Hi Carrie,
Thanks for this simple advice. The students need to make sure they follow these steps if they are going to find balance in their learning lives.
Gary
Hi Shirl,
This is a great way to customize your instruction. By "reading" your students as you are you are able to zero in on what the learning needs of the students are at this point in time.
Gary
Determine who are the uppers, downers, and vultures in their lives. Who do they need to spend more time with? Who do they need to spend less time with? Who do they need to "divorce?"
I think that new student orientation is a great place to meet students that will be in the same program and may also be in the same place in life (as this is usually a little more relaxed setting). I also implement small group or partner projects into my class. This gives students a chance to talk to each other about the material as well as get to know each other too (as we all know that talk about stuff other the class too).
By asking them first, if they have anyone outside of school to lend them support and encouragement. If they are not sure, or don't know, I can help them identify some sources. Internally, I can share with them some of the resources the school has to support students; for example, clubs, tutoring assistance, etc.
Lastly, I can make sure they know that I am available inside and outside the classroom to address their concerns and questions.
My solution to this is to ask what the know. Students are much more apt to talk about what they know than what they do not know. I will use my live chats to talk about the key points of tasks and identify what I do not need to lecture on during the session. This allows me to get more time in on the things that matter, instead of "preaching to the choir" by continually teaching what is old knowledge to the class. I will usually hold seperate sessions for students who require additional information or those who are not with the class.
I wholeheartedly agree. Sometimes the price of learning is the mistakes that we make. I will allow my students to resubmit work, if they can prove that they have learned from their mistakes and implement the new knowledge into the resubmitted document!
In my teaching environment, students introduce themselves and give a littlet bit of background about their experiences, goals, and what they want to get out of the course. I use this opportunity to understand what experiences the students have, how it can work toward boosting the class's experience. I also review their basic writing abilities and use this to identify possible areas of opportunities. It also provides a great opportunity to find those who may be able to provide support to other students. I find students who can act as support links for others, gather their permission to act as "tutors" for other students then match them up as the needs present themselves.
In taking a course on line it is important to let the students know about all of the support available to them. If I can not immediately help a student I always suggest that the student's advisor might be better able to assist with the problem. I try to get to know something about each student. That way I can relate more personaly. I especially like to know the age of my students. Family support is critical in the on line environment. Students have to have a quiet place to listen to or otherwise review course materials. They need support in getting every day tasks done so that they can complete course work on time. The on line school I work for has excellent resources which I alway refer the students to.
In my discussion forums I try to include a student lounge or open discussion forum. This is not the only way to get the students to know each other but it at least provides a place to start.
Steven,
I've seen similar challenges where I work as both staff and faculty. We provide so many opportunities to help the students succeed, but it is ultimately up to them to grasp those opportunities. I've learned to not let it frustrate me, though. I realize that some students need to go through some other experiences before they are ready to go to college. I explain to my staff that my goal is for a student to never leave college because s/he felt unsupported. If that student has too much going on in his/her personal life, I can't necessarily control that. Those students will take a bit of time on their own and will come back when they are ready. I don't ever want them leaving because they feel like we don't care or don't want them to succeed. None of us will ever be able to reach 100% retention, but we can focus on supporting 100% of our students.
Rocie,
I take the same approach. I explain to my students that "unexpected" difficulties are not really unexpected. They always happen! If the students have a plan of action to help them overcome these challenges, they don't have to be stopped by these challenges. I use the metaphor of driving. I explain that speed bumps tell us to slow down, so we do. We slow down, carefully get over the bump, then pick back up. If we can see the speed bumps coming, we start slowing down before we get there so we can get over them without a problem. If there is no foresight, we will soar over the speed bump and cause damage to our cars. That will force us to completely stop. It is much more expensive and time consuming to stop all together rather than just slowing down in the mean time. Life and school challenges are the same way.
We have new student orientation. I teach many of the new start classes. The syllabus is fully explained the first day of class and how the class will relate and help them in their field of study. I provide office hours for one on one help and relate to all students to ask questions. The classroom is a relaxed environment, which I feel is important.
I agree. Students need some kind of support system in ALL areas of their life. Life can be overwhelming. We talk about the different types of support systems and which areas of life they can help in.
Often during my icebreaker activity in my first class, I find out if the student has family support. I also encourage students throughout their career at the school to utilize internal and external support.
I can encourage students to network. Foster an environment were they can get to know their peers. (You never know when someone else may have similar experiences & positive advice).
I can remind the student of the multiple services that the school has to assist with External needs, as well as, Internal needs.
I teach Speech to new culinary students. We work at first on several team presentations where they learn not only to work together but usually become mini support groups and they usually create a closeness that overlaps with other school work and classes. It also helps desensitive the scariness of speaking in public.
Ask them to examine their life situation, eg living situations, friends, family members, peers, student peers, and give a specific support characteristic that they all have. Helps them to identify where they can go for assistance when they need it.
One strategy is by getting to know a bit about each student's background. I have used a fun group activity as a first day icebreaker
Encourage students to get involved and ask questions. The class room environment that I try to present is to encourage questions. Verbal and non-verbal techniques are used
