Keeping the 75% portion of you involved
In my time as a instructor I have found it useful to use my 15% the star students to elevate the status of your the 75% and also the 10% group of students it has helped helps in numerous ways and situations. It keeps the A-players from getting bored and builds relationships that helps the less successful students become b-players. That allows the instructor to concentrate on bringing the B-players to A-status.
Mary,
this is a great strategy & you are right can help both groups of students stay engaged & be successful.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I find that my stars do need a lot of attention and acknowledgement to reassure that – yes, they are doing a fantastic job.
When I’m not dealing with the stars, the majority of my time is spent trying to motivate and engage the low performers. I will pull the low performer student file and go over their admissions interview and other similar documentation. There is usually some type of indicator as to why that student initially signed up for the program. Some examples would be: To make a better life for their children. They were hurt on the job and now are limited to office type tasks. Maybe they need the certification for their current place of employment to apply for a better position. This helps me to remind the low performer why they came to us in the first place and how this education will help them with their end goal. Some times this can be very effective, other times I must dig deeper to provide motivation.
If most of my time is spent on the two groups mentioned above, it does not leave a lot of time for the solid citizens. It is very true, if left unacknowledged; the solid citizen will over time become a low performer. To prevent this sometimes the littlest recognition will make a big difference. I am an instructor at private career college that deals specifically in the distance education sector. In the past I’ve gone out of my way to send the student a postcard with a quote. One example I like is, “Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.â€- Brian Tracy. Another example, “The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil.â€- Ralph Waldo Emerson. A phone call, even a voice mail or e-mail, letting the student know that their hard work and effort does not go unnoticed can go a long way in regards to motivation.
Love the idea of acknowledging the 75%. They really tend to get overlooked do to focusing so much on the low performers and gleaming over the top performers. Thanks for the suggestions. Their hard work is definitely worth paying attention to.
