Being Successful in College
What are some ways you can help students to overcome their fear of not being successful in their college work?
Amy,
This is an important part of the instructional process. By helping students to have this mind set then you are showing them the value of the course content that is being shared.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think students need to have a clear mind set of what they are learning and being able to apply to their daily life as well as in experiences they have had.
Wendy,
Not really. Older students in any college setting have the fear of failing because they feel they are not current on technology, content or study habits. In addition, they fear they will be made fun of by younger students so there is the social dynamic going on as well. The key to getting them settled into any post-secondary class is to help them feel accepted and comfortable. Then if you can provide them with early success in the course where they can use their life experiences to help them their self confidence really soars. I provide my classes with guided notes and this helps a lot with my older students because they have the key concepts identified for them so they can keep up with the class while they are honing their study skills.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have a question for you, Gary. Do you find adult students have different fears in career colleges as opposed to regular colleges?
Wendy Webster
Mariann,
This is a very good point. They need to be able to visualize in their minds their success and creating that visualization is our job. The more we can help them in this the greater engagement we are going to get from out students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Being successful in college is a mind set. I often remind people that everyone has the same amount of time in a day, only the access to resources varies. Utilizing resources and making maximal use of one's time are critical factors in college success. You must have the image of being successful and doing well. You must be professional in order to tap into the mind set of success.
Lori,
This is such a great strategy to follow. You are not only imparting content to your students you are helping them with their character development as well. This helps them as their prepare to enter the workplace and become successful in their careers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Not only do I start the first class with an inspiring message....but I continue to end EVERY class with an inspiring message. I have a book with different topics in it that I access toward the end of the day based on the challenges of that particular day....such as respect, integrity, teamwork, etc. I pick an inspiring message from a topic and share it with my students so that we can end the day on a "high" note. They really give me positive feedback for this practice and it seems to invoke them to stop and think about a particular subject that happened that day. It is great for us all!
I agree wholeheartedly with starting the class off like that. They need to know that you will be part of the process to help them succeed and will be an encourager along the way along with giving constructive input.
James,
Adults coming back to school are taking a big risk because they are not sure they can be successful in the classroom. The more confidence you can help them build the better. It is amazing how a little success can generate big returns for these students and they start to see that in fact they can be successful and that they are making progress in their career training.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Dave,
I think this is a key role for an adult educator to play. The more of a mentor or coach that you can be the more value they will associate with the course and how you are helping them move closer to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe that it starts with making a safe and learning friendly environment for the students. Once that is established you can make the fear level diminish. Also to provide with clear objectives and adequate time to accomplish their assignments. This will give the student less stress knowing what to expect. A well structured syllabus is a great tool to assist here as well.
Great Question. I set the tone of my class that I'm here to coach and encourage my students. I explain to them my goal is ultimately help them learn and become more successful; NOT be the judge, jury, and hangman. When students see I'm earnest in what I say, they try harder and want to be successful - love adult learners as it's so much different that younger student teaching!
Joe,
A great list of ways to prepare for and include students in getting a new course off to a good start. All of these elements contribute to student engagement and success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Get to know your students. Understand their needs, desires and experiances. Create a learning environment where the class learns from each other. True adult learning draws on the richness of the body of knowledge in the class, not just the instructor. Design classroom learning to fit a variety of different learning styles. Meet eth intrinsive and extrinsive needs as best you can given the resourses avaialble. Mitigate shortfalls. Encourage successes but don't lower standards. Provide adaptations and assistance to those students who need it. Make the classroom a learning experiance in which they want to participate.
Lisa,
Adult learners need a lot of reinforcement when they are starting a new course. Reinforcement helps to build their self confidence and this moves them closer to course success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
With constant encouragement, praise and reinforcement that they can do this will help them overcome their fear.
Chris,
This is such great advice to share with new students. Many of them as you have probably encountered do no have a realistic picture of what they need to do as college students. Your advice gets them to focus in on what it takes to be successful and how to develop study skills.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Share your own fears when you entered college. Encourage them to handle it in "small chunks"; day by day and week to week. Don't look at too much at once or too far ahead that will create an overwhelmed feeling of fear. Assure them of your support role for them throughout their college time.
