Michael Petrow

I have been educating for awile now, in many different environments. I have found myself overpreparing before class to calm my nerves and to get instant buy in from the students. I have found that this is of utmost value, even if you do not have mastery of the content you are teaching. It not only establishes credibility, but it gives momentum for the class, making it easier to flow through the rest of the class and build as you go. It is harder to catch up than it is to keep momentum going.

I have found that in addition to the opportunity to cheat, when students are unprepared and are not getting the material, find creative ways to do this. Not only are we enabling them if we allow them to cheat, we are taking away thier ability to learn in both the class room and in life.

Keeping the disengaged engaged is a key topic to understand in the classroom. Some key strategies that I implement is by breaking my content up into sections and then getting the students to engage between each segment. In addition, I do alot of pacing in the class and am always finding creative ways to illustrate topics to the field the students are going into.

What I have found is the link between stress and consistency in the classroom. Moreover, when the students get the structure and communication they need and this is done consistently, the stress of the students goes down and their production goes up. Ultimately, optimal structure with consistency leads to the lowering of student stress.

Assessing the structure is what we all intutively do with most things in life. When it comes to students and thier choice of a college and/or class, it is no different, especially if they are paying good money for it. We can expect that students will assess the structure of the first week to see if it is worth staying on board.

Community is key for encouraging success with students. In the community, the faculty plays a huge role in leading the students and modeling by example. Wherein, the other students provide the needed support system. Collectively, they should work in synergy to create a family feel that embodies trust and encourgages having a voice. Ultimately, these pieces contribute to the right community.

Orientation is all about impression. Moreover, a first impression. When a student comes to orientation they are expecting to get connected not only to others in the institution (like instructors and other students), but are looking to get connected to the resources that will help them suceed in their journey. They are ultimately looking to have their expectations (set out by the admissions counselor) met and are there to make sure that they are in line with the descision they made to attend.

In reflecting on the content thus far, I started to see how it really is all about service and servicing our students. For years I have facilitated quality service in what I do and have seen the benefits of having and acquiring long term clients. We, as instructors need to make it about the students and center or classes around thier needs and creatively and passionately communicate the objectives in light of thier specific personalities and learning types, while keeping in mind, thier surrounding influences. Ultimately, retention comes from exceptional service and retention is crucial.