Get Your Students Hired
I believe this is a powerful part of the course. So many feel they need to "give it to them", but it just doesn't work. It's not doing anyone justice... That's not why they are here!
Agreed and it breeds resentment in the students that are here working hard when they see the slackers not being held accountable for their actions.
Yes. And our maintaining accreditation depends on achieving a certain pass rate percentage.
Good point, Betsy. Are you required to publish the pass rates of the certification exams?
I agree. In many areas, especially in healthcare careers, our graduates are expected to pass a licensure/certification/registration examination in order to enter the field they have been working so hard to enter. We do them a disservice by not preparing them adequately to pass that exam. It is important that we as instructors do what we need to in order to help our students learn the challenging material and this often requires creative teaching techniques and work outside of class time to be successful with this.
My feedback from nursing students has always been "you are hard but you are fair and we learned so much from you!" That's the feedback I love hearing. Thanks for letting me share:)
“Being Easy†does not lead to gratifying and fulfilled graduates.
Have you attended a class/seminar where you felt under challenged; where there was so much more to have learned? You kind of felt cheated. Now think about when you completed a difficult project/class – remember the euphoric sense of accomplishment that rushed over you when you made it? I do, and it still gets my heart racing!! You can’t provide both an “easy†and a long lasting fulfilling education – one will have to give to the other.
That said, we have to be true to our word…if we say we are going to provide it we need to follow through. Otherwise student expectations will fall short and retention will follow.
Challenging students to do their best and acknowledging when they do, I agree they do enjoy the challenge.
i beleive being thoughtful of adult students lives whether it be work or family is as far as i will go in the direction of making class "easy". If the students feel that you care about them individually, they Will make the best attempt to come and stay in class. However busy a student life is, i except them to study, learn, and prove to themselves that passing their classes is absolutely achievable.
Shawn, how frequently do you meet with your team? What sort of guidance do you give re: being tough, but fair?
We are all responsible for instructor oversight. I can tell you from personal experience that a peer coming to me and helping me work through a problem, or even explaining to me how i can do something better is always preferable to my supervisor or boss doing it.
As a team leader, i take it upon myself to help struggling instructors understand how to challenge students. You have to understand that some instructors simply do not know how to be 'hard' in class without offending or running of struggling students. It takes practice and training to be tough, but fair and challenege each student in the way they need to make sure they are getting value and knowledge from the course.
One of the most difficult situtaions is to have one student that is slow to understand, or one student that excells past the class. How do you keep the whole class engaged without either leaving the slower student behind or boring the faster student. This is a skill that can be trained as part of presentation and class management.
Tom, who is responsible for instructor oversight? These inconsistencies should be caught - and addressed - in the review process. This also seems like an opportunity for staff development.
Being easy just gives the student the impression they don't have to work then they become bored. The bigger problem in my opinion is when one or more instructors adapt the being easy attitude in their class this message is passed along to the student then when they get in a class where the teacher is tough suddenly they are overwhelmed and don't know how to cope.
I assume that's a rhetorical question, John. Have you ever heard anyone suggest that making something easy is in the students' best interest?
I agree. Students enjoy being challenged. What's important is how we challenge them and support their input.
Whether a student answers a question right or wrong I always comment, "good answer", but then comment as to why they are correct and if not correct, guide them to the correct answer. Student appreciate positive reinforcement.
I never really looked at it as being easy or tough some things in class are harder than others it all needs to be covered but grouping students together so that they can learn from each other does work well. Is an adjustment to make something too easy really in the students best interest in the long run?
Anthony, have you developed an techniques to address this issue? How do you get the students to respond positively to the challenge of doing it on their own?
Interesting concept, Bryan, but what's easy for some students will be very challenging for others. It's important to maintain high standards, but it's also important to be aware of your students' abilities