Daily Classroom Attention
A teacher who wants to approach 100% retention must give their student's individual attention every class period. Yes, this seems hard to do, especially as class sizes get bigger, but I believe it is neccessary. And I'm not talking about just calling on each student to answer one question, I'm refering to meaningful discussion that will help you understand if the student is actually learning or just simply repeating key phrases.
Kane--
Welcome!
I agree with you 1,000% (if that's possible). So, you make the comment that this difficult with class sizes getting larger. It sounds as if you have a very effective model already. What types of things do you do to have those 'meaningful discussions'?
Susan
Most of our students enter our college with the intent of earning a living by working within the career field of their choice. As a result, many of them do not embrace the general education courses as fully. Thus, I encourage my general education faculty to make mention (as often as possible) of the ways in which the material is pertinent to their chosen programs. Not only does doing so remind the students about the relevance of the material, but it also gives students an indication that their instructors outside of their majors have taken time to know more about them. I'm guessing, but I truly think that if students feel that sense of caring, it works as a motivational factor for them in a class that may not be their first choice. Additionally, an English, math, or speech teacher's use of their future careers as examples helps the students to keep their "eyes on the prize."
Richard--
Welcome to class!
Excellent point and excellent solution regarding general education. This is not what students are most excited about when they enroll, but we all recognize how critical those skills are. You are absolutely correct that the more these faculty can relate the material to the work place, the more connected the students become.
Susan
Absolutely, and I now encourage students to share real-world examples that contribute to the discussions. This seems to help the student open-up and be more willing to voice their ideas and opinions.
Excellent point Kane and oh so true. I think that it is good in many cases for instructors to come from a "typical University" setting where education is not very personal to teach and use the methods described in this course. It can backfire though and they could bring that attitude with them!
Michael--
Agreed! Although there are excellent faculty in all types of institutions, finding someone who really has a 'heart' for teaching is a wonderful thing.
Faculty screening and hiring is a key component to institutional effectiveness and plays a large and important role in image, recruiting and retention.
Susan
At the institution I work at, this is such an important aspect. Every day each of our student body is impacted on the fact with the vission that "Today is what matters in preparing for the future". At every level of of school is the notion of the student comes first. Our approach is theis, "One voice, one vission". In order to do this we recommend on everyones part to share in this. From the first contact with the student to our career services department. I approach the students that I deal with on a daily basis that they are my number one concern. In order to do this, attention goes hand in hand with retention as well as organization. To accomplish this, we try to be as organized as possible. to achieve organization we try to figure out what works and what doesn't. I f we know that something is broken, we try to fix this. If we know a student has an issue, we try to assist the student in the right direction. this takes time, practice and patience. Daily attention is campus wide. I want the student to have the best experience at school. I tell them not to suffer in silence, but to speak up and communicate on a daily basis how they are doing. I try to put in the back of my mind that I might be the only person in their live that is giving positive support and feedback. A high five, or a thumbs up goes along way. I try to send all my new students a piost card and try to learn their first and last name out of respect. This also helps in the long run because we are working on communication skills as well as preparing the students for real life experiences. In many experiences I have had with students is the fact that I might be the only support they might have. In some cases every day needs postive motivation as well as daily classroom attention. Everything I say and do has an impact on the students feelings about the overall experience of coming to school. The power of a smile can go along way.
Dagger--
You are absolutely on the right track with building those relationships immediately and in recognizing that the small things (high-fives!) can make a huge difference.
Encouraging students to speak up at the first feeling of frustration is a great practice. Do you have any structured 'alert' systems in place for those students who may not do this?
Susan
One of the best ways to keep the students attention is to fill the room with the enthusiasm for your subject.
They have to get the sense of your love and commitment to your subject is real.This is not just a job your doing!
Concrete example of how you continue to learn in your subject area.
How what you sre teaching can make them a more valuable employee.
Mike Kelly
Mike--
Absolutely! The #1 recruiting and retention tool is a competent, enthusastic and caring faculty.
Agree. The instructor is with our students more than any other employee on campus; therefore have the most impact on retention. The hiring of this person is critical to the success of the school. We look for professional, caring, compassionate, dedicated instructors, that buy in to the student-centered culture on our campus. Not easy, but necessary.
Andrew--
Definitely not easy to find such individuals, but good for you for looking! While it may take many interviews to find people who fit in to your culture and are student-centered, the end result is well worth the effort!
Susan
i agree but most of this work with the students will have to be done before and after class unless you have time durning class
We have just implemented a new program where the teacher talks to each student once a week about their grades and attendance. They discuss what it will take for the student to improve their grade if needed. The teacher also calls the student if they are absent and let's them know what they missed and how to be prepared for the next class.
Katherine--
This sounds wonderful! While I am sure it is time consuming, the opportunity to interact on an individual basis and discuss their progress (and any issues) is worth it. Please keep me posted on the results.
Susan
