Some students I have had, are depicted from environmental living, transportation issues, lack of support from family and friends. My heart goes out the some students that have been kicked out of their homes and were living in their car. After the help from the college, their tone changes and they seem to begin to relish the thought, I can do this with good people helping and stop the self pity and they will amount to nothing. Most difficult students are the ones with low self esteem. As an instructor, I pool with my fellow instructors, program director and college support system and we have been successful in keeping the students in class.
I agree, when discussing that similar situations are not uncommon, the students seem to get out of the "I" and realize there are others that share their situations.
I find that sometimes identifying the challenging student is not as clear cut as it would seem. If a student is struggling in class and they do not want the extra attention placed on them, they might copy the behaviors of others in the class to fit in. To help these students learn the material you have to be able to encourage them to ask for help. One way to encourage that would be to model question asking, or have students email questions ensuring anonymity when reviewing the questions in front of the class.
When I find a student that is kind of quiet and tend to stay to themselves, I will make a effort to spend one on one time starting in the lab. Once the student starts to feel comfortable, the student will start to open up. The student will begin to participate more and ask questions when something is not clear to them. I will also work that student into a group while working along with the group on lab assignments.
I have found that center stage students enjoy attention more than anything. They typically are very smart but are hindered in the educational setting due to wanting attention. This in many cases has been an issue for me but reviewing this lesson there are some key points I will demonstrate in the class like: making them the class observer, that way they can take ownership of their participation while not hindering others from learning.
Hi Dahlia,
I do a lot to keep these students busy. I like to give them leadership roles and make them helpers for me and to other students. They love being in the lime light.
Patricia Scales
I do adult computer training classes, so my students often are in their 40s or older. One pervasive challenge for older students is lack of self confidence, particularly in classes with younger students. My approach is twofold:
1) Keep it light. I try to defuse their nervousness with humor. Reducing anxiety is one of the best learning tools.
2) Lead by example. I am 64, so the older students can see that it is not a generation gap, just a knowledge gap. Oh, and pointing out my own typos and mistakes makes them feel better about their own. Never let a good mistake go to waste.
By demonstrating that you care and that you have confidence in each student's ability to succeed will give all of them the tools they need to succeed. The most challenging students are usually those who do not understand the applications of having to use the knowledge and skills in their chosen career field. At a career college many students have families, jobs, and financial concerns that impact heavily on their lives each and every day. This leaves them usually feeling overwhelmed and thinking they cannot succeed. By trying to help them understand that they too can succeed and that I will be there to work with them; as they travel through their grasping and understanding of the material and therefore mastery of the subjects.
The most challenging students are those who interrupt the class and the flow of discussion. They bother other students to an extent that the students complain. I try to speak to the offender individually about his/her behavior. I use pairs and small groups and encourage participation by all. I divert attention away from the offender.
Having never taught, I suspect there is a certain student demographic; you're over-achievers, you're middle of the road students (who may become over-acheivers), and you're students just biding their time (more like wasting time). In a perfect world, one would like to have a class full of over-acheivers, but that simply isn't realistic (unfortunately). Where I foresee realing earning my paycheck, as an instructor, is working with the middle of the road students and identifying the ways to make them over acheive from their current abilities.
My most challenging student is one who wants something for nothing, that barely wants to get by and continually forgets to turn in assignments and then wants to blame you for their lack of progress. On top of this, this student is very rude in how she responds to constructive criticism.
My most challenging students are those that don't seem to pay attention or take me or my lectures seriously.
This hasn't happened very much recently- but it has in the past.
It is very frustrating- but I do know, that as a new instructor, it is largely due to my inexperience and lack of engaging activities in the classroom.
I did look inward at first to see what I could improve upon, then tried to be a better "manager" of the classroom after that.
My most challenging students are the ones that think they can arrive late and leave early or just walk out in the middle of the lecture to use the restroom or answer a phone call. I feel this is rude to myself and the other students but am not sure how to approach this behavior without fear of reprisal from the student.
The most challenging students are the high skilled level students. They finish class activities ahead of their classmates and have "spare" time. One strategy I use for these students is using them as peer helpers. I assign small groups and these students help the struggling students with classroom topics. This increases their knowledge of the topic by having them teach their peers.
I am not sure if the student was ADA: the student would click on a variety of options until the right sequence was achieved rather than following the steps provided by the instructions. To cope with this behavior, I usually find that teaming the "ADA" student with a "slower" step-wise student helps focus the "ADA" student.
Students who feel like their expected classwork is far too below their capabilities or far too above their capabilities likely are not your motivated students. Strive to be challenging by giving class assignments that are just a bit above your student's current ability. They need to stretch and attempt hard topics and assignments in class, but be careful you pick just the right level of work. Use differentiated instruction or teaching strategies that are different for different students' needs since not every student is at the same level. Be enthusiastic about the topic you have to teach, and you may even motivate your students to make a career out of what they learned in your class.
I agree wholeheartedly in regard to this. Many of my students have personal issues such as children, marriage problems, financial issues and the like. When setting up time to speak with them one on one, it shows them you care but do hold them to higher standards which they know they are capable of and will be proud of fulfilling.
Hi Laura,
Life happens with us all. Yes, it is true our students have a ton of problems, but we must still hold them accountable. Your problems do not exempt you from being held accountable is what I tell my students.
Patricia Scales
The "know it all" students, in my opinion, are the most difficult to deal with because they think that they're always right and that takes away from other students. Calling on less talkative students and giving them praise for their answers not only builds the confidence of the quite student, it shows that there is more than one way to answer something without hurting any other students feelings.
The most challenging students for me are either students who are not interested or those who disrupt the class. A talk with them one on one to show them that you care is usually the best solution.
