On the first day of class, I have the students complete a "getting to know you exercise" where they tell me what program they are in, their background, where they hope to work after college, etc. I use this information to help in the way that I teach and in some areas that I may expand on. I will also try to get guest speakers to come in if there is a lot of interest in specific fields.
Laura,
This is such valuable information to have. This way you can customize your instruction more accurately because you know what the expectations of the students are. You can build on their reasons for enrolling in the course and help them meet their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Knowing the reason a student enrolled allows me to understand their motivations and desired focus. This then allows me to lesson plan better, know when a particular student can or might interact with the learning objective of that day. Knowing motivation also allows me the opportunity to praise actions that they display that targets their motivation enhancing my ability to keep them engaged and feel a sense of support and skill in the topic.
Wendy,
This is a great way to create connections and establish an awareness of who is in the course. Having this advance helps with expectations the first class meeting.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
During registration in CA, my first college course, the instructor asked the students for Mini-Bio's and in turn we received theirs. When we arrived in class a couple weeks later, we knew the instructor and the instructor knew us. This helped all of us relax and understand the course a lot better - Elementary Psychology.
Melvin,
Yes, it does. Knowing their reasons and career goals helps you to customize you instructional delivery to better meet their needs.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This is important to know because the purpose behind a student's enrollment leads to their overall success in school.
Melissa,
I call this connecting the dots. The more they can see value to what they are learning now in relation to value to their career the higher the ROI is going to be for them. We need to help them see their future.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Knowing their reasons for enrolling and future goals helps me to make the material more relevant for them. If I can show them why they are learning about XYZ and how they can use the information later down the road, it makes the material really come alive for many students.
Kristina,
You make a number of very good points in relation to how an instructor can earn the respect of students and then help them to be successful. It is based upon the human factor which is essential for student success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
By knowing the student's intention and what is motivating him/her you'll be able to support and encourage them better. You'll be able to relate the course content to the student's goal which will build value in the course. And you can support them better by reminding the student why he/she is there - keeping his/her eyes focused on the goal. This is also beneficial because the student will recognize that the instructor genuinely cares about his/her success.
Knowing what a students motivation to apply will help me plan on how I'm going to motivate the student. If the student gets discouraged i'll bring up why they enrolled and get them focused on getting back on track.
Yes. Each student has different reason for enrolling into school. And, because of that, he / she will have different expectations of the course.
Tom Elegante
Antonio,
Well said because I think the students need to be able to articulate their reasons for enrolling. If they can't then it will be hard for them to see the end results.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Thomas,
This is a very good point. Knowing the "why" helps to set the goal for each student.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It helps define an end goal. By that, I mean that you will have an understanding of what the student's goal is. This will allow you to prepare your instruction in a way that will help the student achieve his/her goals.
Knowing why student have enrolled in your program help you to plan my instruction by using the movitation the students have and using the information to the teaching modalities used
Every instructor must have a clear understanding of what direction their students are taking when it comes to the content being taught. By the instructor knowing the reasons behind a students enrollment in a course, it will better prepare the him or her for a concise lesson plan that will meet the needs of the students.
James,
This is an important point for instructors to know because it can help them as they plan how they will deliver the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The details are important to the instructor. Having the reason for the student's enrollment in the class can make it easier to setup the course to meet the students needs and expectations and help them to be a more successful student.
