I find that the human factor is very important to my teaching. It allows my students to see that I to am a "human" too, meaning I too have a life outside of the classroom. They feel that they can trust me and that I am there to help them. This is a great aid with helping with retention of the students in my classroom.
The most important feature in retention is in the student's perception of the value of what they're learning. If they can see applications outside of the classroom and the instruction brings real examples of how and why the material learned can effect their success outside of the classroom they'll feel more engaged and interactive. It creates that personal and emotional attachment to the outcomes versus just the grade.
The human factor is very important in retention. It is easier to keep a student enrolled if the students feel that the instructors and administrators care about them and their success. Instructors who take the time to talk to their students and give positive feedback with their coursework can help in the retention efforts. Also, good communication is key (i.e. like sending an email to students to touch base with them).
I consider Human factor as one of the most important factor for student retention in the class. Students often fear of going to school and face the instructor in the class rom. If the instructor make the students feel the class room as home then it will be easy for both the instructor and the students to participate in the active learning process. The human factor comes in to picture in understanding the student's psychology and their behavior in the class room. If an instructor has an insight over the student's mentality and behavior, it will be easy for the instructor to communicate and establish a rapport with the students.
Hi Daniel,
Right you are. I can tell that you have had extensive experience in working with and ramping up people. By setting the positive tone you have them ready to go to the next level of learning. We have to continually be forward focused. If we aren't then our students won't be either.
Gary
The human factor in retention is key, however, the more classes you manage, the more difficult it can be to keep it in mind. In the classroom I try to remain supportive and caring, but I also have to support faculty who teach several more classes than I ever have. I am sympathetic to their concerns about finding balance in upholding class policies while keeping the human factor in mind. While I think it is important in student retention, there is something to be said about creating fair policies that will support most students and encourage responsibility and ownership.
As a professor in Human Resources, I not only see the human factor in the operations of any organization, but it is clear in the classroom. Much like developing training programs for employees, or being a change agent within an organization, as an instructor you fill these rolls and have to realize the human factor of it all. As the authority figure in the room, you have control over the emotions of the group, and the buy-in the students will have. We have learned with the materials that we can measure the state of the students, but that initial greeting and up-beat nature of an instructor can change the mood of a student and let you have a very effective learning environment. Knowing that one sour mood can effect the class, realizing that outside factors can interrupt learning, and understanding that the human factors that affect your day to day life affect your students too, is vital to any successful instructor.
Hi Steve,
Good point about how to retain students. The idea is simple but the impact great. By being made to feel welcome and accepted students can increase their self esteem and prosper in the class.
Gary
As a university administrator, I have often seen how a sympathetic, human touch can change the way that a student perceives a subject and a classroom. Often times, when students are subject to a cold, inflexible instructor, students will often complain and student performance almost always drops. However, an instructor that finds a way to sympathetically resolve issues within the classroom very rarely finds that disputes within the classroom cannot be resolved, and tensions cannot be settled.
Of course, while it is very important for an instructor to be sociable and preserve a human element within the classroom, it is equally as important to enforce school policies and establish rules, so that classroom structure and discipline is retained.
Very!! Students need to feel valued and made to feel welcome. We as instructors have no idea many times as to the backround of a given student. The interest we show in them may very well be the only encouragement that student sees. As the text says, we all need to feel valued at times.
Hi Nolan,
Very true. We all want to be treated fairly and students are no exception. By seeing their instructor as being fair and consistent students can get the feeling that they can be successful in the course.
Gary
Academic success and student retention depend on instructor-student interaction. Recognizing students' personality types and their corresponding learning styles, modes of communication needs will enable us to create a learning environment with an increase in retention.
It is a very important factor in retention. For some students it is probably the most important factor. For me, I think that the idea of fairness plays a large role. Students may feel badly about many things, but they will often times have an overall positive feeling if they are treated fairly.
There can definitely be a gradation to it. You can be a professor and come into to class and give a lecture and leave....only talking to students when they ask you questions. Or you can work to get to know your students and help them learn and grow and achieve their goals.
I definitely agree that the student is the customer. They are the ones paying for school, taking on the challenge, and working hard to achieve their goal. We should strive to reach them individually and help them with their goals. I too ask my students about their experiences and their goals on the first day of class.
Hi Neal,
Good question concerning who is the customer. I believe as do you it is the student because the school exists for the purpose of education the student. Thus, we need to be student centered in our approach.
The employer hires the product that is produced by the school (the student) but only after that product has been through the training process. During the student is the customer, after graduation it is the employer that is the consumer.
Gary
Communication is so important in the human factor. I try to let me students know that if they communicate with me, then we can overcome any obstacle they have by working together.
There is some debate at our school as to who is our customer. Some say it is the employer who hires our student others feel it is the student who pays to be here. Myself I think it is the student and therefore are due a certian level of service from the instructor.To that end I try to learn names and backrounds early in the course. Also I like to ask them where they hope to be in a year or two from now. As a student and a customer I think they have a right to expect a competent and dedicated instructor and the human factor is one of the top factors contributing to student retention.
I agree with you. The Human Factor is so important. Letting them know that you are willing to work around any life interuptions to help them get thru the course, makes a huge difference. We had a problem with the weather in early December and I met with each student individually regarding their absence, and helped them get caught up.
Hi Diane,
Good question-similar to the tree falling in the forest and on one hearing it. Yes, there will be some form of human factor operating when two humans interact but the question is how they interact. Instructors need to consider how they are being received by the students in terms their communication patterns.
Gary
