Successful Teachers = Successful Students Valuing Student Differences . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Jane MacDonald Educational Leadership Encouraging Student Self-Motivation. . . . . Dr. Mildred Golden Pryor Management Student Problems & Problem Students . . . Dr. John Humphreys

Valuing Student Differences: Dr. Jane MacDonald What kind of learners do we find in our classrooms today?

We will briefly explore these questions . . . How do students differ? What are the traits of various learners? How do certain students learn best? What are the effective strategies to use? Why do classrooms need to be different today?

Personal Reflection: How do you learn best?

What was the best learning experience Shared Reflection: What was the best learning experience you have had recently? What made it so?

How do students differ? Entry competencies Learning styles Academic information & records Personal and social characteristics Cultural diversity Learners with Disabilities

Culturally diverse learners learn best when . . . Involved in joint productive activities where the teacher (expert) and students (novices) work closely together Language and literacy is developed across the curriculum Learning occurs in highly meaningful real-world contexts Learning includes complex thinking and problem solving in real-world contexts Learning through conversation and dialogue

The general traits of adult learners . . . Must perceive learning to be relevant and timely. Want to use new information immediately to Solve problems. Like to continuously learn. Usually prefer to socialize while learning. Want input into what, how, where and when they will learn.

Adult Learners . . . Appreciate speedy and accurate feedback about their progress. Are ego-involved in the learning. STRONGLY resist learning situations that attack their capabilities. Benefit from structured reflections of their personal practice. Differ more from one another than child learners making an individualized approach a necessity.

Adult students learn best when . . . They see the need to learn! Learning is relevant. Learning relates to the whole person. Learning promotes personal growth.

Adult students learn best when learning . . . Includes socialization allowing for transfer to occur. Occurs in a safe environment. Is timely. The instructor is an expert and a facilitator. Requires personal reflection.

Effective classroom strategies that promote adult learning include . . . Meaningful choices Job-embedded or real-world applications Reflection-on-practice (Design – Describe – Reflect) Individual contracting

Effective classroom strategies that promote adult learning include . . . “Ad hoc” group work and group problem-solving OPTIONAL individual presentations Problem-based learning activities - Such as scenarios, simulations, role-playing, case studies, in-basket exercises and leaderless group activities

A Critical Paradigm Shift has occurred: Students more and more are asking the question- “What will I know and be able to do as a result of this course?” Did they enjoy the class or the program becomes less and less an issue.

Why has this shift occurred? Results-driven education Systems thinking Constructivism Increased diversity Need for personalization

Personal Reflections: Do you care enough to build the necessary positive relationships with your students to help them be successful in your classroom? Do you care enough to set the stage for student success?

Valuing Student Differences When students believe that success is possible, they will try. So my first priority in any class is to help my students Believe in themselves and their ability to learn.” -LouAnne Johnson, Author, Dangerous Minds

Questions?

Encouraging Student Self-Motivation Mildred Golden Pryor, Ph.D. Who are they? What do they want? How can we as teachers help students succeed?

If we do the right things right. They and we expect positive changes. WHO/WHAT ARE STUDENTS? Co-managers of the teaching/learning process, Customers who have requirements & needs, and to some extent Raw material who will change as a result of our classes If we do the right things right. They and we expect positive changes.

What Do Students Want, Expect? Self Determination – Empowerment (Ability to make choices about their courses)? Knowledge – to learn? Do they know how to learn? Respect – to be treated like first-class, not second-class citizens – to be treated with at least as much respect as they get at discount stores and grocery stores? A degree? A job? To be able to make a living and a life? To grow as a person? Excellence in the classroom? Why don’t we ask them? Involve them? We faculty exist because of them . . . the students!

Why should Educators care about Quality (Excellence)? Quality is the extent to which processes, products, services and relationships are free from defects, constraints, and items which do not add value for customers and other stakeholders Pryor, White, & Toombs (2007, 1998) Strategic Quality Management: A Strategic Systems Approach to Continuous Improvement If what we teach and how we teach it adds value FOR THEM, students are more likely to WANT to learn.

What Quality Is & Is Not! Quality is not a business concept. It is a strategic weapon for success in any organization . . . . Families, Churches, K-12 Schools Universities, Hospitals, etc. Quality = Commitment to Excellence

Excellence . . . Doing the right things Doing things because they are the right thing to do Doing things right Delivering results by what we expect . . . and what we do!

Quality . . . Excellence Strategies, Tactics, Success Doing the right things - Effectiveness (Purpose - What/Why) Doing things because they are right – Ethics (Principles - Why) Doing things right - Efficiency & Environment (Processes - How) Doing things right - Empowerment & Expectations (People - With whom) Expected/Envisioned Results – Excellence Measurement & Feedback (Performance – What)

Purpose/Effectiveness We must ask ourselves – What is our job . . . to help students to succeed . . . or to document failure? To help students succeed . . . Provide extrinsic rewards, informative feedback, and opportunities for improvement!

Purpose/Effectiveness Teach with a sense of purpose Make the value of courses explicit, and take time to help students understand why what they are learning matters. (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, pp. 140-150).

Efficiency & Environment Create conditions (Processes, Assignments) that enable students to expect to succeed. H O W ? Partner with students to continuously improve the teaching/learning process.

Efficiency & Environment Create a classroom environment that promotes a mastery orientation focused on the development of understanding and mastery of Materials and skills rather than on relative performance to others. (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, pp. 140-150).

Empowerment Recognize students’ need for self-determination. . . Some Ideas Provide opportunities for choice and control Involve students in strategic & tactical management of course Let students contract for a grade Give students options in assigning work – Let them choose . . . Research topics – 2 of 4 assignments, etc. Involve students in evaluating the extent to which THEY achieved their goals for the course (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, pp. 140-150). Do we want to teach students how to make choices or how to exist as POW’s—as they encounter Learned Helplessness?

