Get Your Students Hired
I teach a rather large group of adults in a medical career college, after looking at how much they pay for their program and breaking it down into an hourly rate that the student is technically paying. It has made me lecture and engage the students just a little differently. I asked myself if I was in a class that has lecture and lab and im paying $51.00 an hour did I just get what I payed for? It has made me find some creative activities, especially as im teaching medical terminology to keep the students engaged.
Hi Dustin,
Awesome! Students get excited when they have something to look forward to. We have to give our students something to make them want to come back each day.
Patricia Scales
At the end of the week, I will give the students a summary of what we have accomplished and how those accomplishments would reflect if they were doing the same work in the field. I find that this approach not only builds their confidence but also gets them excited for what is coming in the next week. By the end of the course, they have a pretty good understanding of where their investment went and what kind of return they can expect in the future.
Hi Steve,
You must abide by institutional rules, policies, and procedures in order to keep your job. Type a proposal to your DOE and let the DOE know what you want to do and how it will be of great benefit to the student. This tactic may work. This is the procedure that I use with my instructors. Academic freedom is a good thing.
Patricia Scales
I have a similar concern every time I am teaching my class.
I would love to add more of my own training aids and pictures to keep the energy high and keep the students from getting board. My school says it is not part of the curriculum and I CAN NOT.
Hi James,
I concur! You would think in the education environment the customer will demand MORE because of the money they are paying. I amazed that most students will simply settle for the bare minimum.
Patricia Scales
Here is an irony to savor: At times, the academic environment is one of the only places where the customer will demand LESS.
I share similarities w/ your situation: teaching principally adults and non-traditional students at a technical career college. Their price-per-unit-of-instruction is probably in the range you mention (~$50/hr.), and I'm generally inclined to try and give them a little extra -- "Lagniappe"-- for their tuition dollars.
For example: in our physics curriculum, the requirements are actually quite modest in terms of depth and breadth of topics covered. As a result, we have considerable freedom to build in "workshops" to teach (a) algebra skills; (b) graphing skills; and (c) calculator/numerical skills. It goes beyond the core requirements of the class, but it helps to equip students with a 'portable' skills set that they benefit from in downstream courses (e.g. electronics, circuit analysis) as that material isn't explicitly handled in any course.
And "creative activities" often translates to both FUN & value-added learning for the students (customers).
Hi Charles,
Most students really want to get their money's worth. They really want us to prepare them for the real world. Students love being engaged with hands-on activities.
Patricia Scales
I agree with Mr. Feltman. If an instructor is just going on and on without any interaction, the stuudent will lose interest and feel as if they are wasting time and money. Interactive learning is asking questions and using activities to keep the students engaged in the learning process. It always amazes me when students who are paying for an education, will be happy just slacking off, at $51/hr.
Hi Eric,
I love your perspective! You are definitely on point! You really get from students what you expect.
Patricia Scales
This is a big problem that my institution faces. Students that want to sleep and not pay attention. The main course I teach was given the nickname "Professional Naps". As instructors, we keep enforcing the $ per hour these students are paying to sleep. Their response is that they are adults and if they want to pay to sleep, that is their right. They do not see the end goal as to why they or the instructors are here. I have worked extremely hard in resurecting the primary course that I teach. I found new ways to get the information across by using role playing, group project assignments, games, and other things that the students like to do. Now they have no time to sleep, more time to pay attention, more interaction, higher level of learning, higher overall GPA, and fun. All of this while demanding more from the students on a daily basis. Challenge them, and they will respond.
Hi Larry,
Great way to get students to realize the importance of their education through a dollar figure.
Patricia Scales
How you look at this situation is excellent. I use the same principle, only I make the students realize what they are paying also. This makes me cognizant of what and how I should be teaching, but it shows the importance of their need to pay attention.