John,
Thank you for sharing your insights. Keep up the good work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I disagree because I can continue to encourage the student by asking the student to see the different announcements I have posted about providing help. These students need extra motivation and I do not or very rarely give up on a student. I may even ask if I could call the student by phone (although this is not required and I make that clear).
Kimberley,
Yes, I agree with the perspective he stated as the prevalent situation. Do you see any reason or means to shift the motivation from external to internal for students "to take the course is anticipated?" As adult learners, should we put more effort into empowering them to take responsibility for their own participation? Thank you for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Kathy,
This is an excellent point. In the hybrid environment, there is often a much smaller rate of "unreachable" students. Keep up the great work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Amy,
Yes, they may eventually open up. There are also many who do not seem to open up after continuous and extended outreach. Do you have any recommendations or insights to share for assisting these students? Thank you for sharing your insights.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I think that you can try to reach out to the student by calling them on the phone and encouraging them to respond to your offers of help.
However I would also refer them to their Learner Service Advisor to see if they would have a better chance of reaching the student.
Students have to be motivated to take the course and participate.
Fortunately my online students are mostly local and I am able to meet with them if they are not responding to offers of help and we can have a sit down and chat to see what I can do to help, but also I like to call them directly and have a private discussion if there is a real problem.
I disagree. Especially with students who are considered the "avoidant" learning types. We have no idea why they are not responding, and if we continue to reach out to them via email encouraging them to join us in class and/or contact us via email they may eventually open up to let us know why they are "avoiding" class and help.
Christopher,
I like your optimism and energy. Enthusiastic outreach to students does make a big difference in the online classroom. Multiple channels of communications like personal telephone calls, social networking media, student advisors and even US postal deliveries, are all in use by many teachers. I have had many online instructors indicate the inability to "connect with the student" even after implementing all of the above. This form is a perfect opportunity for creative recommendations. Do you have any additional recommendations beyond the identified list? Thank you for your helpful contributions.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I disagree. I feel there is always something that you can do to connect with the student. One possibility might be to contact their advisor to reach out and try and start a dialog. Often the student will feel frustrated and feel there is no hope. In these type of situations sometimes a personal phone call is best... sometimes all it take is going that extra mile / effort to show the student that you care and are concerned about their success. Establishing the dialog early is key to making the connection.
Melissa,
I understand. Thank you very much.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
That I am not sure of since the ground school covers that. I would have to check that out and see how that works.
Melissa,
This team approach is a very good benefit of your circumstance (having advisors) and using the extra contact information often available to advisors, but not the online faculty. One question that comes to mind is the FERPA constraints about contacting a third party concerning an adult student. Have does your institution address this? Thank you very much for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
This is a great topic.
Typically, I email as well as call my students when I see trouble. Meaning, homework not handed in, assignments that have no body. I work with a school that also provides student advisors so we work closely together in trying to contact the student. I reach out to not only the student, but also their advior to let them know what is going on and my means of contact. When I do not hear back from the student we then start contacting their references that they gave us upon admission. Typically this is a family member, significant other, co-worker.
From my experience, I see students split in 2 main section that do not respond. The first set of students are those that are scared of failure, or are afraid to ask for help because he/she does not want to feel "stupid". The second set are those that enroll, and "life happens", perhaps, illness, divorce, move, etc.
In closing I would say that I disagree that there is very little that an online instructor can do.
Coleen,
So much of what you stated is at the heart of all good teachers. Your dedication to the student's well-being is evident and commendable. Do you have a preferred way to reach out to an online student who will not reply to emails, phone calls, text messages or outreach to them via social networking sites? Many instructors have indicated they struggle to identify additional (beyond the mentioned four) ways to reach out to these students. Thank you very much for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
No, I don't agree. There is always a way to reach out to these students. I would follow-up with emailing some additional resources and set-up a one-on-one chat session to discuss what part of the curriculum the students is having problems with.
In the traditional classroom setting my students will come to me for help or ask for tutoring. If they see that they are falling behind they may ask for extra credit. Online students are no different.
I think students forget that this one course is part of a much larger goal. The student becomes overwhelmed and they give up. I have been there - frustrated and feeling alone. I would encourage this student to continue working toward the larger goal - attaining their degree or whatever their personal goal is. It is important to get to know each student individually. We are better instructors when we take a personal interest and stake in their success. However, we need to be consistent and make sure that the expectations are realistic for that student's capabilities.
Amanda,
This conundrum will probably be with us as long as we have formal institutions of education. It seems your approach is more than reasonable in any adult learning situation. Keep up the good work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
That is almost like a double-edged sword. You can offer all the help you like; however, certain students, whether they are independent learners or not, just do not want to be helped. I have instituted many different ways of helping my students. On assignments when my students receive below a certain grade they have the opprotunity to redo the assignment for a better grade. In addition, I hold office hours once a week and individual tutoring sessions. Even though I feel like I go above and beyond the help for some students, there will always be those that do not bother to ask. I make sure I let my students know that if they do not ask for help, I do not know how/what they need.
Brian,
Helping adult learners accept responsibility is still very much an art. Your approach is very reasonable and probably effective with almost all students on whom you could have an impact. Good post. Thanks.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I read through the answers and there was some great insights from the others, so thank you for the inputs. I would try to engage via e-mail several times and if there wa stillno response, maybe a phone call to ensure there were no "infratructure" problems. A video chat might be a good alternative to a F2F encounter. I'm not sure I would be willing to go down that path, but if I did, it would be as one of my last resorts. Someone had mentioned the students being responsible and I really embrace this approach. They need to own their learning.
