attention is retention
to maintain students at the class ,instructor has to be active and modivate students at all the time
This will assure that you as the instructor care about your student's learning and how they are progressing. You as the instructor can also set a time for students who need help with accomplishing homework or any skills that are needed.
We also need to remember to leave baggage at the door. I have on more than one occasion forgotten that and it effects the whole classroom. I'm a person that wears my heart on my sleeve, and it can and has effected my students. I work everyday not to let my personal life effect my students.
Franz,
There is an old saying that students "do not care what you know until they know that you care." It is that caring that makes the most sucessful career colleges the institutions they are.
When a student knows you care and they find out they can come to you with there problems they will tend to lern more because you have showed them how much you care about there lives.
Joel,
This is very important to do with adult learners. They bring experiences to a classroom that traditional students do not typically have. Building on those experiences is a great way to teach.
One way I have noticed that helps keep their attention is to get them personally involved by letting the example material somewahat mirror the students experiences.
The ability to know when a certain student is vulnerable or "in need" of special attention or more attention is extremely difficult to do online. Yet it can be completed by paying attention to students that appear out of the norm or have difficulties, concerns, or issues during class. A seasoned instructor will look for those signs.
Carol,
Thanks for your reply. It is a good idea for each campus to develop a list of community resources in the local area to which employees can refer students when they need professional help. Some colleges also contract with service providers so that students are never more than an email or phone call away for assistance and support.
I had students who were kicked out their homes by their spouses and looking for a shelter to live in for the night. I provided these students time and contacted the academic advisor for addition options that the University could offer this student.
Thanks, Carol!
The key here is your follow-up. It shows that not only were you willing to listen, but you were willing to take an active interest.
What are the toughest types of personal matters students have shared with you? How did you help them?
I use student's name as well. In addition, when they share personal matters with me, I typically follow-up with them at least once. Being concerned for individuals is just good human living. I feel an added benefit is they want to be around and strive to achieve their goals.
Faculty unity in educational philosophy provides a bond to students that increases their intrinsic motivation. When students are challenged by the learning process, they seek to understand why learning itself is necessary. If they are demonstrated its value, especially to increase the cognitive and critical thinking abilities, faculty develop a respectful mutually beneficial atmosphere and an enriched online learning community.
Dr. Gliddon
Carlton,
Thank you for sharing your perspective. Enthusiasm is one of the requirements for teachers to establish and maintain a classroom environment in which students choose to do the things they need to do to succeed.
Many of us teach night classes to adults who have worked all day and are tired. We have to have a great deal of energy to share with them in order for them to keep their energy levels up. Enthusiasm and energy are indeed contagious.
Steve,
Little things mean a lot. Thirty years ago when I was student-teaching, my mentor stressed the importance of learning students' names and using them often. The importance of this has not changed and probably never will.
Good teachers go even further and learn about their students and develop appropriate relationships with each of them.
Thanks for this post.
Im my classes, I always use the students name when I speak to them. In doing so, the students realize they are not just another "number in the system", but rather, someone who I want to know, who I do know, and who I genuinely care about with regard to their learning.
Enthusiam is contagious. You may not motivate all your students with an enthusiastic perspective but you will motivate some. I've experimented with it. I like to see people learn so it wasn't much of an experiment. But the more exited I became with a group the more exitement they fed back to me.
Obviously I had a typo. What I meant was to give more than 100%. Sorry about that.
I showed my students that I care by not giving more than 100%. I usually have discussion after each product being presented in details. I have a rubric to make it easier. The next time we have a discussion I will give them comments wethere there is an improvement. My class is a very personal class and students take my comments very personally. I also usually try to find out from student why they are missing class or why they are not focus for the day. Most of them definitely need to learn to leave their personal baggage at the door otherwise it will definitely affect their end products.
I feel student success is a part of my success too. Showing that you care and not treating them as numbers is right. Students can tell when you do care about their success or you are treating it as a job. In my position ( I have a large number of students every term), I found out that every single student is very unique, some needs more attention than others. I always end up paying more attention to "challenging students" most who didn't send in their home work or hard to be reached. Sometimes I am not quite sure whether it is fair to my "good" students whom I rarely in contact with since I don't have to hunt them down.
