Retention is not just about attendance
Students must be motivated to be in class (intrinsicly). Though the classroom environment is crutial, I am a firm believer that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Your students have to want to come to class...that is where strong instructors are so important. Not just for the material they teach, but the soft-skills and encouragement as well.
Karen,
Well said. This is the human factor in teaching and it is so important to practice. This is where engagement and retention comes in because the students want to be in class because they can see the value of it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am a firm believer in intrinsic motivation. Everyone doesn't have the same internal primer. If you can find out what engages the students and respect them collectively as individuals, the teaching process is just a bonus.
Thanks,
KLR
Karen,
Intrinsic motivation is what carries people throughout life. The more we can learn about these drivers for individuals the more accurately we can target and support their motivators with the result being greater success for our students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In a classroom of diverse age groups, intrinsic factors are widely varied and extrinsic is unknown for the most part, how do we as teachers know we are hitting our marks in terms of motivation and support?
Jacob,
Good question and one that takes some effort in terms of interacting with students. I do a couple of things. I am always early to class where I visit with students as they come in and get settled. During this time I ask them a number of questions and get a feel of where they are at in relation to the course. Another strategy is that I give them 3X5 cards and have them write down their input on how the course is going and how what is being shared relates to their career goals. I don't have them sign the cards so I get very good and candid results. This way I can make adaptations as needed to make sure I am staying student centered with what I am teaching.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
That makes great sense. Being there is ground zero. Students motives should be revealed carefully in retention, so that they are actually getting where they need to be so that being there matters.
I completely agree that a strong instructor is key to motivating students to attend. I have found through experience that an instructor that can engage the entire class in discussion is very important. By doing so, you have the students communicating their experiences with each other, you learn more about them by being able to listen to the conversation amongst students and not always a student to teacher interaction which, can be very different conversations. You are also creating more unity in the class, which will cause them to want to come back to be a part of the group. They will feel like they might miss something both from the lesson and from interactions with fellow classmates if they don't not attend.
Mike,
As the learning leader you set the tone for the class and with the approach you describe in your comments you are doing so in a variety of ways. This is what student engagement should be about and upon which you will build learning opportunities.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree as well. The want has to come from with-in and we are there to keep that candle lit for them.
Sometimes we have to be the candle as well. I know in my experience with student populations, they are so easily discouraged, don't have a back up plan and let "life" get in the way of their success. I don't mean to sound critical. I think that people who may have gone through their educational process were taught differently (or maybe we've forgotten about the "good times" of being a broke student, possibly no job and regular transportation issues).
I am reminded of the lesson of teach something like it's the first time you had to learn it yourself. I feel this little dittie is a valuable lesson to remember regarding our students and engaging them, sparking that fire that keeps the candle burning and keeps instructors and those in education from getting "burned out" themselves.
Just a thought to knock around.
Thanks,
Karen Rich
Nutisha,
This is one of the rewards of teaching. We get to help our students move closer to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Karen,
Thank you for these comments about how to keep the learning flame going in both our students and ourselves. Yes, our students do need reminders and support throughout the duration of the course. It is easy to be bogged down or discouraged with life and give up. We need to keep the flame lit and the desire for reaching the career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Wonderful idea. I do try to talk to my individual students to get a feel for their career goals. I like to encourage them when they becccome diascouraged. But I love the idea of the 3x5 cards. That would help me know if I'm on the right track or if I need to change my teaching methods.
Joyce,
This simple strategy works very well. I just used it yesterday again with one of my beginning class. Got great feedback and was able to answer a number of their questions that they hadn't ask yet about some of the content we are covering.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree, we as instructors can't make them want to come to class, but I think we can make them see reason to come to class. I always give a small assignment that they need to turn in everyday so that they know they need to come. I also end the last class with something interesting so that they want to come back the next day.
Maksuda,
You have a good strategy working for you. You make a good point about the students needing to see the reason for coming to class. When you do that you have increased the value of the course to the students and this will get them there.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This is a useful tool in receiving feedback and GIVING feedback too. I have used this technique not only as a guide in how to tailor my lessons to a specific group, but also as personl gudelines or gentle "suggestions" on how to tackle a lesson, assignment, etc. with greater or more productive and rewarding results my students can be proud of.
LeeAnn,
Good strategy that has generated success for your students. Knowing where they stand in the course and knowing they have a supportive instructor is critical for those students that may be on the verge of dropping out of school. You are there to help them see how they can continue to make progress toward their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Competency and self-efficacy need to be considered, as well. Lowering entrance scores to raise enrollment rates doesn't help with retention efforts when certain individuals simply do not have the intrinsic/innate ability to do the work. It's almost as if the student gets set up from the beginning, just to meet numbers. Thoughts?
