Instucting and learning should be a fun exprience to both the instructor and the student. If it is not fun to go to work or come to school than the end result will be less than what was hoped for by all.

This a great way to keep you from arriving at the end a of course and having a lot of material that has to be covered fast to complete the course. When you do not Refocus you will have taken something from the students because of the time element. this can lead to students thinking that they did not receive all they should have and is it writh coming to the next class or should i drop. Dropping is what we are trying to prevent.

Student retention is needed to make a profit for your company or keep students coming to your school if public supported. Talking to students daily and finding the ones who have a problem and leading them to someone who can fix their problem will increase retention.You as the instuctor cannot fix all the problems so do not try, find someome else who can take of the problem.

I have students at times that dont really seem to fit the mold of the proffession they are training for . they seem very out of place with no dirrection . its very difficuilt to motivate them

Its easier to keep a rolling log moving than it is to start a stationary log rolling. Once students are motivated, keep the momentum going by change, intrigue, surprise, reward...whatever it takes. This also spurs the instructor on to think of new creative approaches to keep themselves interested. Have the students expect the unexpected in a positive way. The urge to learn feels like the urgency to turn the pages in a really good book. Its best when they are salivating for the next peak at what is coming next. Then just as they think they have it all figured out - surprise them yet again. I am always on the search for new "positive surprise tactics" - any ideas would be greatly welcomed.

I inform my students the first thing you need to have with any job is have fun and enjoy what you're doing. Just like my job.

Whenever I discuss a component/s I like to pass out the component to the students so they can see it, touch it, feel it, for themselves.

It seems like in order to keep students in class, a mother of a student is paying his son $10.00 a day to stay in class. Should this school come-up with something like this in order to keep our student retention up?

Yes, I believe the instructor is the motivator. I always try my best to motivate my students and it seems to work on more than half of the class....

I start the class by showing them problem and give them 15 min. to discuss how they can fix it. It always seems to keep them interested....

I tell every new class that I get that they will have daily quizes. I have noticed that they actually go home and read what we discussed in class, but of course there is always that one.....

I know I do my part in teaching the student the proper method, but it must also be the student that put in their part.

Hi Dr. Meer, Is there any way for me to contact you other than on this forum? I received 95% on the final quiz which is a great score, but I have a question about the one I missed. I don't want to ask the question on the forum, so as not to influence my fellow learners who have not yet taken the quiz. Thanks. Sara

So many times I see classes come into a class room for a lecture and they imediately go into the "its time for a nap" mode. This is when the instructor has to change what the students expect. there were alot of examples of this in this course. Pick one... Pick two... use them all and turn that nap time into something they remember.

One method that I like to use and turns out to be very successful, is that I set the tone the first two days of clas that no student is allowed to interfere or inhibit any other students ability to learn. I also challenge the older or more mature students to take control of thier class and not let the younger students keep them from getting thier moneies worth.

As a company our lively hood depends on our students. So it is important to keep them motivated and interested in what they are doing.

Sometimes you are lucky enought to find a cominality among the students on a particular subject that is outside of the corriculum. Saving this info for the right time may be helpful. When you have lost focus from the students bring up this subject for a Quick discussion. Keep it brief and return to classswork after the students attention has returned. This has worked for me.

Holding students interests in this fast paced world of media means that in order to hold the attention of some students, one might have to become at least a little bit of an entertainer.This is not to mean that the "Show" out entertains rather than the teaching aspect but augments it instead.

I have found that students, that are younger and right out of high school are being made to enrole in our school by their parents and they do not want to be here.

Relating to students and even being able to evaluate their difficulties may be extremely difficult to grasp with an online environment. This is my very first time teaching an online course. Does anyone have any suggestions to get the students motivated and increase retention?