Dana,
I am sure we have all had some very poor instructors in our past. By taking a positive attitude that we can learn something from everyone we meet we can learn from even poor instructors. Also, you make a good point that the career college student is an adult so he or she needs to secure the needed information if their career is going to grow.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I disagree with this statement,I too have work in the the restaurant business for many years. Just because you have one bad meal do not make the restaurant bad, the same goes for an instructor just because a student had a bad experience with an instructor do not make that instructor a bad teacher. You must form your own opinion, once you enroll into that course, and get to know that instructor style of teaching.
Elizabeth,
This is such an important point for students to understand. Yes, a degree is there to be acquired but many students get a degree and do not get an education. Those that get both are the ones that are going to enjoy career success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Eric,
This such a key point for students to understand. They need certain foundational knowledge so even if they find some of it not the most interesting there is a reason for it being offered. So they need to concentrate on learning this information as it helps them build their future in their chosen career.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I found that a lot of students enrolled " to get a degree" but as they move ahead in the class I think it is important to try and make them realize that it is more then just a degree it is an education and a life time experince that will help them forge forward and become more of who they want to be
By understand why your students wanted to be in a specific program (career path) you can and should relate the current topics of instruction back to the thing that excited the students in the first place. Not all lessons will be particularly interesting for all of your students, but knowing how the lesson relates to the career they are seeking can help generate some excitement that otherwise might not be there.
By understand why your students wanted to be in a specific program (career path) you can and should relate the current topics of instruction back to the thing that excited the students in the first place. Not all lessons will be particularly interesting for all of your students, but knowing how the lesson relates to the career they are seeking can help generate some excitment that otherwise might not be there.
William,
This is a key element of reading students. Knowing how they perceive the course based upon their life experiences helps you in providing support and reinforcement. This is how you will keep them engaged and moving forward in their learning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
understanding the age diversity of your students will directly affect the instructor's teaching strategies to actively engage the students..understanding these differences will assure success
Camille,
This is such valuable information to have for the reasons you cite. The more we know about our students the more accurately we can customize our instruction to fit them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Knowing why students enrolled in the program will help in planning instructions in the following ways: It will help to identify the students’ needs and how to address the particular needs. It will also help in establishing and maintaining a supportive environment to facilitate the needs to enable the students to be successful in class.
Christie,
Spend some one on one time with this student and try to get him or her engaged in what is going on in the class. Demonstrate to the student that you respect him or her and that you are there to support their learning effort. Don't let the student use the previous experience as a way of not being a part of the class if you can help it. The more human factor you show the easier it will be to develop rapport with this student.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have established a rapport with students but my question is this, how can you get it back once it has been broken by another instructor. I have had this happen recently and I'm at a loss on how to reel this student back in on to the positive side of learning.
Kristine,
You are using a good strategy. Some students as you say do not want to be there, so they let everyone know it. This is always sad to me since I come from a background of poverty and limited educational opportunities. I was given a chance to go to school and I took advantage of it. Not everyone gets such a chance so when students are given such a chance and don't take advantage of it they are short changing themselves. You are doing the best you can to keep them engaged and the success factor is up to them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This poses a difficult task for me, as an instructor, at times because I frequently get students that are "forced" to come to school and motivating them is terribly difficult because they do not want to be in school. Just focusing on their concerns and giving them more 1 on 1 attention has been my best course of action thus far
Abel,
This approach does so much in earning the respect of students and then starting the development of rapport. Knowing you care about them as individuals goes a long way in forming trust.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
To be able to establish rapport and to be sympathetic towards them Students like to be called by their name and it tells them that you respect them
Jennifer,
I think this is very valuable to know as you mention. With this information you can customize your instructional approach to get them engage and focused on the course from the beginning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When you know why students have enrolled in your program you can adapt (as much as possible) course content to the interests and needs of the students.
James,
Good point about knowing why students are enrolled. Having this information gives you an idea of how to approach and support a student. For the students that are there because their parents made them I try to convince them that their future is up to them. They need help in capturing a vision of their future and what success they want in that future. Many of them get it and really dig in and others just whine through the course or drop out. Makes me sad because they have missed a great opportunity that many individuals never get to have.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
