Knowing your students.
Knowing your students interests helps in motivating them.
Nancy,
I like this perspective. You are showing each student how he/she fits in the class and the contributions they can make to the class. This greatly increases their value to the class and their perception of where they fit in the class.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I like to think of my class as a team with each player having their own unique skill set. Getting to know each student's name and what they bring to the game is essential for the class to be a success as a whole.
Randy,
I like the way you open your new classes. I do something very similar (slightly different ice breaker) and it is worth the time investment. My students know each other, have shared some laughs, had some fun, got to know me as an instructor plus set the tone for the class. This is very important because the coming weeks are going to involve some intense effort and learning requirements so I want my students to see themselves as a part of a learning community and this type of opening helps to do so.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It is important to know your students as well as you can. In fact, I devote the entire first class meeting of four hours in doing exactly this.
I have the student divide up into groups of two, hand out a sheet containing possible questions (Why are you taking this class; what's your favorite activity, etc.), and give them 15-20 minutes to question and get to know each other. After this period of time I have the students come to the front of the room in pairs, and each student introduces the other to the class while giving information he or she has discovered about the partner. I allow the audience to ask any questions they may have concerning the two presenters, and I also manage to get the two to elaborate on anything that seems especially interesting.
This takes quite a bit of time, but it gets the class off on the direction of knowing and caring about each other, establishing rapport in the process. Plus, it's just fun!
It does help instruct them better
I agree with you 100%. This is especially important when you have a cohort group that has been together for a while and you as the instructor is the new one to the group. By getting to know them not only as a group but also as individuals, it has helped me considerable in building a good working relationship with them and it has helped the learning process considerably in my class.
To much time spent doing this will cause distrations.
Mark,
Instructors sometimes forget the human factor and outside activities that students like to talk about. I try to bring in some small talk at the beginning of each class as the students get settled in for the reasons you mentioned. Real life has a way of creeping into the classroom and needs to be dealt with and then move on.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It also helps to talk with, I mean actually communicate with, your students on non-class related things. Such as the traffic jams, sports teams, social areas: this helps establish a common bond between the age/experience groups as well as you're appearing more human to them as well.
Knowing my students names and why they are enrolled in our college allows me to have a comfortable class and lets us work as a "family" in our learning.
Susan,
Knowing you are there to support them if they put forth the effort is worth a lot to an adult students. Knowing you care about them and their success is even a greater comfort to them.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
With so many adult learners returning to education, I believe as an instructor it helps to take the time to learn who they are and what they desire from their educational experience. This way as their instructor I am able to meet the needs of all my students.
I try to get to know something unique about each of my students so that I can relate to them directly. This seems to help me gain rapport with my students regardless of their age.
I have found that there are so many different types of students with different backgrounds, obstacles and learning styles. It does really help to get to know them a bit so I can find out what types of instructional methods work the best in order to be as inclusive as possible.
