unprepared students
The biggest problem I face is having students with a weak educational background.
We have student who have not learned the Basic English comprehension. We try to accommodate
Sometimes I can help students get better scores on tests by pointing out clues in the questions that direct them to selecting the correct answers, so I like when I can do that. Other times I feel I am letting down the more prepared students if I have to spend too much time on the unprepared students to bring them up to speed. I feel frustrated because I feel I am letting down either one group or the other, and I don't know how to effectively counteract that situation.
it does make it difficult to instruct if you have to go back in time for a student to pick up the basics.
We must teach at the same school Ha Ha.. no really this is one of the things that I struggle with also. I am teaching in a surgical area. When my students are finished with their training they will be required to work in an exact environment where lives could be involved. The ability to communicate with medical staff is importand. I don't know how to stress this enough and don't know how to make up for years of poor comprehension when I have difficult material to teach
It's also very frustrating when the student is aware of the lab work being accomplished on a particular day, knowing they need to break down a recipe (formula) amount and when they ask for a item of need and have no idea how much they need, yeah it happens. I then will walk them through the proceedure and when they come to the correct conclusion, then they may ask, "Chef, may I get 12 oz. of this or that...."
This is something we can not control, we have to be somewhat of a refresher as well as introduce them to the material.
part of this falls in the area of a back up plan, we are supposed to be able to help these individuals understand the information.
I teach a business math class and I find that my students do not understand basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It is extremely frustrating to have to continually go over the math basics.
I teach English and occasionally have to go over parts of speech to make sure all my students remember what pronouns and adjectives are. The reminder is a relief to some, and others are offended that junior high material is covered in college. Hmmmm, what to do....
I agree. Some students don't help the situation by not asking for help. I have noticed that many of our students lack good reading comprehension skills. I don't know of a good way to handle that.
In addition to our basic entrance testing requirements we also test basic Quantitative and Verbal skills. Students that score below a certain level are required to take Math & English Foundation courses prior to their core courses.
Hi Annette:
I think when students show an academic weakness at the start, it is often a forewarning of continued academic weaknesses in the coming sessions.
Remedial study or course work can be helpful. I know most instructors want the "cream of the crop", but the reality is we often have to work with students with weaker areas.
If there's enough time, these students can create opportunities for us to explore different teaching strategies, or even work 1-on-1 with them. That said, I'll add I gaurd my time jealously - I will only give out if the student is willing to give in to my offer of assistance.
Regards, Barry
In the nursing profession we find a lot of students have the desire to become a nursing professional. Because the majority come in for the wrong reasons, I run a lot into students that are not prepared. I have a "speech" prepared in R/T working with a human life and how a mistake, no matter how small, can cost your liberty(you can end up in prison). The importance of looking, acting and being a professional at all times. As nurses we are expected to have a clean slate at all times. And I end the speech that maybe they should look into another profession. I have seen the exit of these students fast.
Hi, Susie (and everybody else)! I almost laughed out loud when I read the recommendation in the course material that faculty could speak with administration officials about “screening†underdeveloped students out of our courses. For open enrollment colleges and universities such a tactic is impossible.
However, there are student alert systems that can help not only us faculty, but the students themselves to understand that they either must be more diligent about doing coursework or consider taking a course at a later time. More importantly, we have to face the stubborn fact that most of our students come from severely inferior public schools (the public school systems in the Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan area are particularly notorious for their inferiority).
An important sidebar, thugh: It is a joy when we have students who obviously came from Catholic, Lutheran, or telshe yeshiva schools; they provide some exemplary role models for the others whose “education†was obtained in public systems.
Thus, until we see more students from the superior non-public schools, I think the only options we have—at least the only options those of us in career colleges have—are: 1. to alert support staff about student distress, 2, offer more tutoring services to compensate for what should have been mastered at the public school level, and 3. to encourage, encourage, encourage students that they can succeed in the current course, even though, for example, their reading skills may still be at the elementary level.
Comments?
We also have those foundations/prep courses at the college i am working at. Sometimes there is still 1 or2 students in each class that really struggle with the reading and comprehension of the material. I have been fortunate that they have been able to obtain free tutoring services from the school that has really helped them stay caught up with the requirements.
Hi Jeff:
Agreed on all points. Some instructors here may be coming from a philosophy of pre-requisite work or meeting a minimum score on a standardized test to obtain approval for entry into a class or instructional program. If that's the case, that may eliminate the need for a lot of your suggestions.
However, in a public forum, all of your suggestions make absolute sense.
Regards, Barry
Hi Kristina:
THis is really a good topic, as there are always one or two students that tend to struggle. Verbalizing the alternate methods of study outside of class is a great idea (like you describe), and doing so recurrently during the course can help remind these students there is help for them outside of class.
Regards, Barry