Get Your Students Hired
Some of the pitfalls I have seen with my students are time management and writing skills. They know when an assignment is due, however some wait to the last day to complete the assignment, which many may then have to rush to complete, and then find themselves asking for extensions.
I feel this puts me in a peculiar situation because the reason for the extension may be truthful or not.
Michelle,
Great post. I agree totally with you. I think one of the issues builds into the other and it all snowballs! Great Point.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
What pitfalls do you see your online students falling into and how do you help them "get out of the pit"?
1. Lack communication skills
2. Lack initiative
3. Assume online learning is easy
4. Procrastinate
The pitfalls listed above are the more common ones I seem to see in my class. Lack of communication skills is definitely at the top of my list. It is almost like some students enroll for school then forget they did. I send them email after email without a single response in return. Depending on the school’s policy, phone calls may be included in the communication attempts as well. The best way to “get them out of the pit†is to get more people involved in my opinion. With a strong at-risk procedure the student’s online advocate or student success team can get involved as well. Unfortunately, there are just some students that cannot “be found.â€
Lack of initiative can be very frustrating as an online instructor. I feel this ties in with the assumption that online learning is easy. To be successful in an online environment these students need effective time management strategies and motivation. I feel the key is finding what motivates that student. For some it is extrinsic like grades and for others the motivation needs to come from within. Keeping the students motivated may help them take their education into their own hands and complete the tasks at hand.
Then there is procrastination. I have lost count of the amount of students that wait until last minute to submit their work. It never fails that there is someone that had something come up on the last day of a class, they don’t submit their work before the course closes, and this leads to them failing the class. For me it goes back to time management. If you have a week to complete an assignment, don’t wait until the 11th hour. Too help combat the last three pitfalls I really try to motivate my students and give them tools they can use within and outside the classroom. Effective time management strategies are vital in school and within their field of study. Having a realistic, effective schedule will allow them to keep their life in balance.
Pamela,
THAT DRIVES ME CRAZY! I actually now make my students to review the feedback and use the journal function in the LMS to tell me what are they going to change in the next assignment. This is now part of their grade.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
David,
You are so right! The lack of consistent initiative is just as much a problem as time management.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Renee,
Yes, time management is such a problem. It also amazes me that when students don't know how to adjust when something isn't working for them. They just keep doing the same thing; just more of it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
One major pitfall I have noticed is students failing to read feedback or if they read make the changes in future submissions so they are not making the same mistakes. One way to combat this is to email the students feedback when they need to correct errors. I have found this helps to bring it to their attention and I see improvement in most cases.
There are a number of pitfalls that students fall into. The biggest pitfall in my estimation is procrastination. The second one would be a lack of consistent initiative. A student may start fast and then lose their initiative and get behind. Some of the students underestimate the amount of time to complete assignments and don't put in the necessary hours to prepare for tests. Also, there are a variety of communication skills and some of the students really need to improve in this area.
The pitfalls I see at this time is that "medical coding is easy and I will not have to take much time to figure this out" and then they try an assignment and do poorly. And procrastination and then getting an email at 30 minutes before the deadline with a "power outage".
Most of the time I alllow a student a do over and request that they restudy what they got wrong and understand why - encourage them to attend any labs that are available to help them, and to make sure they are doing as many practice exercises as possible to get additional experience. Once they have to do this they realize coding is not easy and if they are truly motivated students they actually do much better after this. Procrastination issues I handle similarly - but keep track of the times an extension is requested as they may do this only once or twice depending on the length of the courses.
Paula,
That is true. Time management is the hardest barrier to overcome particularly when students don't take responsibility.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I find that time management is an issue and students often procrastinate on completing their assignments. They wait until the last day to complete it and then something happens (inclement weather, internet or computer issues, illness, or family issues or events) that prevents them from turning it on time. I post announcements that remind students not to procrastinate so they will be prepared for any of the previous mentioned issues.
Paula
Joanna,
I agree with you. I have started reminding students that just meeting minimum standards is a C at best. I compare it to minimum wage.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Kevin,
Yes, procrastination can be such a problem. Sometimes I think I am playing hide and seek with student in online learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Cynthia,
Yes, that is what they have been told. I like that you model what you expect from your students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nizar,
You make a great point. Students refuse to look at instructor expectations as they feel that we must meet theirs. WRONG!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kara,
Yes, when you wait to the last minute computer problems become such an issue; then panic sets in . . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Tamara,
Yes, I don't know why they feel that they don't have to spend time on an assignment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Taghreed,
.
Falling behind is like the snowball picking up speed. It does grow problems exponentially
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Mary,
What a great idea. Do you watch to see who reads the email?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Chastity,
Yes, Yes, Yes! Students will fight about bonus points yet not turn in an assignment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson