w lewis

I feel instructors need to look at the reasons for why a students behavior may be negative. There are usually outside factors, home life etc that are causing the student to act this way. By getting to the root of the problem the instructor not only shows the student that you care, but it will give you knowledge that you can use to help the student with their learning.

Florita Robinson

When a student has a behavioral disorder, then an instructor sensitive to the student's situation might bring out great rewards in the learning process for the student. One example might be anxiety before and during exams.  The instructor might tutor the student separately, teaching them ways how to study and teaching them to be relaxed during the exam. Being prepared way before the test start, doing breathing techniques, or asking others at home to review the exam with them, might also be very helpful.  Also thoughts of clouding one's minds with negativity of not being able to succeed on the test should be avoided.  Group study might also be helpful. 

I guess there are many many paths an insructor can take or follow to help a student succeed.  And I think it is an opportunity any instructor should embrace and challenge, how hard it may be. 

Donald Kraska

@succes0904

I teach Algebra, and get this all the time.  Here is what I say to them when students say they can't get it, and it’s too hard;

Think back to the last big problem you had in your life.  At the time, it seemed insurmountable, really tough.  But, you had to get it done it was important to your life to do so.  So, somehow, you did.  You probably remember how you did it; you talked to others with more experience, you asked for help when possible, you read and thought about it a lot.  Then, the most important part; you DID something, you took steps towards the solution of your problem.  You may have encountered obstacles along the way, but you persisted, you forced yourself to do it, didn't you?

Then, it was done, past.  Now looking back on it, it was easier than things you have to face now.  It actually seems quite simple in retrospect, doesn't it?  So what can you learn from that; any problem you have now, will look simpler in the future.  That’s because it really IS simpler than you think it is at the moment! 

You can do more than you think you can.  You just have to get started, you have to take steps towards the solution.  Its the same in Algebra or any other class.  Ask questions of those who can help you.  Ask questions of the instructor.  You are paying good money to learn this, so you can and should expect help. 

But don't say to the instructor "I can't do this, how do I solve this problem”?  That tells the instructor you really haven't tried yet, to solve the problem.  It tells the instructor you just haven't tried yet to do it.  No, first try to do it, then, when you get stuck, say to the instructor "I did this and that, and got this far”, detail it, and THEN ask “what did I do wrong or what should I do next"?  That will allow the instructor to give you the answer you need to know to continue on.  Then, you will solve the problem and it'll be over.  If the instructor just gives you the answer without you doing some hard work first, you won't learn, you won't retain it.  We ALL learn the most from our mistakes, it’s the way we are built.  If you try, and screw it up, then, you will be much more receptive to the correct way of solving the problem, and you will retain this ability for the next problem.   Learning cannot be spoon-fed into your brain, you have to really work at it, incrementally, until it becomes a part of you.

Look at the baby trying to walk for the first time; it crawls then it sees others around it walking.  It tries to stand up and falls, it cries, but does the baby just sit there, over the years, never learning to walk?  NO.  Why? Because it sees that it’s possible, everyone else is walking, so the baby wants to walk.  Does it give up?  No, it keeps trying to walk, it looks to others to help it.  Then, it stands and walks!  And it’s just one of the first of many very hard obstacles overcome in that babies life. 

Keep trying.  Keep thinking you can do it you are just as capable as those around you making it in this course. You WILL learn this material and do better than pass the course.  Believe it, and then DO it!

Don Kraska

IADT Algebra Instructor

Barbara Davis

Don,

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. As a matter of fact, I use the same examples that you do-- even to the point of the same exact wording. I encounter many students who "just want the answer" and don't want to or don't care about the 'what or why" that  makes it that answer. I tell them that I will help them learn how to do it and will ask them questions to make them think it through, but that I am not "helping" them if I just give them the answer- instead I am actually "hurting" them because if I just give the answer (aka spoonfeed) they will most likely not remember it anyway and when they encounter it or a a similar situation in the future , they will not be equipped to do it properly. Therefore, spoonfeeding only sets them up for failure and my goal is for them to be successful. I also tell them that they will find it frustrating and irritating as they go through this learning process, but in the end they will appreciate it a lot more than if I simply gave them the answers and didn't make them think it through or develop those critical thinking skills which are necessary when it comes to practical application of knowledge

Thanks for the post and the affirmation it provided.

Barbara Davis, RN

Medical Assistant Instructor