The Human Factor in Retention
How important is the human factor in student retention?
Soneka,
You make a very good point about the role humanity plays in the workplace. The emotional intelligence of students and how they perceive their role in their profession goes a long way in helping them to fit into the class and interacting with others.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When we speak of emulating the work place in the learning environment I believe that to a certain extent we are somewhat disingenuous. Truth is that in many organizations, employees are expected to leave their humanity at the door and almost behave like robots. The expectation is that all personal problems should be left at the door and employees deliver their assigned objectives regardless of their situations. I believe that teaching humanity in the classroom needs to extend into helping students extend this into the workplace. How we treat our students will translate into a better employee who learns to operate opposite of many of the prevailing corporate cultures.
Kirk,
This shows that you value your students and care enough about them to learn their names and something about them personally. This is the beginning of earning their respect and the development of rapport and that leads to increased student engagement.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Knowing all of their names is very important to me as an instructor. Treating students professionally, provides an axample of acceptable behavior
Jeffery,
Yes, it is and this is such an important point to remember as we approach our classroom or lab each time.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is essential. The instructor's human factor, emotional IQ, etc, is just as important as their knowledge of the subject matter. The human factor is a large portion of the conduit by which instructors engage and teach their students. Knowledge sans effective delivery is useless in a teaching atmosphere.
Gabriel,
The key to successful student engagement is adapting instruction to meet the individual needs of the students. This is why one instructional method does not work for all students. An instructor must be able to modify the content or delivery to meet these needs while keeping the course on track and moving forward.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is very important. An instructor needs to relate to all his students. Many instructors try to hard in following the lesson plan exactly. Each group of students is different. An instructor needs to respect those differences and make sure to teach according to the population. Students who see their instructors as caring and nurturing will perform better.
It is very important. Students need to know the instructor is fair and caring. This needs to be communicated through actions of the instructor.
I believe that retaining a student is fundamental to the ability of an institution to carry out its mission. A high rate of attrition is not only a fiscal problem for schools, but a symbolic failure of an institution to achieve its purpose.
John,
Right you are about the influence of external factors on the lives of the students. We can only support our students and help them within the confines of the school and hope they will be able to overcome these life challenges and remain successful in school.
Gary
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Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Unfortunately we have no control over a student’s personal life circumstances so we as instructors have very little control over if they show up to class or not, all we can do is be compassionate to how they are feeling and try to keep them engaged with the class and hope they pull thru
Lucille,
Knowing that they have your support is very important to the students. They know they have someone they can relate to and call upon as needed and this goes a long way in helping them with their self confidence.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Brian,
As you have encountered students really perk up when you share stories from the field with them. These stories help the students to make application of and see relevance in what is being taught. This increases the ROI of the course so they start to how they can use what is being taught.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I always tell my students i am here for them, it is all about them.students need and want to know you care. make that known on day one of your class they will stay with you until the end.
The human factor is very important in my classroom. I do my best to show my students that I care about how well the receive and understand the material. I often ask how they are understanding the material. My favorite activity is to tell real-life experiences so they understand that I made mistakes in my career also.
Mary,
This is great advice for other instructors to follow. You are right about the value that students associate with this type of support and encouragement. A few words can make the difference between a student staying or leaving school. We do impact the lives of our students in so many ways.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree! It is important to show the students that you care about each one of them as an individual. It is also important to give credit where credit is due. There have been multiple times when a student has come to me to thank me for listening to them, or giving them praise for a job well done. It only takes a few seconds to give someone a kind word of encouragement.
That is a wonderful goal to have for your class. I believe if they enjoy the learning environment then they will learn more effectively.
