Adult learners have additional knowledge and skills that can be used as a resource in the classroom.
I will strive to help my students realize I'm just a person happy with my career choices, and a passion to help others learn and become successful as well.
Present a confident and positive attitude to your students. And find ways to engage them with special theme days. It is also important to recognize accomplishments and praise students to keep them motivated.
I try to be positive early in the morning when the students are dragging into class. Many morning I am tired but I never let the students see that. I seek facts I do not know and I encourage the students to do the same.
Comment on Amy Shepherd-Jones's post: I always give them chance to express their feelings or opinion
Firstly, learning students' names and backgrounds isn't just a polite gesture, it's a crucial step in building rapport and showing respect. When students feel valued and recognized as individuals, it creates a positive learning environment where they feel comfortable and confident.
Secondly, greeting students every class session and checking in with them individually goes a long way in building those connections and providing personalized support. This instructor's experience with reading students' cues will be invaluable in identifying those who might be struggling and offering timely encouragement.
Finally, creating a fun and positive learning environment, even with adult learners, can significantly impact their success. Injecting humor and lightheartedness can ease tension, foster camaraderie, and ultimately help students feel more comfortable and engaged in the learning process.
To lead by example and be honest with the students at all time.
The motivation and maintaining harmony in class help the students to be more confident and engaged.
I will look for new ways to learn my students' names. Maybe create a name tag that besides their name says one word about their background and one word that talks about something important to them. I will greet all my students each day of class and connect with the things they mentioned to me that first day. I will create ways to encourage them and recognize their accomplishments at different points in the semester.
I have learned that it's important continue to encourage your students instead of telling them, "You are falling behind on your assignments and need to catch up." You should you should say, "Hey, I see that you are behind on your assignments. Is there anything I can help you with?" Or, "Let's meet at the end of class and come up with a plan to help you get to where you need to be."
learning your students and how to base your course lay out that would provide the best success for your students.
Confidence, genuine interest in the subject matter, and a desire to watch students learn are very important traits of a good teacher.
I learned that if you show them the respect to learn their name, it will help develop rapport and get the course off to a good start.
Always be fair and caring.
Making students comfortable in the classroom is just as important as the material being covered. If the students don't feel comfortable, or they don't like the instructor as a person, that has a greatly negative impact on their ability to digest the information. Lightening the mood in the room and building a rapport with your students carries just as much weight as the subject matter.
Setting a teaching plan and adhering to it, even though the class may have individuals that are at different levels of understanding, is key. Utilizing my field experience and relating it to each individual student will allow them to see progress of their own and not worry about the overall progress of the class.
I love the idea of using humor at the beginning of class to keep students engaged. Small celebrations are also crucial. Daily reinforcement and greeting each student individually in every class is an awesome idea. I love having "students" of the week, plural, to prevent making an intense competition out of it. Lastly, it's important that I bring enthusiasm to the class, so that my students may feel it, too.
In this module I learned that with having a wide variety of different ages, each student learns in their own way. I also learned about different approaches to teaching and different ways to keep students engaged. While these students are adults, they also have a childish side and sometimes it is useful to feed into that side of them.
Treat your students with respect and be creative in your approach to engaging them with excitement about your topic.
Keeping students engaged is import to the learning process. How they remain engaged is what an instructor must learn to teach a group and the individual.
