Hi William,
Way to go in rising to the challenge of working with a diverse student body. By having such a supportive attitude I know your students are going to benefit from your leadership and encouragement.
Gary
Be there; be attentive; be empathetic and be fair.
When I taught at a local community college, one of the largest in the country, I often heard faculty (full-time and part-time) and staff complain about non-prepared students. A student is not going to be retained and successful with the instructor bemoaning a student's preparation. Instructors: stop blaming the victim! The students, with whatever preparation they have, are here, in our classrooms. Deal with it; get over it. Students, however they are prepared, must be respected. Everyone can learn. I cannot imagine teaching in a classroom where all the students had the same background and preparation. White bread and mayonaise, boring, not challenging and uninteresting.
Hi Bill,
Good comments about retention. We are the connecting points between student retention and student success. If we can encourage, support and direct the students in a way that enables them to be successful and feel supported they will stay in school. I like the way you expressed the simple formula for success in terms of getting a paycheck. No students----no paycheck. We all have to work on retention if we want to eat.
Gary
As Ms. Branciforte indicates, I believe insturctors are the primary determiners of student retention. We are the ones who see the students on a daily - weekly basis, we are the main liason between the students and any help-seeking behavior they may need, and we create their primary impression of our institution. If we exhibit the behaviors and attiudes discussed in the current study module, they most likely will continue attending our school - and our program (upon which my salary is based, by the way), and will become our best advetisers to others.
I think this is done by being in the discussion threads and essentially doing their job.
Retention shouldn't be a twist of manipulation to keep people so that the school can make money; which tends to be felt in numerous universities.
If the quality of instruction is there then the overall learning experience for the student will also be there; which results in the student matriculating through the college for their desired goal.
By simply doing our job to the best of our ability students will stay. If you were involved in a class with a caring instructor who was attentive and participating in the discussions while encouraging you along the way you would you stay right?
Hi Richard,
You are right about the limitations of contact but the personal touch even though by phone is still valued by students. By emailing and phone contact you are sending a message of support and caring and this is important for student to know.
Gary
By simply reaching out through emails, phone contact and providing incentives to students who need additional assistance.
Keeping in mind that my teaching role is as a Virtual Instructor so that personal contact with students is limited to the phone.
I try to speak briefly to each student everyday in an off topic way. They seem to like knowing something else about me or telling me something about themselves that is removed from the course requirements.Again adding that "human" factor.
Hi Lawrence,
You are right about the referral process. This is critical for the students so they can get the help they need from the people who can provide it. We instructors can be supportive but there are many issues that need to be handled by professionals in the human services fields.
Gary
It is so important to know your students in a timely fashion. By quickly addressing learning needs and insecurities you can have that meaningful conference to either: (a) bolster their confidence and/or (b) provide additional learning resources. Of course, if students realize you care about their success and know who they really are, they will worked harder and stay engaged in the program. I do find their problems outside of the classroom harder to deal with. Some come to us with complicated issues such as family discord, day care issues, health issues, or legal problems. That is where quick referral to school resources are key- even then it gets dicey.
Robert,
What a great post! I often call the lectures I am about to do the "Carol Show"! Yes, we need to tell them stories and entertain the students. Often, the material is so dry, that a reality checks to put the material into perspective. Many of my former students still send me an email after entering the work force and letting me know that "you were right Carol!"
Hi Lachlan,
These are bubble students. They are setting on the edge looking for a reason to quite school or blame someone for their failure. By providing some attention and support to them you can help them realize they can be successful and achieve their career goals.
Gary
I think instructors need to identify at-risk students. These students generally have lower motivation, self-discipline, grades, and have external issues impacting their school work. These students need more interaction with the instructor.
By treating a student with respect and admiration is the basis for understanding between student and instructor. Encouragement is often the center of student growth.
Hi David,
This is a great way to bring the online course into the lives of your students. You have developed ways of reaching out to them so they know you are there to help them but that in the end they have to do the work themselves. Online courses can be a challenge when it comes to bringing students into the "classroom" settings and you are doing it very well. Good job with your efforts and your students as well.
Gary
My biggest retention factor is the fact that since my class is completely online, I have no way of telling if a student has participated in the Live Chat session.
What I'm going to start doing is hiding something in the Live Chat that they will be required to answer on top of their already required work. Nothing difficult, just something to let me know if they attended or not.
When I have students watch the archives, I don't seem to have problems. Most of the problems lie when they are frustrated and they have already started reaching out to me for help before they watch anything. At that point I know they are trying to get out of it and are looking for a babysitter. Those I set straight right away and refer to the Live Chat for all their answers. I then conclude with them that IF after they have additional questions, we can then discuss. I rarely if ever get other questions and their work is well done.
If I notice their work isn't up to par, I contact them to make sure they understood what they saw. If not, I enfource that just because I asked you to watch the Live Chat, doesn't mean I'm not willing to help, just that there are requirements to the course that need to be followed and once those have been met, we can work more one on one. Those students seem to do better in my class then their previous ones.
We can take the needed actions and offer all the tools..but it again boils down to the individual and their dedication/commitment.
Hi Robert,
Good comments about how to target student retention by providing a variety of supports and instructional deliveries. All of these strategies help students to see how they fit into the course and how they can get a return on their investment. The investment meaning time, money and effort to gain an education that will help them to obtain their career goals.
Gary
I think there are many things that would help increase student retention, but making the class material relevant is critical. If they see no relevance, they will lose interest. They want to be able to apply what they learn to the job they are in (or trying to get into). The instructor also has to be somewhat of an entertainer. In a sense, we are preforming every time we are in front of the class. Sometimes the material may not be that interesting, so we have to keep it interesting for them. Appropriate humor is very helpful as are "stories" from the past that are pertinant. These also help to "humanize" the instructor so the student can relate better to them. All of this will help with student retention.
