The human facto is very important in student retention. If a student is not comfortable in class they may feel inadequate to other and not participate in the class discussions or group work.
Considering the student is essential to satisfaction and student retention. Especially in online classes this is true. The online instructor needs to reach out and make every effort in their responses, announcements, and emails to come across as human and a person that cares about the students success.
Hi Lisa,
Good point about how to encourage and support students. This is so important in student success. By presenting yourself as a caring supportive educator you help students to see how they can be successful in the course and progress in their education.
Gary
The "human factor" (i.e., to be fair and caring) is a CRITICAL component of student retention! I instruct in the online environment where it is even more critical. My goal as an online instructor is to personally reach out to each student at the beginning of the term with the intent of calling each student. However, instructors are not provided telephone numbers for students. I would like to see that change someday.
Meanwhile, I encourage students to call me with concerns, issues, etc. My preference is to "talk live" whenever possible. I DO care about each and every student and want them to know that through hearing the tone of my voice.
The human factor in student retention is very important . Student retention requires continuous development and maintenance of knowledge and skills which add ‘value’ to the productive life. Because learning has both intrinsic and extrinsic values the instructor must be mindful of student needs and wants.
Amy Branch
Appreciating and learning their names as quickly as i can,
essential, treating people with respect and creating a real bond and encouraging them can spring board their learning
Hi Paula,
Right you are. Students need to learn discipline in relation to completion of assignments and meeting deadlines. They will not be successful as workers if they cannot meet the required workplace demands and deadlines.
By treating each situation individually you are able to make a decision about how to handle the late assignment. This way they know you are supportive of them but are going to enforce the standards of the course and field.
Gary
I try my best to have empathy for students' life situations when that interferes with them turning in assignments on time. However, I am clear about certain guidelines within which "latitude" will be given a student who is behind, adhering to the school policies for such situations. The profession my students are heading into is a demanding and unforgiving one, when it comes to deadlines and details. I do not believe I am doing my students a favor if I cut them slack too often, no matter how good their reason is for not meeting deadlines for homework, for instance. Holding them accountable in meeting deadlings now is a building block for them to meet deadlines once they work as professionals.
Of course, the consequences for not meeting deadlines should be clearly laid out ahead for all students, and the demands placed upon them should be reasonable and supportive to effective learning. That goes without saying, hopefully.
Great way is which you add the Human Factor to your online course. Just something as simple as learning someone's name and a little bit about them really goes a long way.
The human factor is very important when it comes to student retention. If students do no feel connected to the course, the course material, the instructor, and even other students there might be a lack of motivation to be successful in the course. As the instructor you can encouraged the student individually with positive feedback, encourage the class with group activities and bring in guest speakers to show relevance of the course material in the real world. Being caring and empathetic to students encourages learning and motivates them to be successful.
Hi Anis,
Building that personal connection really helps to get their names planted in your mind. This is a good approach to not only remember their names you are also forming a connection with them as you learn more about their lives and career goals.
Gary
Jennifer: great approach and want to try it as well. calling the roll each class session & using their first names to ask them questions in class helps me as well.
Melonie: i like your approach & also try to do most of what you do, and especially, encourage them to stick it out and let them know that i want them to become successful in the course their career, and life.
gene
i respect each student as an adult & call them by their first names each class period. a caring attitude on my part & creating collaboration in student teams works most of the time for my classes.
I do have a hard time too remember students name. Easy for me to remember good students, the very "bad" ones (the ones that need an extra attention). But in between, really having a hard time. What’s help me is talk to them one by one while returning their homework.
The human factor is important in the retention of students. Students may be unsure and concerned about their chance of success. If an instructor can learn the students names and get an idea about the students personally then it makes it easier to help build the student's confidence. Otherwise you lose students that could have succeeded because they just needed some confidence in the beginning.
This works well for me as well. I have the (pardon the term) luxury of having many life experiences. I use these experiences, dropping out of school at an early age and not seeking to further my education for more than 20 years. This works well for my older students as well. if someone can obtain an associates, bachelors, two masters, and a doctoral in less than 20 years after going back to school in their mid thirties, they start to feel as if they could do it as well. My extreme example tends to motivate all of my students.
I mentioned below personal illness or even illness in the family as another incident that comes into play within the realm of student retention. I work with my students as much as I can within the confines of the course and school requirements. I have rarely had students who could not complete all tasks due to situations in their lives. In the live chat environment, I have the luxury of seeing the names of the students; however, I have the drawback of being disconnected from them on a personal front, I do not get to work face to face with them.
It is very important. In the online environment, retention can be very difficult. I have had many students want to drop due to the way tasks are structured and seem complex. I have used this opportunity to explain that these are the steps that you normally follow when writing. Instead of recreating all of the work for each task, we are breaking the work down to focus on each step. As you complete each task you will find that you have simply added to the previous assignment before submitting your final draft. Once they see how the tasks are inter-connected, the complexity is removed and the students are quite willing to complete the course. Other times it is of a personal nature. I have spent countless hours with students explaining how I would not allow an illness outside of their control cause them to miss out on a few assignments.
