Cindy,
Good organizational strategy. This gets the students working with others while helping them to find and create a support network within the class. This is a win win situation for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I do some of the very same things. I have the students exchange phone numbers and emails and encourage them to follow up with a classmate that may need some support. We play a few games that incorporate teamwork so they then learn how important it is for their new career. We do teams of 2 or 3 for group work and/or projects. (buddy system)
Gemma,
What a great service you are providing your students. I was the first in my family to complete high school and then college so I can relate to the challenges you have in trying to support and encourage these first timers. The travel that these students got to do I know has make an impact on them in relation to their field of study not to mention their personal lives. The motivation level has to be tremendous for these students and I would expect they will be excited to share their experiences when the fall session begins.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
What I've done in a couple of my classes is to form diverse students groups on project.
Mix and match my students between males/females, young/older and mix them up culturally. I teach full time at a predominant te Hispanic university in New Mexico and the majority of my students are first time college attendees. From 40% just graduated from HS, 50% returning to school to obtain new careers, 10% military. Of those raw percentages the majority of them are females and 95% of them are the first family members to attend college.
It is very important for us to offer them as much support as possible. Many that do drop out is not for lake of interest is other issues (family) that prevent them from finishing.
We offer Club participation to in force the lessons. I teach hospitality and Tourism, so during the regular school week we organize a club that seers to enforce the lectures and in the summer we actually travel to many place that would serve to offer a real life lesson on the topics and subject we've covered. I have traveled with 24 students most have never been out of the state let along an airplane. We travel to Costa Rica from New Mexico and our four was the student’s first hand everything about ecotourism. 100% better then any class, plus they start in school so they can come along on another class trip during the summer.
Similar to many of the other participants in this form, I like to pair students in groups. I being each class with some sort of ice breaker activity. I allow the students to share their motivation behind taking the course and discuss some of the things they would like to get out of the class.
I also allow group work and peer editing workshops over the course of the entire semester or block.
Valarie,
I like class openings like this because of the reasons you list. Ice breakers like this help to set a comfortable and supportive environment for students as they get settled into the course. As a result they see their fellow students more as colleagues and this helps when they need to work together on a project.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I usually have the students introduce themselves and tell why they have chosen this career path and what they have done in the past. This helps them to see each other as people not just a class mate. They will usually open up to each other more after this and start making connections with each other. I think this allows them to help each other.
Dominick,
So true because family support can be a powerful influence for staying in school by students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Having a strong family presence will guide the student through college. Students see that their family members are proud of them which entices them to complete their work.
Alan,
Your students are fortunate to have such a set up because this approach helps them to get settled into the school and their program. This way as they start a new course everything is not new to them and they can focus on what they need to do to be successful in the class in which they are enrolled.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When each quater starts I make sure that the new students have my cell number for texting things that I can direct them to if there are problems. Also before they came to there "core" class I have introduced myself to them and explain to them what to bring to there first day of class. They way that our curriculum is set up they have had a bit of time to get to know some people and set that support up.
Thomas,
Sharing like this can be beneficial to and for all students. They learn how to communicate with each other, expand their knowledge of the material and develop their career/social skills in relation to the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I often find students that do well in a particular subject are willing to help those that are weak in that that area because it 1st makes them feel good about helping others and it strengthens their knowledge of the of the subject because they have to teach it to their classmate.
Very often I have very different level of students. Making a little team is always helpful.
Nieva,
This is a good way to bring new members into the learning group. You are helping them to feel a part of the class while giving them connections to other class members.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Usually at the beginning of class or before class starts, I prepare the class with the idea that new members will be joining and I pair them with the new names in the new list.
The students create the "buddy system" with the new students. They exchange phone numbers and e-mail address and communicate often for questions or concerns.
The new students also get the teacher's school e-mail address and the phone number they can call to communicate with the teacher. This gives the new students some security in class.
Charles,
Learning to work in teams is a good skill for students to acquire because they are going to be working with others when they graduate. As for your two students getting along better you have gotten them to focus more on solving a common problem rather than focusing on their differences. This is a major step for both of them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have been teaming students up into small groups that change up biweekly to build better relationships with each other and it seems to be working I did have two students not getting along and now at least they are talking
Andrea,
Good idea, thanks for sharing this. I know this will be of help to other online instructors as they attempt to put together work groups.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In the fully online environment, creating small groups can be challenging because we may not be aware of demographics,culture, etc. Thus, another method of helping students create support systems is to help them identify others with similar interests in their non-core courses. Although career college students are very career-oriented, when they meet others in different programs who share their interests, support can be developed.
