Bailey Best

Use empathy in communication. Identify the emotion they have, give a senario of you feeling that was then ask them to explain more about it. 

I know that everyone learns differently so finding alternate ways in media to help students study and remember. I find short form content that explains what we are studying in a different way. Having someone else say the same thing in a different format can connect dots for some that were not understanding it with how I explained it. 

Self management can be hard to get down so helping the students develop a routine/cadence can help them stay on track. 

Communication is key and that works both ways. Us to students and letting students know that is the expectation of them as well, to communicate with us. We are here to help and find ways to make this education possible but we don't know if there is an issue unless they come to us and have the trust in us. 

Problem based learning is a great tool to have to help teach students to think critically. We are not spoon feeding them everything, they need to not only learn the information but to put it together. Especially in healthcare there is so much to learn but having the building blocks and ability to critically think is how we learn and grow not only in school but in the real world application. 

Using rubrics help student know what is expected. This also gives real time feed back on something they turned in so they know what to improve on. It is not helpful to say, "Try harder for an A", there is no actionable items the student can work on. Even saying nice job or good point on their contributions to conversations can help them with their confidence in the class. 

There are some misconceptions about active learning like the instructor will loose control over the class or that they should not make the class entertainment. However, this has been shown to have the best engagement from students and gives everyone other ways to remember things since everyone learns differently. While it is ultimately up to the student to complete their work and to learn the material, by offering class in different formats it gives the student more opportunities to learn.

Understanding that adult education can be hard to acclimate to. So teaching methods and skills they can use to study as well as time management can help students succeed. Not only can it be years from when they last were in school but adult education, students have more to focus on with work, family, home etc. It can be an adjustment to make the time and learn how to study. 

We can not assume what students have knowledge of or what they have access too like a computer or reliable internet. Ensuring we are communicating clearly and meeting them where they are. 

Communications in all things is important, so being able to give students the tools and different channels to use for communication can help them develop not only as students but in other avenues of their life.