Hi Georgia,
Great list and great advice for all instructors. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Gary
The following factors can contribute to my increasing student retention as an instructor:
• Career goals that students can bring to the class setting
• Identification of student needs
• Understanding student frustrations with the school setting and related to their own abilities
• Sharing background experiences
• Providing personal attention
• Greeting and acknowledging every student at the beginning of each class
• Helping students find personal meaning and value in the material
• Providing positive feedback that supports students' beliefs that they can do well in my course
• Determining how to present requirements for high quality work
Hi Patricia,
Sometimes you aren't able to. They simply won't make it in the course. What do do when I see a problem like this starting I talk individually to the student to see what the situation is and if I can be of any help. Often this personal approach and the fact that I am interested in their success is enough to get them coming back to class. I also reach out to them via technology to let them know they are missed and that I will welcome them back.
Gary
How do you motivate someone if they do not attend regularly?
Letting students realize missing one day is like missing a week. Let them know you can go forward and its hard to go back. I always play a game a student is gone as well. This makes them not want to miss a day.
The Importance of Attendance expalin to students your class is like a movie or book. If you miss part of it they will not know what has happened. I also encourage students to have study buddies some one they can talk to about school, family ,or other topics.
Calling students who miss class and letting them know what we did and the homework they need to have done has also worked for me.
Hi Diane,
Right you are. In addition it makes teaching a lot more fun for the instructor because the students will be engaged at a much higher level.
Gary
Make your class sessions relevant to the students. If they realize how interesting and important the class content will be, they tend to be more consistent in attendance.
Hi Chadd,
I agree with you about the critical role that instructors play in student retention. By establishing rapport with students respect will be a two way street and that greatly enhances learning.
Gary
An instructor is the first line of student retention. It is how instructors interact with the students that helps create a link to the students. With this bond, students come to their instructors with problems and concerns that might cause them to leave.
Preparing ahead of time so that you are comfortable with the material is a huge part of creating an environment the students want to participate in. It seems very basic, but I have had comments from students that some of the instructors I manage don't seem to know the material very well. In these classes, the overall level of achievement goes down, and I end up dealing with more student complaints and drops than in classes where the instructor is knowledgeable and confident in the material.
Hi Jonathan,
You are giving your students some great advice on how to be successful as college students. Many of them don't know how to organize their study efforts do well know how to study. Your pointers are valuable for them to follow. This way they know how to be successful if they are willing to follow your advice.
Thanks for sharing these strategies with us.
Gary
I have found that several methods need to be employed to help student retention and retrieval. Most often I start with a review from the last class’ material. I try to engage students by calling on them personally and asking them a direct question from the last class. I try to make sure that each student was asked at least one question. If they don’t know, I go to another student, but I will go back to the original student with an easier question (softball) later before moving on. I also try to ask general questions at the end of class to see if they can recall the earlier material from that class and see how it ties into the overall lecture.
I have also found mnemonic devises like acronyms or studying the prefixes and suffixes have helped students retain greater amounts of material. Seeing that they have to learn a copious amount of material every 5 weeks can be overwhelming. I try to diffuse their fear by acknowledging that 100% retention is basically not possible, but getting a ‘D’ or ‘F’ meant they never cracked open their book and they looked to lectures as the ‘end all be all’ or studying. If they read ahead or overviewed at all, retention would have been a lot easier.
I also advise students to study in 10-15 minute increments in the morning and at night. This way, in a 5 day work week, they will have studied close to 2 & ½ hours without even counting the weekends. This way the material will always seem fresh.
Hi Erica,
I have the same request of my students and it really helps me to stay on top of where my students are and what is happening with their attendance. It also lends an air of accountability when they send me an email telling me they will be missing class. I think it encourages them to attend if at all possible.
Gary
I have a similar request of my students. Whenever the student is going to be absent, I request that they send me an email. That allows me to not only understand why the student is absent, but also how I can help.
Increasing student retention, I beleive also requires an instructor who is passionate about what they do and the opportunity to use their past experiences to engage a wide variety of students. I think there must be an element in the classroom that the instructor expects the best out of the students but also that the instructor is concerned with helping the students succeed. This does not mean that we do what the student should be doing, but we have to be willing to meet with students to help them understand difficult areas of the course.
Hi Paul,
Students need this reassurance at times throughout the course so the more we as instructors can do this the more accurate the message will be for students internalize.
Gary
Hi Paul,
This is the foundation of student rapport. By earning the respect of the students instructors have a good start on developing rapport.
Thanks for your comments about this.
Gary
That is a good approach. I would also add that it is important for the school administration to support instructors in removing students from class when they refuse to engage in the material or are disruptive. A good student services department or counselor may be able to provide additional help or guidance to the student, when the instructor is not able to deal with such a student in class due to time or other factors.
That is good. At several points in the term, I have a follow up discussion with students where they re-express their goals and what they hope to get from the course. It shows them they are reaching and/or moving toward reaching their course goals.
