Get Your Students Hired
Francis ,
Do you share your experiences with procrastination with your students? I think your empathy may be your most powerful tool.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Michael,
Great point and great post!! We as instructors have to communicate to students what A work, B, work, and C work. I have this discussion with students explaining if I say a minimum number of references then the minimum is a C. A is beyond that as it represents excellent work. This is so frustrating.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Natalie,
How do you handle late assignment within a five week period? You really have a handle on trying to keep students engaged. Five weeks is really a short time particularly when procrastination. Your post really grasps how all of these problems become the "perfect storm" of failure.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Annabel,
Great observations. You model good communication. You may want to try creating a calendar that helps students plan their schedule. Have them turn in their project calendar they created to work within their schedules.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kathleen,
You are right. I have started using calendaring as a way for students to try to plan their schedules. The calendar can be accessed through their phone and/or computer.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Christine,
I am finding this happening in all of my courses; f2f and online. I started this year to create project calendars using Outlook to help students plan their assignments. It seems to have helped but I am in the early stages.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Albert,
You are right. The procrastination is the downfall of many online students. I have started having students that successfully pass the course to offer advice to my new students. This ultimately becomes the message.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I see them falling into the same pitfall that I fell into when I was in school. In fact, I still struggle with this if I am not careful and that is procrastination. I always think I will have time to complete things later. Most of the time it works out just fine, but in the event that I run into a snag, I am dead in the water.
A very common pitfall that I see students fall into is trying to get away with doing the minimum. Sometimes they seem to treat it like it is a game and to try to get away with doing as little as possible. It is not uncommon for students to spend more time arguing with me via email that their grade was unfair rather than putting the effort into doing the work right the first time.
Oh, all of them. ;) Actually, the few below are the ones I think I experience most-
1- Underestimate the amount of time necessary to complete assignments involved in an online course
Usually in the first week or two, I get a lot of late assignments. I know the students wait until the day or two before the due date rather than working on it throughout the week, because when I get the panicked email, it is always AFTER the due date, or on the due date itself. And I oftentimes get notes from students with their assignments that tell me they didn't understand and did the best they could, but again, this is after the fact as well, and questions were not asked during the week. So I think this is due in part to procrastination and also not thinking it would take that long to complete, so they wait until the last minute.
And even though we have requirements for when students should post to the Discussion Board, many wait until the last minute because I can see the time stamps.
Because it is an online class and only 5 weeks, I make a point to set it up in the course expectations that this is a fast-paced class, due dates are expected, amount of time to estimate for classes, etc.. I also facilitate the chat on the first day of the week and go through the grading rubric then so that students can start their work early in the week.
I believe they also Overestimate their technology skills as well, but again, due to procrastination, they dont know this until the assignment is due, so they struggle under pressure. I try to be flexible with how assignments are turned in, allow a one-time late assignment pass, offer online support as best as I can, and refer them to their campus tech support for further assistance.
I would absolutely say that the number 1 pitfall, though, is they assume online learning is easy. I teach a 100 level Communication class- interpersonal communication skills. I can tell by the lack of participation, the questions I get following the quizzes, the effort they put into their assignments, etc. that they expected both the class topic and the online environment to be easier than what they are actually experiencing. Again, i try and set this up as best I can in the Course Expectations, the grading rubric, syllabus, and online tutorial, but I can't make them read or listen to the resources I provide them.
The major pitfall for students is procrastination. My students are often working adults with personal responsibilities. As personal problems develop time management becomes the sources of stress.
When students are communicating with me, I can assist them by offering schedule changes and alternative strategies for completing their assignments. Students often wait too late to respond to me even though I send them friendly reminders by email and look for them on our Instant Messaging.
As stated in this course, "These pitfalls limit students' success and may encourage procrastination."
Dr. Wilkinson,
Many of my students underestimate the amount of time they need to complete their assignments. Since we only have 4 questions in some assignments, they think they can complete it in an hour or so and be successful in understanding the content. Unfortunately, many of them will send me an e-mail the morning after the due date and say that they need more time to complete the assignment.
I usually encourage them in the beginning of the week to evaluate what they know so that they have a clear idea of how much topics they need to review and how much time they will need to spend to successfully complete their assignments.
-Christine
Hello,
The following are the common pitfalls that I see in students:
1. Students that lack communication skills. I provide students with tips and guidelines to better increase their communication skills. I attempt to coach the student throughout the course to build their communication skills. I lead by example.
2. Students that tend to procrastinate. I encourage students to set a schedule that they can stick to. I provide students several announcements throughout the course with weekly due dates.
3. Many students believe that online learning is easy. As a result, they do not apply themselves. I try to motivate students and provide a thorough list of course expectations.
Warm Regards,
Annabel
I see poor time management skills and procrastination as common pitfalls. Sometimes the problem is because the student takes on too much. Other times it is because students confuse the flexibility of an online course with not having to meet deadlines, and they procrastinate.
I post deadline announcements in multiple places, and send announcements a couple of times a week so students get a "reminder." If someone hasn't participated, I send a personal email to see why they haven't participated.
Tiffany,
Great strategy. I started using Outlook calendar to help my students organize their time. You could use a Google calendar also. These calendaring system goes into their phone. That is what I wanted.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kaitlin,
It is interesting that students think online learning is easier than f2f. They underestimate time to complete tasks and they don't think about all the time they spend in f2f class translates into time online.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The main pitfall I would see students falling into is procrastination. It is very easy to put assignments off for a "better time" and then never get to the assignments. A good way to help them get out of this pit would be to not only give them a calendar with all due dates, but work with them on an effective schedule for their learning that works with the other things they have going on in their life and keep encouraging them to complete the assignment in the time set aside for it.
I think that the biggest pitfall I have seen is that the students underestimate how difficult online learning can be. I think that they tend to think online courses will be easier and require less work than face to face instruction. This often catches them off guard and then they are either confused or late with assignments. As an instructor, communication is key, espeically in the beginning. I think instructors should try to communicate the amount of work that needs to be done and what it takes to complete it from the start. They should also coach the students as they go about what needs to be done.
Rick,
You make such a great point. Why do you think they don't take the online course as seriously as a f2f course? Do you think the convenience causes the lack of seriousness?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Willie ,
Are you surprised that they take the idea of an online course so lightly regarding time spent. I have often wondered why the don't think this is important when they pay the money to take it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson