Can there be too much communication?
I was wondering if anyone has ever felt like they are communicating too much with a student. For example, besides grading papers or answering discussions at our school we are responsible for our student retention. If I have a student who is failing or not participating we are encouraged to contact them often. I usually either call or email every other day to see if I can get student to participate. We have accrediting guidelines that a student must submit work at least every week, or sooner if possible. We, as instructors, are calling students as well as our student services department. I am always worried that we are chasing our students away. Any thoughts would be helpful!
Marina and Susan,
You are so right. Communication is very important in any classroom, but especially the online classroom.
Great question, Susan!
I don't think that there ever can be of too much communication in any organization on any level. I would say especially in the on-line learning environment.
Thanks,
Marina
Carlos,
We do have to be concise and to the point many times in our communication, but still strive to get the point across. This can be difficult many times online.
Yes! In my field of pharmacy, there are just things that occur in a setting that can help a student learn from them when discussing them, however, only through a face to face environment. In an online environment, it may seem a bit difficult to get certain punctual elements of experiences without it being misconstrued.
Aundrea,
We get some depth in these forums as you all continue to post. The ideas are great. Thanks for continuing the conversation.
I have read each posting for this question, and I must say that I agree with each comment. There are some students who simply will not respond, and for some reason, choose to be enrolled but not participate in the class. While my motto is "Go with the Go-ers", I make a point to send a small e-mail each week to those are do not participate in that given week. I inform the student that I was unable issue a grade due to lack of participation on their part, encourage them to participate, and let that student know that it's not too late to meet their goal in the class. I believe this gets the point across without being overwhelming for me or the student. Otherwise, I inform student services since their task is to get up close and personal with the students regarding personal issues. Also, I issue a mid-term progress report to each student (good or bad) just as a note of encouragement, reminder(s), and notes for improvement to complete the course successfully.
Loriann,
I agree as well. There has to be an appropriate level of communication. Thank you.
This is an interesting discussion topic. Since I have started teaching online, I have felt the need to keep the communication alive and well in my classroom. Now, to say that communication can be too much, I do agree in a sense that students who are bombarded with calls, emails, reminders, texts are sometimes distant because of the frequent attempts to contact them to remind them to get any missing coursework missing and most of all participation in the classroom. I agree that there should be some level of communication that takes place on a consistent basis, but when the efforts are not received well, it makes it somewhat difficult to engage and encourage on the other end.
L. Allen
Chantee ,
We can overload on anything. If you remind students 10 times in a week that there will be a quiz on Friday, they will expect you to continue to over remind them all the time and then they don't look ahead, they just wait until you tell them to do something. This can be an issue. Thanks!
I truly do believe that there is a such thing as too much student communication. I am one who is big on communication but in some instances I believe that when students are not actively participating in class we are required to go into communication overload. I have learn that no matter how my much I call or email if a student has no intentions of responding, nothing you do can cause the interaction. That has been my experience.
Tamika,
Have you tried the Frequently Asked Questions Discussion Board to help alleviate email overload?
I wish that I felt the same Daniel. Between my full time job, part time job, and other personal responsibilities I definitely have moments when I am overwhelmed by the number of emails in my inbox, text messages, missed calls that I face day to day But because student success is so important I normally take a moment, regroup, and try to stay on top of things.
I know that if I feel that way then my students must feel overwhelmed at times too.
Gail ,
Interesting. Hope it's working for you. Thanks for the input.
We have instructors that are not on site at the school and are contractual so that those of us that are stationed at the school look at over all retention and reach out to the students as if we are student services to see if we can get them to be active in their classes.
Gail ,
Interesting that you call other instructor's students. What's the thinking behind that?
Thanks for validating what I was thinking. As much as I love teaching I know most of my students took the class due to not wanting the face to face or constant contact. Most times students are happy that I am checking in on them but I have had those that are not. Part of our retention is that we call other instructors students and that's where it gets tricky as students don't want to hear from anyone other than their instructor. All I do is encourage them to submit work as stay active so they are not dropped form the program. Do you have any suggestions for me to use? Any help would be appreciated.
Zac,
It seems like several of us have "been there done that" and know how others feel as we continue to learn and teach online. Thanks!
I know exactly what you mean. When I first started teaching at an online university, like you I was told to actually call students who are failing for the sake of student retention. As an instructor, I understand that I need to follow the guidelines of the university I'm teaching for. But as a former student, I know I would've thought it was really weird if one of my instructors had called me. I'm not sure how I would've reacted but I don't think it would've been a positive reaction. I worry that the students feel like we're over stepping our boundaries.
Gail and Dan,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. We have to keep trying to get all students to participate. Good point.
