How do you motivate a class made up of different age groups and edicational attainements.

How do you combine a class of hyperactive, giggly high school students with elderly professionals in search of a quiet career later in their lives?

You know, someone telling you Your doing Great goes a long way. Aknowledge yourself, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it!

It is good for the instructor to review where he is and where the students are at the mid-term period. The is allows for any changes needed to make sure the class is a success for the student and the instructor.

In addition to finding out background informaltion about a student on the first day of class, I always try to find out if they have a job, what it is or if they are looking for a job. In today's economy it is good to know where they are in this area, and if I can be of any help based on my experience.

I share with my students my experiences and what I did to be successful. I also share the expectations of employers so the student knows what to expect in the field.

When I fall into a rut, the student is the one who suffers. I think it is important that our administration should give us opportunities to become more invigorated, and recharged to teach. Holding seminars that might give us new ideas for teaching the same subject would be helpful.

The best example that I implement in my classrooms is the real life factor. I work as an accounting instructor and it is a challenge to make it interesting for students. I share my experiences in the field and how it works when doing reporting and putting together the journal entries that the class has assigned. I also turn that question around on my students and ask them to share any work experience they have in any of the concepts we are covering. In most cases, most of my students have experience doing these types of entries from a professional and personal perspective. Having them share this gives them ownership in the learning process.

I really enjoyed going through this module and looking at the concept of REFOCUS. It is so important to do this as instructors because teaching is a job. It can become stale and repetitive, like any job. It is important to recharge the batteries and have breaks from the materials and students. Some of the ideas that I have used in my current classes are reinforcing prior week’s materials with quiz to reinforce concepts. Focus on the material and stress the importance of the concepts in the overall learning objectives of the degree program each student. Having an open dialog with the students through discussion and sharing my professional experiences in the field helps students understand the importance of the concepts.

Having rapport with students in the discussion board on a daily basis will keep instructors aware of how students are doing each day with the assignments. One issue that I do face as an online instructor is getting students to ask questions on assignments. In most cases, they come in late or not at all with incomplete work with specific assignments. I make sure to give positive feedback to students and show them how to complete those problem sets. I also let them know in my feedback that I encourage them to post questions in the discussion board or to me by email so that they can earn the most points on these assignments.

How does an understanding of learner characteristics help in the instructional planning process? From my experiences working in an online classroom, I create a positive environment through discussion forums for both the adult and young students. I ask questions of my students on how the concepts we are learning apply in their work experience and life in general. I share how I have used these both in a personal and professional setting to give them an example to discuss in the classroom. This breaks the ice and gives the student a chance to share their experiences as well. Getting students to respond to these discussion questions allows me to see the level of each student in the learning process of the concepts so I can work with them in understanding where each student is. This can lead to further discussion and allow students to open up with specific questions regarding any of the assigned work in the classroom.

If a student becomes frustrated it is important for them to know that they have a support system at school that cares and most importantly will listen.

I have taught classes composed of half traditional and half non-traditional students. I have found that the diversity sometimes works for the best. The older students provide new and different perspectives to share with the younger students, and the younger students bring a lot of energy to the classroom. Have others had good experiences with this type of diversity? Or, what problems have others encountered with it?

For some of my classes, I invite alumni who are successful in the industry as models for my students. It gives the course relevancy and they pick up tips and cues as to how to further their own careers in the industry.

I have found that my students are really motivated to learn when they fully grasp how the learning will add value to their lives. For some that value is job security or promotion; for some it is enriched personal relationships. Show them "What's in it for me?" and they are more likely to work hard to learn the material or skill.

I find that it can be very easy to get in a position of putting too much focus on one particular student especially if that student requires extra time. This tends to upset the other students in the class. Solutions?

In my field, motivation can come often in the form of pushing the students to the edge of the learning process. This is more to prepare them for what they are about to embark upon in their chosen field. Would this be considered negative?

Sometimes I find that students that I encourage do not believe that I am being truthful when I really am. This is a rare problem, but does upset me when it occurs. I have found that most of the time when this occurs, the student is already lacking in confidence and cannot accept positive feedback

When students complain about things like lack of supplies, product, space, etc., it becomes difficult as the instructor when you happen to agree with them. What are some ways to handle these types of circumstances?

How do you bridge the gap in education between student with a graduate degree and those that have just graduated high school?