diversity with culture and getting to know your students for potential needs and teaching plan
Its important to understand students have different backgrounds and knowledge of the topic. Getting to know your students can help you use the information they know.
Student supports are essential for student success. I have many students who struggle with basic and safety issues. Their focus and motivation is lacking because their mental and even physical energy is taken up by the stress of trying to cope with their life outside of the classroom. As an instructor, I make sure to know about and take advantage of all available student support systems on campus and immediately reach out to them when I learn of a situation in a students life that will impede their learning. This is a big part of our job as teachers....to connect students to the supports they need in order to help them regain focus on achieving their career goals. At our institution, we have financial supports that can include help with gas money, or help with finding a place to live. Those things can make or break the experience for the student.
Different students have different expectations for the class and need to be communicated with differently.
From this module I have learned the importance of incorporating real life experiences into classroom lectures in order to keep students engaged and to also demonstrate the transferability of knowledge (both old and new).
Understanding Student Characteristics:
This course has been quite informative. There are many things that I have learned, however, I will narrow it down to three major points that have greatly inspired me: Cooperation between student who differ in age, How to make a student coming from another culture or country feel comfortable in class, and A good strategy to use when dealing with student frustrations.
Assigning students of different ages to work together in small groups permits students to show an appreciation for students of all ages. The participants have an opportunity to become more open to what the student may contribute to the group work without judgement of age. Thus far, I have worked with students ranging from 18- mid 40's. Recently, there was a group activity in one of my courses. It will be a pleasure to see how the group presentations pan out as they were not previously divided by age, yet rather a 1-5 count off to split into groups.
It is an honor to work with a plethora of students from Senegal, Africa to Germany. Many of my American students are in the military and have had great exposure to various cultures due to their travels. It is helpful to learn tips how to make students coming from a different culture or country feel comfortable in class. My practice has been to pause throughout the lectures to ensure all students understand which is one tip within the course.
Lastly, I am no stranger to dealing with a frustrating student and actively listening to a student express him/herself without engaging in any negativity is my practice. It is always my intention to encourage every student to view things from a positive lens, continue to encourage, then move forward once the intention to guide in their educational development is articulated.
Comment on Amy Horak's post: This is a great course to understand the students from another perspective. THe learning process is the main goal, getting that information through to all of them.
By getting to know your students you can help them connect their life goals with the content
I learned that it is important for instructors to get to know the students background and most importantly the reason why they are taking the enrolled program. Other information that the student’s can provide that can help instructors gauge how to help students become successful in their chosen course.
Comment on Hillary Faeta-Ginepra's post:
Thank you for your post Hillary. My name is Feli Ruth and new to teaching. I will be inquiring and familiarizing myself with the variety of services that are available for the students so I can be prepared to give an answer should the need arises. Do you have any tips for a beginner instructor?
- Feli Ruth
It is important to try and figure out how to best meet the students' needs.
This course has shown me a lot in only the first few of its many classes. Age has been something that, while I would like to neglect, has proven to be a force that requires acknowledgement in the classroom. The discrepancies between older and younger students are often too large to ignore and most importantly involve the student's own motivations for attending the course. The trick is to acknowledging and applying the needs to both in the classroom, which can include personal asides outside the class or even positive affirmation for those older students.
Basic understanding of the different types of students that are in the class, such as age, county of origin, leaning experience, job experience, etc. These will help in finding ways to be able to work with those students that are in more need of assistance either by the instructor or the school system in order to be able to retain them for further education.
I think it was insightful to expound on how students of different ages are motivated
Accomodate the learning need without compromising the knowledge and skill requirement when teaching diverse learners.
I have learned that leading with a supportive and encouraging approach (not coddling) will instill a deeper sense of self-belief in the students and ideally lead to higher retention rates and great success stories.
Going to the classroom before class and gaining a perspective from the student's point of view
This was helpful for me to understand the value of looking into things differently through the eyes of the students. Getting to know the students and how to prepare them for their skills, why they decided to enroll in the school and classes.
It is important to take a step back and see things from a students prospective. Getting to know the student, their background and goals can help you better teach them.
