As an instructor, I have always made an effort to get to know my students. I take time at the first of the quarter to learn their names and background. As a student I felt that the instructor was trying to show he or she cared. As an instructor, I feel the same way, I am trying to show that I care about them in a personal way. I think this goes a long way in helping students feel comfortable with the instructor and class setting.

As I completed the first section of ED102, I found myself thinking back to my college days. I remember the issues that I faced and the frustration that were created. I never considered leaving school because of these frustrations. I knew that they were a continued part of school and that I need to put up with the frustration. The feeling I get now is that there are many students that this can influence and it does determine their future educational growth. We need to be aware and try to understand the issues facing our students.

Recently my school has implemented an environment where Service Learning is key. I've made realtionships with business and organization owners who have allowed my students to assist with business and marketing plans. The motivation for students to come to class when working on these types of activities seems to jump ten fold. Has anyone else worked with service learning and projects like I've described?

One of the big things I do in all of my classes is discussion. Unfortunately, I have students who do not seem to want any part of this. I do all that I can to make the information I am sharing meaningful and applicable, however it doesn't always do the trick. Anyone have any ideas on how to bring these people out of their shell?

I find that in my classes, the intro classes are regarded as something they just have to take to get to the fun stuff. I have been trying to research and develop ways of making even the intro classes worthwhile. I can't think of a time when I haven't been able to take something away from something that seemed introductory. Often, there is so much information to take in the first time that there are pieces that are missed. I try to make each class a little bit different, due to the make up of the students, however even that doesn't seem to be enough. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make this even more inspriring for students?

I've found in my classrooms that students who have returned to school, be it 5 years or 30 years later, all want to feel like they are part of something bigger. I've implemented group work into most of my courses with some success. I think that the students, for the most part, look forward to working with other students. However, from time to time I have those younger students who seem to separate themselves from the older students. I'm working on a way to over come this, without becoming a "traffic cop" of sorts. Does anyone have any ideas to help the older and younger students integrate better?

As students build on their self confidence because of specific and positive feedback, more application of the course material to their personal and professional lives, they become more invested in completing their educational goal.

I believe it's important to ALWAYS show your passion and interest for the subject matter. When excited about a topic the students sense that, and become completely interested. Do you agree?

I really liked the comment that adult learners want to "start on time, finish on time, and not have their time wasted." I have experienced this with adult learners who frequently ask, "How am I going to use this?" They want to know why they are learning the skill I'm teaching, and they do not want me to "waste" time on things like "teambuilding" or infrequently used grammar rules. Sometimes that's difficult to work with, but frequently I appreciate their drive.

Here is a little healthy competition for motivation. At times we have the same course running in the morning and afternoon. When this happens occasionally we will set the classes against each other. We will post the test averages for both classes on the board and the winner after all tests but the final gets a predetermined prize. Usually some food item such as donuts.

What if the student is showing no genuine interest in the subject matter and states that they "just need a job" as the reason for the continuing education/career college choice?

My Course is for Interior Designers who will be introduced to AutoCAD. I find it very enjoyable to teach so many such a versitile program that they will most definitly use in the field.

I'm just wondering if anyone can give me some suggestions for motivating students who are at the end of their curriculum to maintain a high level of quality in their work.

I am just wondering about the need to have all students participate in class all the time. I myself hated class participation and I can empathize with the students who wish to be left alone.

I believe that building a personal rapport with students is critical for retention and success. However, I'm finding it more and more difficult to make a personal connection with each student as class sizes increase and I get to know more students as they matriculate from class to class but remain in the school. Any suggestions?

How should we approach the problem of getting help for a student who most likely has a learning disability when they refuse to admit that they may have a problem?

I have one very glass-half-empty student in my class. What are some strategies for helping this student to become a more positive person? She is bright and wants to succeed, but her attitude is not assisting her in her goal.

At our school, retention is a huge issue at all times. This first section should be read by every employee, not just the teachers...

Positive Feedback is so very important when teaching. When my students don't provide feedback as much as I'd like, I know that they didn't get as much information out of the lecture that I had planned. I review over until I receive more positive feedback and comment.

I quiz my students daily on the retention of my lectures. Once finished lecturing, I have a student discussion and make sure everyone is participating in the discussion. If not, they don't receive their discussion points for the day.