rewarding students through altenative methods.
does anyone have some new fresh ideas for recognition?
i've always been fond of the ol' pat on the back.
Hi Earl,
It is critical that you provide students with feedback and recognition. Would it be possible for you to give some examples of what you are currently doing, so I could suggest additional ideas without listing those you are already using?
Thanks.
Gary
You could use the student of the week. Or recognize the student who has tried the hardest even though they are behind. you could reconize the student/s that are always early to class to work on extra activities. there are numerous Ideas for recognition of students to motivate others to follow to achieve a common goal in class.
Hi Ed,
Good points. Any way of recognizing progress on the part of students helps to encourage not only that one student but the entire class as well.
Gary
In a hands on type of training as we do, what seems to work well in the early stages of learning is to:
only provide the student with a new task or skill to accomplish that is easy to accomplish, I feel like this avoids disapointment for the student.
As their self asteem rises, we increase the degree of difficult.
Hi Teri,
You have a good approach. It just like learning to ride a bike. There are two training wheels, then one, then none. With each step confidence grows even though there may be some crashes along the way. As you know adult learners are the same. They need help in building their self esteem.
Gary
One of the subjects I teach is keyboarding. This is not very exciting for a new student who is an advanced typist. Therefore, after 4 weeks or so in class, I reward the sudent(s) with a certificate of excellence for reaching a certain speed.
And "stickers": all age groups love stickers...the most "mature" students and even the stoics have smiled when receiving returned work with a sticker on it.
Hi Yolanda,
You are right about the stickers. I think that adults like stickers even more than children. Any type of reward helps students get through some of the more essential types of skill development where rote competence is required.
Thanks for sharing.
Gary
One of the reward methods I have used is to give "bucks". I have coupons worth one, five and ten points. The students can get these coupons for a variety of reasons. They can then use the points on quizzes, trade them with fellow students etc. The students compete to know the answers to questions and their interest in lectures is much improved.
Hi Catherine,
Great idea! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Gary
Hi everyone. I teach online algebra classes so handing out tangible items is not an option for me. We have weekly discussion threads that students are required to participate in. I usually pick out one or two good, informative posts and write my own post mentioning that everyone should check out the certain students' posts.
For homework and quizzes, once a week I try to email the students who did fabulous to tell them they did great!
Colleen
Hi Colleen,
Good job with keeping up communication with your students. There are many different aspects of online teaching but my experience has been a key component is communication on an ongoing basis. You are doing that with your students with good results.
Gary
