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Ask a question from your peers to help you in your professional work. Seek different points of view on a topic that interests you. Start a thought-provoking conversation about a hot, current topic. Encourage your peers to join you in the discussion, and feel free to facilitate the discussion. As a community of educators, all members of the Career Ed Lounge are empowered to act as a discussion facilitator to help us all learn from each other.

The magic wand!!!

Whenever students have lightbulbs go on in their head, I give them the magic wand. They hold it in remembrance of thier learning moment and pass it to the next student.

the RAP in rapport

i love rapport. and rapping, how can we merge the two to become a whole learnativity?

about learnativity

i think that this is a great chapter. I really took alot from it. new words and all!

personal recopgnition

By giving students personal attention it gives them empowerment and personal growth, but how do you master the art of catering to each student without having favorites.

rewarding students through altenative methods.

does anyone have some new fresh ideas for recognition?

Diversity

How does everyone feel about students from all backgrounds in one room? I have had some cultural conflict in a few of my classes due to frustrations in cultural conflict. How do I resolve these issues in a general way?

Motivating students

I loved the Crisis game mentioned in this section. What are some key ways of motivating career students? What are some ways of reinforcing general education course material such as English Composition?

Reward and Recognition to Career Students

Having taught secondary school, I found creating a specialized bulletin board that highlighted student achievement to be effective. Can this be just as effective with career students? Or, is it too childish?

Helping Students with learning disabilities

Q: What is the best way to address learning disability issues of students whose language is primarily Spanish? Any suggestions?

As instructors, what advice would you give to an administrator about approaching retention issues with instructors?

I am an administrator and an instructor so I understand the challenges of dealing with some students, but what the students need is for the instructors/adminstrative staff to understand how important their demeanor -- their body language and tone of voice are in managing a positive, productive class. It is not enough to do a great job teaching. The students have to want to attend a class and some teachers can be so intimidating that the confidence of the student is eroded. The student then does not wish to attend a class like that and then finally, the student may… >>>

As instructors, what advice would you give to an administrator in approaching retention issues with instructors?

"Ah-ha" moments

When we deal with mature students, their level of confidence in retaining information usually starts off low. When they get comfortable in the environment, realize that the instructor and staff are truly on their side, the improvement is quick. We celebrate "ah-ha" moments, as they truly do motivate the student to continue. From donuts to a free coffee from the vending machine to just a high five, pat on the back or thumbs up, we let that student know we are proud. How do you celebrate the "ah-ha" moments for a student?

Support Systems

For quite a few of our students, the external support sytems they have interfere greatly with their learning. Daycare, lack of understanding, weak management skills, car breakdowns, illness, etc are frustrating. We try to resolve most of these issues in the first couple of weeks they start. We know that "life" comes up and whaps them ever so often, but we are preparing them for the workforce. This is the time to get everything straightened out before they start work. But where should our line be in the internal support? How far do we go to ensure their success?

Building Rapport

Building Rapport is such a good thing, but I have found that it only goes as far as the student will allow.

Empathy

I have found that empathy and understanding can go a LONG way as long as you set boundaries and recognize those students that abuse it.

Fair and Caring

Is there ever a time where you can be too "fair and caring?" What does one do with those students that come up with every excuse in the book when turning in late work?

Student Frustrations

I have a student that gets set off on every small thing(including anything less than 100% on her coursework) and of course everything and anything is the instructor's fault. Any tips on this issue?

The enemy is boredom!

Participation is the key to a vibrant class. Each class has it's own characteristics but they all become board if we do not refocus ourselves, our delivery and the students participation methods. One day for terminology we might play hangman and another day Scrabble using only industry terms. The focus and refocus must be on satisfying the student needs in the most efficient effective and participative manner possible.

Can one be motivted by another?

In college psychology, many years ago, it was said a person cannot motivate another: one can only introduce a stimulus into the environment for the subject to be motivated by his/her own value system. Motivation therefore is an internal process. I have found this to be true. While we all may have shared motivational triggers as others we respond to ours and ours alone. If I have little use or care little for external recognition then introducing it into the learning or work environment will have little or no affect on my efforts. However if I crave recognition by others… >>>

Personal Experiences

Some of my students bring inappropriate personal anecdotes to the classroom. This can create awkward moments for the other students, as well as for me, the instructor. It can be difficult to set boundaries, but is sometimes necessary.