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Always a challenge for me to keep my mouth shut and listen.  I too often have cut a student short on a shared thought.  I have improved a great deal through the years, and find it very helpful to be reminded of proper listening skills from time to time.

I have found situational issues with adult learners to often be the reason behind low academic performance.  In tandem it creates a retention challenge.  Developing a good rapport with students is helpful in these situations.  The more comfortable they are approaching me the more I can try to help.

Learn what drives your students. Students want to learn material that will help them reach the goals that they've set. Be a motivating instructor. Find what kind of positive reinforcement your students respond to and go with it. Retention is important, and finding ways to help your students retain the information provided will help them transfer what they know to the field. Never ridicule a student or be combative with their answers, questions, or comments. Students that begin to feel unable to speak without being ridiculed will shut down and rarely do well in the class.

Finding different ways of keeping your students attention can be challenging, but trust yourself and in your abilities. If you show confidence, your students tend to trust and follow. Find activities to keep your class engaged. Make sure to remind them of the goal they are trying to achieve, and encourage them with positive feedback. Make them feel like they are progressing even when it might not seem like it.

I learned that we should require nothing less than the student's very best effort. We should let them know that we expect high quality work and that our classroom is an active learning environment.  Get know each and every student.  Have fun in your classroom.

I think this gives a good contrast between the what can motive groups of people. I feel like intrinsic motivation is the more important of the two. 

I think one of the things that tends to make teaching adults easier than some other age groups is the fact of their motivation to be there, hunger to learn and desire for success. While this isn't always the case, by and large this is usually the mindset they come in with. 

It all comes down to keeping an respectful, secure, and engaging classroom setting. Maintaining an environment of respect within your class as far as student to student and teacher to student interactions. Making all your students feel safe to speak their mind, ask questions, and share ideas without fear of being ridiculed or feeling incompetent. Overall, finding ways to keep the class fun and interesting for the different learning styles you will encounter. Keeping away from the "dictator" approach and letting students help guide your teaching strategy to better fit their individual needs.

Listening to your students, encouraging them, and supporting them is very important.

i think (at least in teaching the trades) one of the best ways to find some common ground with students is to show them some small "tricks" for making jobs both better quality and more efficient. 

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