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Jessica Barrow
Jessica Barrow

Retention--Helping students mitigate their way through stressors

RT102 was very enlightening for me. My institution stresses the importance of staying in contact with students in order to let them know that they are more than just their student ID number. However, I am learning that it takes more than just staying in contact with students (via phone calls and e-mails) to keep student's engaged. Students need to know that their instructor is available, accessible, and compassionate/considerate. It is a discouraging thing to hear a student say, "My instructor acts like he doesn't care. So I don't care either." Also, students want to be chanllenged. An easy-A may make some excited, but when they leave your class, most students want to feel like they earned their grade.

William Page
William Page

It is important for each student to know they are important.  I like to use group activities and pair share activities to allow the students to communicate on a personal level while learning.  I constantly mix up the groups so everyone gets to meet and work together.  The shy can have an opportunity to commuicate and make new friends.  While I set the pace, it is interesting to note that often the students are more anxious to learn with their new friend in attendance.  It also helps getting peer tutors to assist me in improving student performance and study skills. 

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