This quarter I have been bombarded with e-mails from one specific student. She is so concerned about understanding the requirements of the class- she e-mails me at least 5 times a day. She asks the same questions every day. I have answered all her questions in multiple ways, directed her to the syllabus, and even directed her to other students for clarification. I have given her alot of encouragement and said not to worry about anything- that we will take one step at a time. I can see that she is just concerned about coming back to school, she has children to take care of and a job to worry about, etc. Does anyone have any advice on how I can alleviate her fears and encourage her? Thanks. Sarah

One thing that I like to do in class is to spend the first 20 minutes of the very first class going over my expectations for the class. My expectations are simple: come to class, do the work, participate and ask for help when you need it. I also ask my students to tell me what they expect from me. I write those things down and make them the rules for the class. The worst thing to do is to "talk down" to adult learners.

As an instructor, how do I get my students to get beyond the race barrier?

I have a particularly difficult cohort of studentd to deal with at this time. They are mostly all adult learners but are acting out in class and generally acting like middle school age kids. We have gotten together as a group of instructors to try to think a ways to deal with them and are struggling to get them to even act respectfully to the instructors let alone each other. Is there anyone who can help with this out of control class?

The best advice I can give is to avoid sheepherding. Everyone learns different subjects at their own pace.

In the career college setting, it can be more difficult for students to get acquainted with one another. Many students have multiple commitments, and there just isn't time for much socializing on campus. I think it's vitally important for students to form friendships with one another. This is an important part of an education, in my view. With respect to retention, I suspect that students who feel more "attached" to their classmates are more likely to persist in their studies. When students study full-time and live on campus, many of these bonds develop without any real effort on the part of the instructor. Not so in the career college world. I'd welcome any thoughts on how instructors can serve as catalysts in this area.

How often have you answered a question by relating an experience you had in your career? And how often have you helped a student see a situation in another way or a more meaningful way by sharing your personal experiences in that same, or a similar, situation. I find that bringing in a personal experience, be it my own or a students, is more powerful than just discussing the situation from a strictly mental viewpoint. Usually, a class will grasp the answer faster, and will become engaged quicker, adding their own thoughts, or bringing up another concern or question, perhaps even deeper than the first. That's when the class becomes especially stimulating for everyone. And, I imagine it helps the students have a chance to envision themselves already involved in their new career. Do you use personal experiences on a similar way with students?

We can spoon-feed content, provide timely feedback, teach with expertise and clarity, evaluate with fair standards, and also share our experiences, but at some point students are responsible for being self-motivators. They come to us with 18+ years of life experience. While I believe a massage certification program can be transformational as it was for me, and is for many students, I'm not sure how to "motivate" those (thankfully few) students who seem to have little idea of why they are in the program and want to skate through with as little effort as possible. My main technique is holding them accountable in the details and in the big picture, but if they have poor attendance to boot, I just feel like I don't have much to work with.

At my school the courses are all offered numerous times throughout the year. Each 8 week session always has students who need to withdraw and then they re-enroll later. This means that I will occasionally have students from the previous instructor in my course from week 6, for example. It makes continuity difficult as an instructor.

I believe that sharing stories about different experiences in your professional life can and does help motivate students to work harder to attain their goal.

Transferring newly acquired skills to actual workplace settings is always a challenge for the teacher. I like to employ as many teaching techniques as I can: groups, large and small; hands on activities; interesting lectures; and field studies where possible. It gives the student a chance to pick up on their own learning skills and also try out new ways to look at a subject.

I always refocus about the third or fourth week of a quarter. A survey works well to not only remind me that students may be loosing their way but that a lesson plan often needs to be tweeked along the path to learning. A survey also helps students put into words what they are struggling with. Sometimes, it is issues at home that are distracting them.

Retention is not only important to student success, but as teachers we need to realize the impact of our classroom management skills, especially the value of influencing the student early on in the class. "They" say that rapport is established in the first minute or two of meating someone - not a very big window of opportunity for us teachers!

I found the most important aspect of this learning module to be the emphasis on teacher enthusiasm. I have long known that if I'm bored, the studernts are. Moreover, delivering the content with vim and vigor helpt draw the students into the learning and increases their skills.

This may sound off to some, "Easy Student Retension", but if you think about it, really think about it, it should be easy. We have students sign up for classes that we teach. I have work in my profession many , many years and I still love what I do. Now I teach it and have been for 7+ years, so I'm a new teacher to many. I bring excitement, honesty, and field experience, to the playing field. We all have had some poor curiclum to work with, it is presentation skills, and relating it to the field the students will be in, and asking them what thier input is. Let students lead in demos and instead of correcting them as an instructor, ask the group what they think of the process that this group is presenting. Bring the students into the learning process, let the students take some responsibility for their education, let them be involved in what they have chosen as a class. They love this as they feel they are learning by being proactive in the process. Now of course we can't let the class run a muck, we need guidelines, guidance, structure and a formate to do this. Once you try this 2 or 3 times you find ways to keep it interesting, keep students involved and keeps them in the courses that they want.

What are some fun ways to engage students if you teach online?????

What do you do specifically for your students that you feel has the best impact on student retention?

I just had to mention how this section really has left me empowered and excited about my next quarter. Perhaps it woke me up about some of my own shortcomings, but it supplied me with a nice road map so my own stages of burnout through the quarter does not negatively impact student retention. Eric

Hi all, I was curious if anyone out there had specific, tested tips for increasing retention in an online learning environment. This has been helpful, but would still like to hear more about specific online tips. Thank you! Eric

In order to succeed in student retention students need to know you care. We've all heard the saying that goes something like "they don't care what you know until they know that you care". Once they know I have their success in mind, then we've started the process of building a firm foundation for success in the course. Also, struggling students often are scared to ask questions so it's important to be open in class and encourage everyone to ask questions regardless of how silly they feel the question might be.