Cheryl Cassiano

I am going to inquire what each student's intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is for taking this program. Hopefully I will be able to find methods to support their motivation. 

Currently, I have my students take turns being the "charge nurse" and making the daily assignments for their group. Later in the term, I give them the choice to choose their assignments and which nurse they want to work with. I'm not sure at this point how else I can encourage more autonomy with my students. 

I think I need to be more specific when addressing my group. Often times I will plan a group activity and a specific student always blurts out the answers without giving anyone a chance to respond. I think if I name specific students to try and formulate a response, it will allow everyone to participate. 

Finding what motivates someone to persevere through difficult subject matter can help me in encouraging them to succeed. I am going to start tomorrow morning by asking each person in my group what brought them to the program, why they want to succeed and what they see in their future career path. 

The content reinforces the idea that adult learners value their autonomy and ability to apply what they learn to the real world. Our role as instructors is to support their learning and create a well-organized environment that encourages participation and personal growth in our students. 

Following the school's policy has been paramount as it states very clearly what is and isn't allowed. Verbal warnings, a specific time-frame to correct the issue, and written warnings are the progression. I have spoken to students as a group and individually, being very clear with my expectations for their behavior and being sure to use my own behavior and reactions to them as positive examples. I have then placed "the ball in their court" to regulate their own behavior. Thus far I see improvement. 

I primarily function in the guide role, but that fluctuates depending on the group of students I'm working with. For example, my weekend group is more mature and goal-oriented, while my weekday group is very young and easily distracted. I find myself working more as a Guide/buddy with the weekend group and Controller/guide with the weekday group. Needless to say, the weekday group has been challenging, but I hope they will develop emotional maturity and professionalism from my example and interactions with them. 

Typically, my style is a combination of authoritative and facilitative leadership. I find these styles allow me to lead and guide most adult students. However, I notice with some of the younger students, I must take a more authoritative role. They can be difficult to manage and I am forced to be more direct and strict with them. 

Teaching to numerous learning styles and having a holistic approach rather than standardized testing will be more inclusive and effective to all students. 

ESL students cannot be stereotyped into being illiterate when they may be multilingual and highly literate in other languages. It is important to know the student's home language to support them in their learning.