sure they are accepted in my classroom is my goal. We get students that may not feel accepted out side of school, they are beaming when they come to school, so this make it one of the places they look forward to coming. I have had students who were not the most popular or not the bread winner of the family, but at school they are the stars and taking home rewards and other things to show accomplihments is a big deal.
Kim,
Thank you for sharing this story with us. A few kind words and a caring instructor made all the difference with this student as evidenced by her turn around. We need to keep the human factor in mind as we work with our students. They may be needing some encouragement from their learning leader so we need to be on the lookout for when we can provide it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When students feel accepted in a class, they are much more likely to participate and much less likely to drop the class. Just this semester I had a student who had a very mean look on her face all of the time and never said a word in class. I talked with her after class one day. I told her she needed to be confident in her ability and to show a positive look on her face. She completely changed and is now fully engaged in the class, and even studies with some of her classmates regularly. This is an example of a faculty intervention making a positive difference in the experience of a student regarding being accepted by her peers in a class.
Andrea,
This seems to be an ongoing challenge for many students today. They do not see themselves in any kind of team work situation. They feel entitled to an A because they have paid tuition rather than having earned their grade. I do a lot of group work and problem solving activities to try and break down some of these barriers and attitudes. We focus on courtesy, respect and rapport and how each of us needs to display and work through these three.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Elanor,
You have a real feel for how to integrate all your students into the learning community. They need to see and feel how they can contribute and be successful. Once this is done then they will start to open up and share.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Ego is a huge hurdle at our school with our students. This is obviously a by product of previous life and classroom experiences. We work very hard to help our students understand that in the class room, we are all equal in terms of respect, acceptance and we all are working towards the same goal of success.
As stated in the course, Maslow's heirarchy of needs means that people in general need to feel accepted and appreciated in order to finally meet Self Actualization. When one feels accepted, they are more likely to participate, and to strive for the "Ego" level, with acceptance and status with in a group. If they are praised and accepted, then that behavior will proliferate and allow for the student to gain a measure of success that would not have been available if they had not felt accepted.
I have been that person, who needs to have someone tell them that they are wanted/needed/accepted. When I felt under appreicated, I was unhappy and my work suffered from it. When I made friends, I had help with studying and discussions about our subjects which made me a better student, and helped me learn (not just memorize) the material.
Julie,
This is true. We all seek that when we go into a new setting. The more comfortable we can make our students feel the quicker they will become a part of the learning community.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
