Working with At-Risk Students
Hello Dr. Wilkinson and Colleagues,
It seems in every class there are always students that seems "clueless" as to the assignment instructions, how to respond to the discussion board, how to write grammatically correct sentences, etc. I give special attention to these students by closely monitoring their work, providing very specific feedback, maintaining close communication, etc. What methods do you use to determine whether or not these students may have been in special ed in high school and not just regular ed students that need a bit more help than the others?
Kind regards,
Sara Fine
Instructor
I will send an individual email and bring up previous learning environments. From there I can work with the student or refer them to counseling or tutoring.
Harry,
That is a good idea! You also have to know the resources of the schools has to offer for online learners.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Sara,
That is interesting. We are currently looking at our "student services" as we have to provide the same services to our online students as we do to our f2f students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Sara,
This is such an important issue with on-line learning. In F2F classes you can almost see comprehension in students' eyes, but on-line we are guessing a bit at the beginning.
I look at who submits late and who posts lasts. This sometimes is the case where the student is waiting to see what everyone else has done before they submit discussion posts.
I often call these students and feel them out to see if it is a confidence issue or skills.
What do you do?
Suzanne
Suzanne,
Do any of you use a "thumbs up or thumbs down" approach for comprehension?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I call students who don't participate the first week. Sometimes, these are students who intended to drop the course but, most of the time, they are lost as to how to begin. They don't know where to find the course, how to log in, how to navigate through the course, and so on. That personal touch can give them the help they need or the confidence boost in usually less than 5 minutes. That call almost always gets mentioned in my student evaluations as proof that I care about my student's success! :-)
Good question Sara. This is a very delicate issue. I think the biggest thing is just communication. I make sure that I provide clear, exact, and easy to understand feedback. If the student is having trouble understanding and applying my feedback, I will reach out to them and feel out the situation. By doing a little probing, the student may open up as to what the issues are.
Saundra,
Great use of "technology" You are right, many students feel they can make up the work, but if left alone will fail the course.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Also with at risk students on line we never know if they are doing the work or someone else is doing it for them because they lack the skills
Cindy,
It may not be the lack of skills but the lack of technology, mainly a computer
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Wilkinson and Fellow Colleagues:
One of the more commonly used online tutoring services that can be especially helpful to at-risk students is 'SmartThinking.'
The first action taken to assist at-risk students is sending an email or even calling the student. This technique often identifies the underlying cause the student is experiencing. The students academic adviser is also contacted - this helps to provide a supportive team approach in helping the student achieve his/her educational goals.
The structure of the course should be evaluated to see if anything could be incorporated to assist the students including those at-risk. Synchronous meetings or conference calls could provide the very pathway needed for students to communicate in real time which often resolves any issues students maybe experiencing.
The medical coding courses are especially challenging due to the nature and complexities of the subject matter. Many students could benefit from a 'Coding Tutor' which could significantly impact the students successful completion of the course. One way of implementing 'Coding Tutor Services' would be to have a SME have oversight with previous students who have successfully passed the course and ready to take the credentialing exam. The student who contribute to providing the tutoring services would be on a volunteer basis. Hmmm...this would great for students to add this to their electronic portfolio!
Donna Thompson
Donna,
Thank you so much for this post. This is great information that I will be using. This is the beauty of online learning. When students give great posts like this one, we all learn.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kelly
I send out weekly "Friendly Reminder" emails to students who are behind in a course and include suggestions for help on those assignments, plus I encourage them to contact me with questions.
Cheers, Dennis
Dennis,
I think that is a great way to reach out to your students. Student do have to engage sometime. . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I found prompt on feedback and maintaining close communication are always helpful.
Gwo-Fang,
What ways do you communicate to your students? What do you think works the best?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
