Charles, Career Colleges see more and more students with various learning disorders. Taking the additional time and patience can go a long way towards helping a student reach success. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Joni, helping students move outside their comfort zones is a critical skill set with most instructors today. The ability to coach is as important as the ability to teach.
James Jackson
Kanidrus , do you provide any examples of individuals or situations that help students better associate with your message?
James Jackson
I have had students with mild learning disabilities.
They would have this mental block that would fill them with self doubt.
Once they worked through it, they would become very productive and successful students.
Using kitchen knives seems like something that everyone does and should be used to, especially to culinary students. A lot of self-doubt comes out when I tell them that they are going to be handling and using the knife the way that I show them.
To get the student comfortable with this, I try to relate another activity that they know how to do already like tying a shoe or playing a sport. I ask them, “how well did you do that the first time� And then I explain to them that they have to think about every little intricacy of holding the knife, making sure it is straight, BREATHING (they hold their breath!) and standing up with natural and comfortable posture. When they realize that this is the same way it was when they shot their first basketball, they realize that it can be done, with practice. I also tell them that there is not much difference between them and myself. Just a little bit more practice…
The students were at a health fair and tasked to give flu shots to those paticipants who wanted them. One student stated that she did not feel comfortable giving the shots. In fact, her statement was "I will not give shots." She was immediately pulled aside by the instructor and told that everyone has trepidations and self doubt regarding their abilities especially the first time. The student was still leary about giving shots she was then "strongly encouraged" to give the shot, which she did and by the end of the day she had gained so much confidence that she wanted to immediately sign up for another health fair.
I have one student now who is not as knowlegeable in culinary arts. I always try to motivate him and compliment him in his endeavors. I also explain the relevance of the activities and how this skill sethe is working on although challenging will enable him for success out in the industry. This open communication allows him to freely ask questions and fosters his growth as well as his hard work ethics and persistence. I am very proud of him.
I always encourage my students to do their very best. I advise my students they have to press their way beyond any circumstance or situation to paint a brighter picture.
Ms. Prather
I agree. It is so rewarding to watch students grow in their confidence as they grow in their knowledge and abilities. Education truly transforms one's personal view of himself.
I am an instructor in the medical field. I teach the Phlebotomy and MA programs.
I notice that when students first enter these programs, many of them are lacking in the self-confidence/esteem area.
I know that this field requires confidence.
I council each student and we work together to reach a level of self-worth that is acceptable.
Just the smallest mistake or failing grade can set them back an entire quarter.
I try to encourage my students to stop second guessing themselves because your 1st instinct is usually right.
Kerry, very true. Some of the greatest inventions came out of actual mistakes. The real trick is not to repeat your mistakes when nothing positive can result. An example is improper safety measures. Forgetting a safety measure once may be an opportunity to enhance learning but more than one violation of the same safety issue can result in catastrophic events taking place eventually. To error is human but to not learn from your mistakes is a true problem.
James Jackson
Larry, providing students with case studies and sharing with them your own experiences are outstanding tools that lead to a higher level of understanding and self confidence in your students. Well done.
James Jackson
I always let students know that we all have weakness and thet we all make mistakes it really helps
One of the largest issues I find with my students is thier lack of real world work experience as they are completing thier 21 month Culinary Arts Program. This leads to frustration and anxious feelings on the part of the student. I give examples to them of success stories of recent and long term graduates from our program. This tends to eliminate thier self doubt and redouble thier energies as they finish thier time as a student and onto thier careers.
Ifrequently get older students in the clinical setting and they seem to have added stress to pass the course and get working asap.I talk to them in private and let them know on a daily basis how they are progressing and offer any additional help they need . This seems to relax them and keep them motivated
During a recent class I was faced with a student who was falling behind due to life challenges (family, illness etc.) The student was considering giving up. I provided some positive feedback and encouraged the student to hang in at least one more week before dropping. During that week things at home eased somewhat and the student was able to continue. We worked through the quarter 1 week at a time and achieved success. The student had the ability to complete the work but was allowing other things to prevent goal attainment. By cutting the work up into small pieces and working consistently each week we were successful.
Lisa, student to student interaction is a great technique. You will want to protect against a small group of students taking over a class but overall I feel this is a great technique and is highly encouraged.
James Jackson
Jessica, you bring forward such a important topic with respect to each student being different. One size simply does not fit all when it comes to knowledge transfer. Remaining open to different ways of communicating with different students and staying focused on not allowing any of your students to not fall too far behind will greatly enhance your ability to reach all of your desired learning outcomes.
James Jackson
Paul, I like how you redirected the student's attention away from their self-doubt and got them focusing more on the issue of clear communication. Sometime it only takes small redirections to help students refocus and get to the real meat of an issue. A little redirection can go a long way. It is also critical to discuss the final results with students so they can process what took place and use the feelings and understandings they have gained in that moment to reproduce such sessions in the future.
James Jackson
