Getting buy in from students
What are some strategies you use to help get course buy in from your students?
Hi James,
Students love knowing that we genuinely care about them and their success.
Patricia Scales
Hi Sandy,
I love it too when graduates pop in. I like for the graduates to quickly share their success and where they came from with the class to motivate them.
Patricia Scales
I show them that i care and shoe them great respect. I also greet each one every start of the day.I also go over some things with them to show them i know what i am doing.
I agree with Gil and Patricia. When your passionate about your field it shows in your excitement and it's easier for the students to buy in and become passionate and excited to be in the same field. In my opinion it gives fuel to their dreams and their future of what they can accomplish. It makes my day when graduates pop in for a quick visit and they want to share what they are doing and accomplishing.
Hi Rachel,
I concur! We have to make learning apply to the real world so that students understand the relevance of the course.
Patricia Scales
I think it's important to show students why what they're learning is real. I like to use my husband as an example. He is a doctor and he uses his basic biology and anatomy training every day in the field. If a patient asks a question about a muscle, it's important that the student know how to answer it. I take what they're learning and I apply it to the job they will have once they're out in the field.
Hi Kristin,
I can see how students can see their growth from beginning to end and all in between. Great exercise!!!
Patricia Scales
Hi Kelly,
We surely get students to buy into the course when they understand how the course will help them in their profession.
Patricia Scales
Hi April,
I love your attitude! I do not care how good we are as instructors, we can become better. I have been teaching for over 23 years, and it is still work in progress. I do not know it all, but each day I strive to become even more effective...complacency is no place for educators!!! You keep striving!
Patricia Scales
I usually assign a personal narrative writing project on the first day Re: individual literacy (I teach English courses). Students then have as many opportunities as they would like over the course to revise before receiving a grade at the end. On the last day of class, students read their original version and their final version of the project.
One strategy that I use to help get course buy in from students is to include specific examples of how the course information will relate to their work in their chosen career field upon graduation. In addition, I try to provide a variety of learning techniques (written, verbal, individual, group, etc.) to engage each student by trying to appeal to the many different learning styles that students have.
It's never easy to admit I haven't done the best job in lectures but I have been very lucky with my students. They have actually been open and honest and some admit they didn't study at all so they expected the poor grade, others have said the material was just hard and they didn't get it liek they thought they did. At this point I will review the concepts so that they do get the information, even if the test score is low but they need to have an understanding so that when it's time for finals they make up for it. I think the students respect that I am willing to take the blame if I did not explain something well to them. They know I never want to see them do poorly and it opens it up for them to ask more questions in the future. I'm always open to finding ways to not only help the students but make myself more effective as an instructor. If they all fail because I'm not doing my job well then at some point I don't have a job. I want my students to succeed and it makes me a better instructor to see my weak areas and work on them as well. I am constantly learning and if I ever feel I don't need to learn more it will be time for me to stop teaching.
Hi April,
You have such a great attitude about this. As instructors, we have to be professional and big enough to accept responsibility as well. We may need to change our teaching method to ensure students are understanding various concepts.
Patricia Scales
At the end of every term we have an evaluation for the students to fill out about the course and instruction as well. One other thing I do, when the class as a whole does not do well on quiz I will ask then to talk to me about why the scores were so low. I tell them it is ok to let me know they didn't understand my lecture and it is also ok if they just didn't study. I just want to make sure I know what the problem was so we can make sure the scores next time around are higher. So far when I have done this they have been open and some take the blame for lack of effort on their part and others will tell me it was hard for them to understand the concept or they didn't get a part of my lecture. I feel if the students are failing it could be partly me so I always want to make sure they are getting the best they can in their education, and if this means I need to change my teaching method then this is what I will have to do.
I try to create a strong sense of community in the classroom so that students feel safe. When they feel safe, they are more likely to participate. I actively engage students in the classroom as well with small group and whole class activities. I teach sociology, which is a discipline that deals with the world and how to live in it. It is the study of diverse groups of people; therefore, it lends itself well to active engagement in the classroom. I combine the sense of community and active engagement with trying to show the relevance of the discipline in the student's everyday life. We all interact with a diverse group of people in our everyday lives, even if it's an insignificant interaction (i.e., with a bus driver or a waiter/waitress). In addition to showing them the relevance of sociology in their everyday lives, I try to show them how to apply the knowledge of the discipline to their everyday lives in the hopes that I will raise their consciousness, help to empower them, help to cultivate their critical thinking skills, which will ultimately help to improve the quality of their lives. Ultimately, this will help them to succeed in whatever their chosen career because they can apply this knowledge to any career, since all careers involve the interaction of diverse groups of people. The more we know about diverse groups of people, the better we will understand them and be able to interact with them more efficiently than if we did not know much about them.
Hi Aimi,
This is a great way to get students to buy in by helping them to understand how the course will help them.
Patricia Scales
Hi William,
When students have a say, they really take owership, thus buying in.
Patricia Scales
Hi John,
I agree! When students fully understand how the information will help them in their career, they buy in.
Patricia Scales
I get course buy in with relating real life experiences in the classroom and combining that into the the lesson.
