Creating Personal Support Systems
How can you help students identify and create personal support systems?
At the beginning of each term we have both returning and new students interact through a series of games that help them to learn about each other and discover commonalities.
Encourage or create accountability partner relationships. The original goal was to create these groups to facilitate a continual learning resource (over a 2 year period) of advanced level coursework, hence academic support partners. Well, these groups kind of manifested into support beyond the classroom.
Before class has even met for the first time, during the interview process for acceptance into our intensive, accelerated 12 month program, we begin to help students identify and develop their personal support systems. We ask them point blank who will be there for help them through this process both emotionally and physically as the demands of this program on the student are made much more tolerable if right from the very beginning the student feels they have a "soft place to land" or a "firm base to build a foundation" which ever is needed most. Is there someone they can count on to help with meals, the laundry, the shopping, the bills etc.? Is there someone they can call to help with a ride if their car dies, or to pick up the kids at daycare so they can stay for extra help? If not, we know we'll need to watch that student more closely and reach out to them more often to "check in" and see how they're holding up. We also meet with each student individually for a one-on-one chat that first week of classes to find out what their lives are like when they're not at school, what their study habits are like, and what their strengths and weakness are. Then we try to encourage and facilitate study groups and car pooling opportunities (we travel to clinical sites) so students can build relationships and support each other.
I am thinking about making the course-required "group project" be a project that the students create FOR other students (or an organization in our community) AND is started day 1. The goal is to begin to forge a student community based on individual students brining their unique gifts to collaborate and achieve a greater something for someone else. I am aware of a sense of balance that must be struck between giving students the freedom to have something organically erupt and intentionally forging new neural pathways that will support that organic eruption without them knowing I am doing that.
By learning as much as you can about your students. Everyone is different and require different approaching. Some are more hands on and while others enjoy the books. You have to find a way to work with both. Knowing your students will help you do this
Danielle,
How so you use paired learning with your students? Thanks for your input on this.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I too encourage close peer relationships. I think they are very advantageous for students. When a class has bonded, I have noticed that group projects and class interations improve and create more fun
MARIBEL,
Good strategy to promote student interaction and for them to practice the social skills that will be needed in the workplace. The more of these types of activities they can experience the better.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
At the start of each new curriculum group, we try to break the ice for the students by having them out out of their seats, and go talk to someone in the group that they don't already know. We also have the students share a fun fact about themselves to engage in discussion.
We encourage the students to form study groups and share strategies in an effort to support each other. We also have students come in from a senior level in the curriculum to provide support or mentoring for the entry level student.
Gina,
This is a good support service for students to have. Many of them are not sure how to create support systems, especially those in the study area. I am sure that the retention rate of your students is higher as a result of having these opportunities for support being provided.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
We have open labs several times a week, all students are encouraged to attend for 1:1 tutoring. We encourage students to take a buddy from class with them each time to quiz each other. All classes are encouraged to create their own study groups outside of class hours, students do participate in all of these things.
JOHN,
I agree because they need to develop cooperative work skills if they are going to be successful in the workplace as you mention. When you help this acquire this type of experience you are easing their transition from being students to being workers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I always have a extra course related group project in progress which I let my students manage among themselves. I feel that this is a great way to not only teach what is in the curriculum but to also train the students for the workplace.
Susan,
Right you are and by using these different resources the students can stay current with their status in the course. These grade book platforms provide so much information to students, a long way from the green grade book that a teacher carried every where and was constantly putting absences, points and grades in it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree with all of these tactics, class warm up activities, buddy system, small group activities, exchanging contact info with both students and teacher. Our campus works with Engrade. Engrade is an online grade tracking system that also allows teacher and students to communicate with each other. Students are on this site regularly to check their grade status and so that opens the door for more communication than otherwise might occur. Together all these strategies are very powerful.
Summer,
Like the way you identify the need for support and then offer ways to create such as support system if they do not have one already. This is a great service to students and will result in increased retention since they have someone to turn to when outside challenges start to overwhelm them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When a new cohort begins I usually address the needs of having a family and/or friend network for support. Some students already have this in place, but others, due to life challenges, may not have a family or friend network. I encourage my students to look to the person to their left and and right to get their telephone number for a person to contact. I also ask that the students start a Facebook group for their cohort so they can contact each other this way. I have had students that are new to the country get support from their fellow students and families. Helping with car repair and transportation. Encouraging each other through the program and clinicals.
Robert,
This is a really good strategy for your students to implement. You are getting them identify their system and then reflect on how it has helped them and what additional help they might need. This has to yield great results in that they can expand their support system if they need to or create another one if that one is not working.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
