Retention
Retention is ongoing and must be addressed daily
Nicely done, Ian. That personal approach will serve you well as you develop you teaching skills.
Loren Kroh
At my school our class length is a good deal longer than when I went to school. I remember on several occasions finishing my final exam, saying good by to the instructor and watching as he or she scrambled to remember my name. This always bothered me. Now, being on the other side of the desk I make a point of learning each of my student's names quickly and then finding out a little something about them. It could be as simple as where they work, what industry related thing they are up to over the weekend and ask them about it "follow up" as often as possible. I'm still very new to teaching but this simple tool has proven to be very useful.
What a beautiful master plan! How do your classroom results compare to your peers?
Retention must be addressed on a daily basis and this is why I constantly and consistently do the following. I always say hello to my students as they enter my classroom and say goodbye to them when they leave, Each day, I make sure that I have an interesting and compelling lesson or activity for them. They must know that these lessons and activities will be able to be applied to their careers. If they miss a class, I contact the student to make sure they are O.K. and ask them to get in touch with me as soon as they are able. I also prepare them for exams, grade the exams quickly, return them to the students for review, and post the grades immediately. I plan exciting excursions and guest speakers for them throughout the year and ensure that my college sponsors important community events that benefit our program. These are just some of the retention tools that I apply to my classroom.
Absolutely... They are often shocked by your call and genuine concern. It also makes the student feel that they can't hide from you. That you see when there has been a change in their test scores, class work/participation and attendance. This often makes the students who is having problems feel comfortable to come to you because you were compelled to reach out to them to make sure everything is alright.
Ive noticed that calling a student (when they choose to anwser) often SHOCKS the student. Most of the time, they can hardly believe someone went out of their way to try to get them back in the building. If they answer, it almost always works for me.
I try to concentrate on letting the students know that we as a school are concerned. One of the ways being used to to have the instructors contact a student who has missed classes and try to find out what is going on and how we can help. It sounds good on paper, except that even on official business I have hesitation to call a female student at home. The issues are often domestic and having a male call the house and ask for the wife can (not always) cause additional problems.
I have started asking one of the female instructors to make the calls for me.
If a student knows that their school and all of its employees are totally committed to their success, it is easier to intervene when you feel they are slipping away. Quick intervention can make the difference between quitting a program or navigating through their problems and keeping their attendance in check. It is necessary to support students and really convince them that everyone cares about their success.
