The attendance of a student will indicate a possible problem that the student is attempting to deal with their self. Some times, when the student begins to miss a lot of hours the grades also start to drop. By talking with the student I might get to a problem area then I will refer that student to a counselor. I will try to assist where I am qualified but this is limited. I follow up with the student my checking on them after a few days.
One thing I have been doing for a while is to go around the room at the start of the class and ask each student how they are doing, and how thier day is going so far. I try to keep it as informal as possible so not to make the student feel as they are being put on the spot. As the days progress and I begin to learn each personality, I can sometimes tell when something has changed in the life of a student just based on the daily greeting. At a point when I can be one-on-one with the student, I may touch base with them to see if they are just having a bad day, or if it is something more serious where I need to direct him or her to our student support staff.
Thank you James. You appear to have quite intensive monitoring. What would be your job description in this area? I'm assuming that the support staff would be counsellors.
Any time a student misses class time I always ask what happened. Sometimes poor attendance can be an indicator of personal problems along with poor test grades. Sometimes classmates will mention to me about a students problem.
Once aware of a problem I can show the student that I care and am willing to listen.
We use class grades, atttendance, professionalism and home work to identify students that are struggling in Ford Fact. We have required documentation and proceedures in place to assist the student, instructor and management, that will assist all parties in helping the student meet his or her objectives. It is how you approach them that can make the difference, do they feel that they can trust you and the school. If you help them understand that you care, and that we (The Program / School) want them to succeed we will be more successful than if we approach the student with an attitude that it is their problem not ours. We all have a vested interest in our students, if they succeed we succeed, all parties win. We have our follow-up policy here at Ford Fact and it works most of the time, it's the one that falls through the cracks that bothers me the most but sometimes it is out of any buddies control,it just happens, it just means we need to try a little harder. We make it a point to follow up with every student that shows a need or concern. It is a team effort to help all students become successful, but they are the determining factor so it is our responsibilty to put the programs out there for them and make sure they are aware of them.
I hear the students, they start with complaints, and comments I then pull them aside and ask how I can help.then follow up with support staff, and follow up myself each day.
How does the advisement form work, Terry? Is it electronic? Paper? Are you the one to tell the student about the form?
Jerry, what do you mean by the survey method? Is this the end of term instrument or are you thinking of another type of questioning? If a student is having problems, timing of the contact is critical.
I will use the student advisement form to let them know how many hours they have out and I use that oportunity to talk to them about why they missed the time and how important it is not to miss any more time.
Things like attendance and tardiness tell a lot. Also where thy sit in the room, or who they sit next to.
Then of course test grades and how they seem to react to those test grades.
I watch them closely in the lab environment to see how they participate as well.
These things can help start conversations that can lead to more in-depth understanding as well as provide subject matter to start future conversations.
It is important to make sure you connect with students if we let the students know we are interested in there well being this really makes a differance
A lot of times the students behavoir can indicate issues by being disruptive or withdrawn and or grades falling off.If the student is comfortable with you the survey method can help lead to the heart of the problem. You can stay in contact with student services to moniter the progress
Thank you, Michael. Keep up the good work.
I make it a point to visit with students who show a pattern of poor attendance or are struggling academically. I identify students in jeopardy by monitoring the electronic grade books for the classes that I supervise. I then meet with those students individually. In many cases I can resolve the problem that is preventing the student from being successful. In other cases, simply knowing that somebody cares about them and their academic success is enough to change the student’s outlook.
Three things that I monitor on a daily basis are, grades, attendance, and attitudes. When you notice a change,then don't be afraid to ask them Whats going on, our just say Hey Talk to me,just to let them know that you are interested in them and care about what problems they are faceing at that time.
Usually the first day in class and the first test tell alot. Did I get the deer look all day, did they understand the questions I gave in class, how did they score on the test? All these things can be early indicators of accedemic issues, but the attendance has to be addressed as early as the first tardy or missed day.
Change in behavior is the most obvious. If a student has what he considers to be a gigantic problem his test scores will usually suffer and a student with a good attitude and willingness to learn can suddenly develop a " I don't care"
attitude. I try to find out what problem the student is having, and in some cases I can be a big help to him. Some require that you direct them to the proper department for assistance, such as a student that is losing his apartment lease. The main thing to do after offering help is to stay in contact and let the the student know that you are behind him 100% and that he can always come to you if need be.
Watching class grades and attendance help to identify students prpblems also talking to them every day helps. It is sometimes hard to identify prpblems since we only have the students for three weeks in every class, so if there is a problem you might need to talk to the previous instructor.
There are two areas that are used by me to identify students that are struggling, class grades and attendance.
Attendance
Since we have the students for six hours each day, any time missed from class has a strong correlation to the final grade they will receive for the course. I tell my students that they are responsible for being an active participant in their training and for them to be able to do this they must be in class to ask questions. A test is given after the completion of each topic that is presented in class (this occurs 8 out of the fifteen days) along with lab work, reading assignments, and activity assignments. Being absent from class for just one day will put the student behind enough that they will struggle to make up the lost time. If they continue to be absent from the class I will print out the required documentation and inform the student about the school’s commitment to the students success and encourage the student to visit with the schools support services and personnel to determine how the school can help them to succeed.
Grades
When a student gets a failing grade this always results in a conversation between me and the student to determine if assistance is needed. If the student continues to struggle then I will print out the required documentation, and inform the student about the school’s commitment to the students success and encourage the student to visit with the schools support services and personnel to determine how the school can help them to succeed.
When it comes to following up on student’s first contact with the schools support services I like to do the following.
Anytime a student requests to see the schools support services or when a support service requests to see one of my students when the student returns to class I ask them if they had a positive or negative experience during their visit. If the student mentions that they had a negative experience I try to find them someone in the school staff to look into their negative experience for them. I find this helps them understand that we care, and that we want them to succeed.
Appearance is an indicator that hasn't been discussed before. What are some of the changes that you notice in a student who is at risk to drop out?
