Steve, this is a great question, what common challenge do my students need help with? What they need help with is understanding that everybody is not on the same playing field as some of the students, because some grew up working on equipment with their family others had not and getting students to understand that they may ask alot of questions is part of the class and they may get some more information from others asking questions.
keeping the students interested in education. Some students work full time and go to school so i have to keep their attention by being active with students and keeping students on task. One of the ways is i will have students come up and do group activities like crossword puzzles on the white board...works well.
Steve:
The most common challenge I help the students with on a daily basis is their ability to retain learned information. Invariably, most of the students will forget from one day to the next the information I tried to get across to them. What I do to overcome this tendency, is to offer quick reviews each day of the previous day's material before beginning the topics of the day.
This seem to help jog their memories and make them more successful during the course tests and, hopefully, during their careers after school.
Hi Rich,
This is an ongoing challenge for instructors. Instructors in technical areas don't have the time to remediate reading and math deficiencies. This is why a good baseline assessment should be done with all incoming students. What instructors can do is to provide supports such as guided notes and structured outlines to help students to identify the critical content points.
Gary
For me ease fears many have and make my self accessible to them. Let them know you care. And if able willing to assist them.
The most common challenge that I see are students that are not prepared to take care of each business alone. They have no concept of how to prioritize time. By teaching them how to develop a logical procedure, they get better at managing their time.
Students that can not read or do simple math are the biggest challenge for me and many of my fellow instructors. With out an enterance exam for entry into a technical career field many of these students are wasting their time. Unless they take charge of their lives and accel at something they are often doomed. These challenging students need lots of TLC and help with finding their nitch in life.
Hi Michael,
You have a good plan for creating a solid foundation for your students. The progression in the class gives the opportunity to see how they are building their skills as well as seeing how applications can be made.
I like your one on one method because as you say it reduces fear and lets the students complete their assigned work. This will prepare them for the real world that they will soon be entering.
Gary
The most common challenge I face is getting students to just try doing basic math problems (adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing) on a calculator or using a computer to do some of their lab assignments. I’m seeing a few of these students in each class (they could be from the young or older age groups) that are challenged in these areas and where lead to believe that they would not have to do this type of work in their career field of choice.
I have these math exercises for them to do as a way of reawakening their skills in doing math in preparation for writing repair orders. Once they learn that they are not being graded on these that seem to convince them to try. When a mistake is made I highlight the problem and we will go over the problem together and see if they can learn from their mistake and avoid repeating the same mistake in the future. A lot of times the wrong answer was a result of a simple mistake. The secret here is to explain that mistakes are going to happen and it’s how we respond to them when they do that will determine if we are going to have the confidence to resolve them. Better to make the mistakes here in the classroom and learn from them then to make a costly mistake in the field.
The second area is the fear of computers. They have to learn the software program they are using to produce electronic repair orders as they are writing them. They are given a five page detailed procedure on how to do this as an aid. When they find out that this procedural document can be used during the test you can see the fear melt away from their eyes. Some students need that extra 1 on 1 encouragement for the first couple of repair orders then they start gaining more confidence on their abilities and their productivity of completing the assignments soars. Next thing you know you are observing them helping their fellow students with their assignments, encouraging them to get the assignment done.
Making them feel comfortable. A place where they can feel relaxed so they will ask questions. I feel in this state of mind they tend to listen better, pay more attention to their work, & have an easier time of rising to the challenges of the courses they have selected.
One of the most common challenges that I find myself helping the students with is the need for them to start gaining more confidence in themselves. Once they gain this added knowledge and confidence their productivity improves, they establish a thought process that enables them to deal with the the day to day challenges they will face in their jobs.They begin to think outside the box and look for easier solutions.
I try to meet every student with a hello or a smile. if they need help with a locked car door. ill say ive done that before myself. it helps them relax and feel better about the situtation.if they have a broken part ill do my best to fix or repair it for them.it helps them and they feel better about the school as a whole.some times its the small things that will help them feel better about being here.
Trying to keep everyone motivated in the class due to different levels of experience, age and ability. There is also some students that work who may fall asleep so it has to be interesting.
Hi Audie,
You make a good point. You are getting them ready for the real world so they need to experience the consequences of the real world in a way that prepares them. They have to be motivated to put forth the effort if they don't you are right their wallet will be impacted or they may not even have $ to put in the wallet.
Gary
They tend to not manage time very well and waite until the end of the couse to turn in the work to be scored and entered i thr roll book.I give them all a said cut off time and when the work is late they can only get half the credit of that lab assignment. They have to be held accountable for their choices and actions. No one is babysit with them in the field. I knoe how to hurt a tech and that is through the w
wallet.
Audie Toney
TTL Ph 35
Avondale Az.
Steve,
One a regular bassis, I consistently see students that lack the confidence, wether it be in lab or learning and understanding the course material.
These students, as long as they are applying themselves and using the available service information, I will make an extra effort
to see that they are understanding the material and lab excersises.
This would include, finding time afterclass, taking extra time in lab,and working with them in a one on one situation. I rarely have someone that I cant build their confidence even a little.
The biggest challenge I see with my student is Retention. My students don’t seem to retain vital information that is presented to them during my lectures. I encourage note talking and go over organizational skills. (What good are notes if you can’t find them?) During my lecture I also continuously am going around asking questions that are relevant to what we are discussing. I use Power Point, write notes on the board and give daily Progress Reviews. I really try to keep my class engaged in the material being covered and yet I still have a problem with students regurgitating what we have just covered in class.
I see that a lot of young students today have very short attention spans. They grew up in a fast paced world and are not willing to sit still for very long. This requires frequently changing states and interjecting lots of up to date examples of the "latest and greatest" information that they can relate to. This creates further challenges as it can become easy to get too far off track if you don't have a plan on how to move back into the material that has to be covered without instantly deflating any momentum you built up.
Trying to get students to follow instructions.If they can follow verbal or wrtten instruction they can do anything but just getting that to take place is a big problem,even with a demo it is difficult.
keeping them on task and managing the time that is available. I constantly stress the importance of staying on task and that every task has a time frame that must be met.I tell them this is how it is done in the field,and this is how you will be payed.our 3 week courses are 90 hours,split classroom then lab, and classes on holidays we lose 2 full days.at these times i lean on my students, they respond eventually,I continue to stress that all of the tasks will be completed and that it is mandatory,with no excuses, no complaints, this is what I expect from you.I do tell them that they can do what I have asked of them,and I have faith in them. this is how I manage this common challange.
