Assisting the Online Student
If an online student does not respond to your offers to help; as an online Instructor, there is very little more you can do. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.
I'm very interested in the answer to this, because I often ask myself the same thing regarding my onground students. If I provide everything that the students need to learn and succeed, and they does not take it, what more can I do? Is it the lead-a-horse-to-water question, or is there something more?
Jason,
We still have to make the effort to get them to connect with you. Certainly there are some that just "drop off" and refuse to communication with you; however, we should be making the extra effort in online courses to connect with these individuals (via phone, etc.) to determine what the problem is. It could be a personal problem, a technical problem, or genuine misunderstanding. Try to connect with them using all means possible: video conference, phone, chat, text, whatever means possible. Also remind them of the consequences for not communicating with you (possible failing grade, other issues) so they understand the importance.
Herbert Brown III
I don't agree with this statement that there is little the instructor can do to help. Several strategies I've used in the past is to-
1) Send an email to the student providing them where to look on the classroom to obtain further information.
2) Reach out to the student's academic advisor to let them know to that the student maybe struggling with the course so as to also have the advisor contact the student.
3) Use the student's struggles as a sounding board by posting to the announcement board additional information and/or resources that all students can use (without naming the student specifically).
It is more difficult if a student will not respond to your offers to help. However, there are a few things you can do to try and reach them.
1. Provide them feedback on graded assignment on how to make the papers better.
2. Contact the academic advisors to see if they may be able to help facilitate communication.
3. Place general announcements with available resources.
4. Make the student aware that you are available if they do want help.
To an extent this becomes true. But I find that after trying an initial email, I also email the advisor for the student. In addition, I do try a second email where I outline what they need to do to catch up, and I ask them to let me know how I can help them in this endeavor. 95% of the time this works.
Nina Miville
Nina,
Good communication is critical. What happens the other 5% of the time :-) ?
Herbert Brown III
I do contact the student; especially I see that they are falling behind the course. I send them personal email and contact their advisor to reach out to them. Invite them for a one to one meeting. If they won’t engage in any conversation, it could be they are in a radio silence (common to our military student, or they could be hospitalized or even incarcerated. If this is the case, their advisor probably has more info.
However, for those students who just don’t participate, there comes a point that these students need to be reminded that they are adults and responsible to their education's path and choices.
They do poorly. I try other forms and most come around by the end of the course. Some don't but I know I made the effort.
Nina
Racquel ,
It is important to take the extra steps to try to connect with them, but as you mention they are adults. What are the options at your institution, can you drop them from the course yourself, or do you just have to give them an "F"?
Herbert Brown III
I believe we are obligated to continually attempt to contact the student (spoon feed the information) to them if necessary. Depending on how your school might be set up..you might work with the Student's Adviser to get them to help you connect with the student. In many cases an adviser might have a communication avenue that you might not have..so it is critical that we involve them in the education process whenever possible.
David Pittman
My thoughts on student interactive encouragement
EL102
Facilitator: Herbert Brown III
By Randall Aungst
12/20/2012
Discussion Question:
If an online student does not respond to your offers to help; as an online Instructor, there is very little more you can do. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.
Response:
I have been teaching in an online environment for three years now in various subjects and levels of students. It has been my experience that while the level of outreach makes a difference when looking at non-existent outreach vs. providing outreach opportunities once outreach opportunities are offered the level of re-engagement does not significantly change when I have increased the frequency of outreach opportunities. This may be an outlier of the norm as I have not done a study regarding the normalcy of my experience compared to other instructors.
It has been my experience that those who do take advantage of the outreach opportunities do much better than those that need to and don’t. Over the last three years I have done customized e-mails to those that are behind offering reminders and contact information for direct assistance from me and even gone so far as to acquire from the university the phone numbers of low hanging fruit so that I may initiate verbal contact with them. The experience thus far has been that, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.†I will continue to do outreach opportunities as some students take advantage of them but by and large I agree with the statement that there is very little you can do if the student just won’t engage.
Just food for thought.
Randall Aungst
Randall,
There is certainly the level at which it becomes painfully evident that some students will just not take the help provided and then must reap the consequences. It is a bit disappointing as an instructor as well when all efforts have been made and the student just refuses to change. This can and does certainly occur in traditional classrooms as well; the ones that just stop coming to class, you try to contact them and they just refuse to take any help or guidance you give.
Herbert Brown III
Randall,
There is certainly the level at which it becomes painfully evident that some students will just not take the help provided and then must reap the consequences. It is a bit disappointing as an instructor as well when all efforts have been made and the student just refuses to change. This can and does certainly occur in traditional classrooms as well; the ones that just stop coming to class, you try to contact them and they just refuse to take any help or guidance you give.
Herbert Brown III
Regrettably, “you simply can’t save ‘em allâ€. My results over a long online experience exhibits about a 25% success rate of reengaging unengaged students. I have received email responses thanking for me for taking a personal interest in the student and encouraging them with offers of assistance with whatever is inhibiting participation, but even of those who respond this way, most still struggle or give up. It often becomes a balance of time spent on unengaged students vs. time spent on those are active in the course and want to learn. Generally, I make two attempts to reach out. If the student does not indicate a desire to engage, I concentrate on those who will benefit from my attention.
Wayne ,
I appreciate that you recognize that spending too much effort on students that have clearly given up at the expense of the rest of the students should be avoided. We shouldn't penalize the students that are making the effort to succeed in the course. The key as you note is to make a best effort to reach these students.
Herbert Brown III
While this certainly might make things more difficult, it doesn't mean there is nothing else you can do to help the student. Maybe this student isn't the only student struggling in a particular area, and other students might also benefit to some sort of blanket statement about the problem topic. Another way you might be able to give the student unsolicited help is through feedback on assignments. Knowing that this student doesn't want one on one help, you might be a little more specific with the feedback you give him/her on their assignments. Sometimes students just don't want to admit that they are struggling or doing something wrong; this doesn't mean that we need to stop trying to help them improve and learn.
Andrew,
I don't believe we should stop trying to help them improve either. Finding creative ways to connect with them can be challenging, but when you do finally reach them, it is rewarding for both the student and instructor.
Herbert Brown III
I do believe that there is a point when an instructor must discontinue outreach to an unresponsive student.
As an instructor, there are several creative means by which to engage the student including and ways to communicate and to reach out to offer assitance. However, when a student fails to respond, there really is nothing the instructor can do. Every student must be held accountable to their own success and this is especially true the policies and guidelines of the course were stressed from the beginning of the class.
There is much an Online Instructor can do to assist a student who does not respond via email or phone regarding their coursework. During the first day of class, I send several emails to students’ regarding assignment instructions and tutoring assistance from me and additional educational resources. I inform students that I am their first line of contact when they do not understand their coursework. I provide weekly assignment feedback. I send weekly emails to students regarding missing assignments and weekly course grades below 70%. I post an announcement requesting students' to schedule a one-on-one phone appointment with me to discuss the weekly course content. Students' are likely to follow-up by email opposed of contacting me by phone or returning my call. If a student does not follow-up with me within a certain time frame, I will ask an advisor to reach out to the student and ask student to contact me.
Sabrina S.
