support students
I always try to help any student who needs extra help to keep up with the class due to personal problems
I think that providing extra help to a student is part of the job regardless of the reason. An instructor should want all students to succeed in their class....some students will need a little more attention then others.
I provide extra help to my students before and after class. The students are happy to get extra help.
Sometimes I have trouble offering support and encouragement to struggling students. I am always afraid of saying things like "I believe in you" or "I think you can do it". I can sense that this kind of encouragement might benefit the student, but I always worry that if in the end, they don't pass they will come back and say, "But you said that I could do it. I tried, why didn't I pass?". I think the students can sense my concern and they don't always feel that I'm being sincere when I do try to offer encouragement.
How do you offer sincere encouragement, without giving the student the impression that if they just stick with it and keep trying, then they will automatically pass?
Hi Scot,
This is a good approach. Students need support and encouragement. The more of each you can provide the greater their engagement will be.
Gary
Supporting students can be hard to do I find that if you express the fact that you believe in them and give them positive feed back that they will do much better than telling them they need to do more if they want to pass your class.
I tell them that there are challenges we all face, and that we must overcome them and push toward your goal. encouraging your students to press on gives them hope and helps them to know that you care.
I let the students know that I understand the challenges they have, but on the same hand remind them that I am there to help them overcome and succeed, EVERYDAY!
Supporting students has to be maintained at a professional level and not become personal. Support for the classroom should be provided but limited to on campus learning activities.
I provide extra help to my students before and after class.
Hi Janet,
Don't feel alone on this. It happens all the time or at least the students try to push you over all the time. I help my students all I can but I have "accountability points" throughout the development of a project. Accountability points are points along the way that students have to meet in order to keep their projects progressing toward completion. If they don't meet these completion points I talk with them and set deadlines they have to meet. The point is I will help them but I will not enable them nor do the work for them. If they do not contribute to the effort they are going to be in trouble because I won't either. In many cases it would be much easier for me to just edit or add something to the assignment but then I would be enabling them and with the sense of entitlement they have already I want to make sure that I am not enabling.
Gary
Have you ever discovered students who use your willingness to help as a way to manipulate you into being more of a push over then you are comfortable with? I ask because I have been very helpful and while that has worked well with some students I have had them take advantage.
