Student skill levels necessary for college success
Question? What is the skill level necessary for college success?
I teach 5.5 week accelerated leadership courses, project management courses and computer courses.
Most of the students understand the course platform, they understand how to navigate it, and most of them understand the instructions for how to complete the assignment and do a great job with the assignments. But every now and then there is a student was obviously adding more basic level than the other students.
In most cases the students are at a very elementary level with English grammar, computer skills, and research skills (Library and Internet).
Question? How do we help the students before they get to a point where they are for totally frustrated and want to drop out of school?
What can we do as a university, as a faculty to help these students succeed in college?
Granville Jones
I wish I had the answer to that question Julynn. In my state I have sat on a few boards that were sponsored by the department of education to try and answer this question. It is easy for higher education to point fingers at the K-12 school system but that doesn't correct the issue. It is frustrating for the students who come under prepared and for the instructors that have to try and "catch them up" as well as the parents of the students.
Granville, I find that in the 5.5 week accelerated course I teach: Online College Experience; many students are enrolling in college without the basic skills to do so. From my point of view, I think it would be appropriate for a student to be assessed in basic computer skills before they began to take online classes. It saddens me to know that many high school students are graduating only to attend college and need an entire year of remedial courses. If it gets that far, I think it is up to university to lend some type of assistance to these students before it gets totally out of hand. I would like to know the solution; as you stated, what can we do?
Great suggestions Elissa. I strongly suggest that teachers take advantage of the services the institutions provide to help student succeed. Teachers don't have to do it alone!
In addition to tutoring and learning center resources, as an instructor, I address problem areas in chats and course content that the particular students are experiencing. It has been useful to instruct on grammar and writing composition. It is often helpful talk about how students might break up the assignment into chunks so that they can be more successful.
In the case that you describe above, I don't think the teacher should wait for the student to ask for help--the teacher needs to go to the student. I think that is true regardless of the modality of instruction. Meaning, even if a teacher is teaching in a residential classroom, he/she should not wait until the student asks for help to reach out to thes student.
Thanks for your comments Shelly.
You bring up some great points Shelly. There are some schools that do have classes like you described that are to prepare students to be an online student. Thanks for your comments.
This is excellent and certainly the ideal. How do you help students that don't come to you for help though? I am finding students that I know need my help but who are not coming to me or communicating with me in anyway??!!
I haven't yet made it through all of the posts and this thread was from some time ago, but for anyone new and reading this thread I do find it particularly relevant to my experiences as an online instructor. What I see happening is students who are either new to college or have not been in school for years coming back. They are really not equipped to deal with the technological aspect of the online learning environment, nor do they really understand or know how to access the services available to them. Instructors can only do so much and I feel as though it has to be a team effort. I am wondering if this "technology" class, before they even start taking real classes, might help better prepare them for what is to come. Trying to learn how to us the computer and an online classroom are hard enough without having to learn course content as well. I like this idea a lot.
One idea would be to have students include their experience with other online classes in their biography at the beginning of the class. This would at least identify students that haven't taken an online class before. Another way to identify students with technological deficiencies would be when they are not using the technology appropriately.
Good Day, All...
For me there are two key points this raises.
#1) Before... A minimal technological comfort level needs to be in place before actually beginning an online course. This would seem to primarily be in the hands of the university level of support. I think this should be part of an initial assessment. Another reply speaks to the importance of confidence building and this is very relevant.
#2) As faculty, early detection of this type of problem can be even more difficult online than "on ground". Any thoughts on techniques for early detection of technical deficiencies in the online environment???
One success can build on another and can increase a student's confidence tremendously. It is important to make sure students are placed in the right level class in the first place, though, so they can be successful. Thanks for your comments Gina.
It is all about the tutoring. Once a student feels successful with the most remedial of skills, they will feel confident with furthering their studies and moving onto the next phase.
I think that is a great idea Janice. Providing students with specific examples on how to use the study skills gives them real examples on how to be successful when studying for the class.
In my on-site classes I am now incorporating at least one lesson on study skills at the beginning of each module. Throughout the module, as I'm teaching a skill or subject, I try to refer back to the study skill that will help bring leaned information from their short-term memory into their long-term memory.
I would like to see every student's first course be a class that covers study skills, time management and success strategies, that will also identify students that may need extra tutoring in basic skills.
Granville, I teach mostly students who are new to the online learning environment, so I am very familiar with the problem that you described.
At the institution I teach online for, each online instructor is required to hold one weekly office hour per week, and then have two live chat session hours per week.
I dedicate my weekly office hour to working one-on-one with the students each week, so that they get the extra attention they need, even in an online course!
I have found that this one on one time is an excellent way to help the students with their grammar, usage, etc. I also ask the students to bring drafts of their work with them to my weekly office hour, so that I can proofread drafts of their work for them, while they wait.
Mike Crowley
Thank you for your insight Karen. Identifying students that need remedial work is key to their success.
I agree that a college accepts the responsibility for trying to catch a student up to an appropriate level for success. There should be a variety of remedial courses offered to those students who may need additional support that should have to be passed before they are allowed to enter into courses for degree credit. It only serves to set students up for failure when they are placed into courses that they are unprepared to achieve the basic requirements.
Students that are behind with basic skills do need extra attention and instruction.
Having a tutoring center for online students is very helpful for students. Thanks for your comments Steve.
