Retention Strategies for disengaged learners
The very first activity should be peer introductions. I feel it's vital to retention when everyone feels included. What I do is allow each student to turn to the student to their left and to their right and to personally introduce themselves. This is a great way to build rapport and familiarity among everyone. I do this regardless of their time in a program and notice a big difference in their attitude towards each other. This is one of the first things I do even before I hand out the syllabus. It works well and I get to see who is or is not going to a possible behavioral challenge right from the beginning. I watch closely as they introduce each other and I allow time to tell why they are in their chosen program and a bit of background about themselves.
Tamara I agree. For me, this always "break" the ice and open up the students to feel more comfortable with one another. It also makes them feel more confident in the class itself. I have also noticed that students feel more prone to asks questions when they don't understand once we have conducted peer introductions.
I think this is a great idea. I like to do introductions on the first day of class also, but when you have new students in your class, you never know who is going to have a problem with something as simple as sharing their name in front of the class. By having them do what you suggest, they are on a more personal level and feel as though they are already getting to know someone in the class on a personal level immediately.
