Many adult students have very valid fears about returning to school. These include concerns about family, childcare, and their current career. Other concerns may include test taking and competing with younger students.
I like to create a relaxing environment and in the process I introduce myself, let them know a little of my background, and how I teach the course. I usually ask them what they do for a living and why they have chosen the program that they are in. I will then pass out the syllabus that shows the due dates for all assignments, exams, quizzes, and other required work. I also use a variety of teaching methods that present information for both visual and auditory learners. Finally, I try to realize how each student is a unique individual and develop teaching style with those individuals in mind.
Christina,
Thank you for your being willing to share your career experiences with your students. After 30 years of nursing you have encountered so many different situations that I know you are able to share examples with your students on every topic that you cover in the course. Also the fact you are teaching because you want to says a lot about your personality and passion for nursing and that you want to help prepare others to enter your field. This is the human factor in teaching and you are displaying it each time you step into the classroom or lab.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
by encouraging them, for some this is the first time that anyone in their family has gone to college. I usually tell my students there is never a question that cannot be answered and just because they did not know the answer someone else in the class is feeling the same way. I also tell students this is my second career I was a bedside nurse for over 30 years and still am, however I now teach because I can and want to. Most of my students this is a second career for them as well, or they cannot make it at a standard college. I tell the students that I have an open door policy if they do not understand something that was said in class then come see me and I will help them one to one.
Levon,
Well said. A organized but comfortable approach to instructional delivery goes a long way in getting the attention of students and helping them to see the value of the content being offered.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
There are several ways that can be used to help the students to overcome the fear of not being able to pass the coarse. Even the way we talk to students can make a difference. I personally like to be relaxed, even have a joke with the students. The relaxed environment takes that tension from the classroom away, especially, during the first few days of the class. Of course, being organized and giving all the necessary information for students to study is crucial. As a lecturer I should not deviate from what I lecture in the classroom and I actually ask during exam. The worst thing for a student is when we lecture a specific topic, but have an unrelated question during exam... Also, we as teachers have to know very well the material we are talking about. When a student feels that teacher does not know his/her topic, it make them feel confused, insecure and feared....
Shawn,
You make a great point about the need for small successes. This is especially true for older adult learners. They are often fearful of being able to be successful when coming back to school so if they can have early success in a course their confidence soars. The upon the foundation of those small success comes greater success and it just builds from there. I really enjoy days when this occurs in my adult learners and they realize that in fact they are going to pass the course and maybe even with an A.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Creating a foundation of small successes in the classroom and labratory settings builds confidence. Validating the student's success and encouraging them as they struggle shows them that they have nothing to fear but everything to gain. A well developed syllabus, road map, shows the student how they can achieve success in small steps relative to the course. Describing personal past failures and way I have dealt with them or addressed them or learned from them and applied them to future problems can also be educational.
Jessica,
Like the way you are providing different engagement opportunities for your students. You are appealing to the different learning preferences represented among your students and as a result all them will have an opportunity to acquire knowledge and application of the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I provide a variety of activities within the course so every student has an opportuinty to be successful. For instance, we have class discussions, watch videos that relate to the material, a variety of homework assignments, team projects, individual assignments, and so forth. This ensures that every student has an opportunity to be successful in their learning experience.
Joseph,
This is a good way to provide support for the duration of the course. Each phase of the course is clear and the expectations are known. This way the students can see where they are in the course and what they need to accomplish to keep pace with the class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Have a solid plan at the beginning of a term, that spells out what is expected from each student in order to succeed and get a passing grade for the class. This will show the learners, if they are being successful or not, and if they are not, giving feedback on why. Constant contact with your students are a key, so that everyone is on the same page, and will take less energy in the end for both the instructor and the learner, and make a less stressful environment.
Leslie,
Good ways to encourage and support students. Let them know you care about them as individuals and are there to support them if they are willing to put forth the needed effort.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Be their cheerleader. Help them celebrate all the little achievements and recognize them in front of their peers. A lot of students who come to career colleges struggled in traditional schools and some have never received awards. It really helps to recognize their achievements with them.
We do a lot of activities and games to help students feel at ease and have fun learning. Our students love it and feel it is very helpful in remembering the information they learned.
Elizabeth,
Ice breakers are great ways to start off a new course. You are right the students get to talk about themselves and interact with the other students. This gives the class a relaxed feeling and then you can pull them together and start sharing the course requirements.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think an Ice breaker allows students to feel free to toot their own horn and tell about real life experiences good or bad
Lindsay,
Like your use of small success steps. The easiest thing to do is fail because failure takes away choices and the requirement that decisions be made. So when they start to slip they drop back to what they know and that is failure. With small success steps they start to move forward and before they know it they have had some major successes and they start to enjoy the results that come with being successful. This effort is not easy but very rewarding. You are doing a good job of helping them to make this progress.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Small measurements.
I work with students who have failed many times; they have dropped out and have enough motivation to come back, but many drop out again.
We find that many revert to their old defaults when they begin to feel that they aren't successful. This means that they become detached, isolate themselves, and they be come disruptive.
By creating clear goals and small measurements toward those goals, students can assess their progress and receive feedback regularly regarding their success. This way, students are continually seeing how they are progressing, avoiding falling into the trap that has kept them from being successful in the past.
Don,
Great way to show current students what they will be learning and doing by sharing the examples of previous work. This helps them to see what the standard is for the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Each class that I facilitate has an addendum. The content of the class as well as examples of prior student work (names removed) with their permission is provided to the students. This helps in the area of providing a framework for work to be turned in. The functions served is that current students may use this as a template.
