Kathleen Watts

A sense of school community and connections with staff can greatly increase student retention.

It is important for instructors to refocus their students back onto their original goals for starting school. This can keep them motivated to complete their education.

Your focus should always be on the student! Students who feel a part of the class and feel that their instructor is helping them reach their goals are more likely to finish class. By not engaging students, you run the risk of having an empty class. 

Time management is key to an online environment. It is easy to not take breaks and continue working well after you would have left a traditional job setting. Scheduling personal time will benefit the company by having employees who are more productive.

It is important to remember that while we are the instructor at a point we have to be more of a guide to our students. Once they grasp the basic premise of the information we must guide them to practice and apply their new found knowledge. While doing this they may come up with a method themselves! 

It is important to use technology that is suited to your classroom needs and enhance your course. Using technology just for the sake of using it may not be productive or beneficial to the classroom. I will be sure to implement technology in a way that students gain the most knowledge and can apply it to the subjects that I am teaching.

Utilizing the learning styles of different generations will help me in the future engage the class through more individualized learning strategies.

I have learned that a Generational focus to teaching may be necessary to reach all your students. It is easy to take for granted that everyone knows the latest technology. As educators we must be aware that there is a generational gap regarding technology and social interactions.

I have learned many new methods to incorporate into my classroom. I will use visualization as a new method to guide my students along with practice to sharpen their skills.

It is important to protect the privacy of your students. Something as simple as being included in a Dean’s list could be a violation if it includes GPA and the student did not give written permission to have the list publicly circulated.