Strategic & Tactical Plan for Teams Personal Development Plan - Individuals Determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. What is your mission i.e., reason for existence? What is your vision? What do you want to be? What are your core values . . . What do you care about passionately? What are your operating guidelines—How will you behave? What are your goals and objectives? What are your strategies and tactics for achieving your Goals and objectives? How will you know if you are successful? What will you measure . . . What are your Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)?

Ethics, Principles, Core Values Teachers should determine their own ethical standards, principles, and core values and help students determine theirs as well. Integrity Society The Future Excellence Learning Doing a Good job What do you care about passionately? This is not how you teach – it’s who you are!

Empowerment & Expectations Foster intrinsic motivation by arousing curiosity, providing challenges, and offering choices (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, pp. 140-150). Most people come to college motivated to learn. However, the attitudes and actions of teachers can de-motivate them. Motivated Teachers are Positive Role Models for students and others in society.

Expected/Envisioned Results Foster adaptive attributions: Help students value the application of effort and learning strategies, and communicate your belief in their respective capabilities (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, pp. 140-150). Help students know what they need to know/do to succeed.

If we expect students to do well, They are more likely to do well. Why? The Pygmalion Effect? Self-Fulfilling Prophecy? Evaluative Feedback? Appreciative Management? Mentoring? Transformational Leadership? Empowering & trusting students & helping them to succeed? If WE as TEACHERS believe it, perhaps we shall invest ourselves in it and work hard to become part of students’ successes.

Social Goals & Academic Goals Provide opportunities for students to meet social goals in ways that are compatible with academic goals – (e.g., teams, interactive lectures) (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, pp. 140-150). PowerPoint slides on USB drives are useful. However, we must remember that more learning occurs if students are interacting, not just observing.

Performance Excellence Provide constructive feedback that will enhance students’ desire to improve & continue to learn Good job! Use assignments and exams to assist students with mastery of the material rather than penalizing them for what they do not know (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, pp. 140-150).

If we want students to do well . . . We’ll act like it . . . We’ll plan for it . . . We’ll teach them (students) to plan for it. We’ll involve them because it’s the right thing to do and BTW, if students don’t come or don’t stay, we faculty members have no reason to exist because research and service ALONE . . . do not a university make!

How to Motivate Students It’s not what we do to them – It’s what we do for them. Care passionately about student success. Understand that student failure reflects negatively on the teacher and the student. Understand and use motivation and human behavior theories. Understand and use EXCELLENCE concepts/tools. Make student motivation & success an integral part of your personal and professional goals. Communicate your student goals as well as your course objectives to the students. Respect students as co-managers of the teaching/learning process--Expect them to manage/succeed!

Use Tools – e.g., Force Field Analysis 1. Determine where you are (e.g., unmotivated students). 2. Determine where you want to be, i.e., your vision (motivated students – excited about learning). 3. List driving or enabling forces which can facilitate movement toward your vision. Support, encourage, and strengthen these forces. 4. List restraining forces which can hinder movement toward your vision. Eliminate (or minimize impact of) these forces.

Use Strategic and Tactical Models (e.g., 5P’s Model) Purpose Principles, Processes People Performance Pryor, White & Toombs (1998). USA: Thomson Learning http://www.12manage.com/description_pryor_5_p's_model.html

Adapt Models as Needed 5P’s (5E’s)Model Purpose/Effectiveness Principles/Ethics, Processes/Efficiency/Environment People/Empowerment & Expectations Performance/Expected/Envisioned Results (Pryor & Humphreys, 2007) Pryor, White & Toombs (1998). USA: Thomson Learning http://www.12manage.com/description_pryor_5_p's_model.html

Questions?

Student Problems and Problem Students Dr. John Humphreys Common Issues That Most Teachers Face

You’re Not Alone, But … “It is human nature to perceive the problem as the student; but before focusing on changing the student’s behavior, take a few moments to look at what you are doing that might be related to the student’s behavior” (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, p. 172). In other words, make sure you truly have a “people” problem instead of a bad “process.”

Aggressive/Challenging Students These students actually allow you to model critical thinking skills. When challenged, demonstrate: Scholarly debate Listening skills Thoughtful reflection Respectful disagreement Reasonable compromise if appropriate

“I Want the Truth!” After you have brilliantly analyzed an issue from multiple perspectives, this is the student that wants to be told which one is “right.” Some of this is due to our tidy formats. We should strive to have classrooms where competing ideas are challenged and defended. We need to “help our students understand how knowledge is arrived at in their own disciplines, what counts as evidence, and how to read critically and evaluate knowledge claims” (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2006, p. 175).

Under-Prepared Students Remember that while some students didn’t apply themselves diligently before now, others may be behind because they haven’t been taught effectively. We can: Point them to resources on campus Assess the causes of their difficulty Focus them toward active learning Encourage peer-to-peer systems if appropriate

Class Management Problems We can avoid many of these potential problems by: Designing our processes well Setting clear expectations in all documents (e.g., syllabus, What to Expect, etc.) Enforcing policies and procedures fairly and consistently, but not inflexibly

Attention Seekers Recognize that at the start of a semester, these students can be useful. But when they persist, we can: Suggest that you need to get everyone’s ideas As a small group of students to act as “process observers” Ask the dominating student to see us outside of class. Moreover, make this meeting productive to your ultimate aims.

Inattentive Students First, consider that some of the problem may be your materials or presentation of them. If that’s not it, try: Breaking the class into groups Calling on the inattentive or a student near them Rotating seating from back to front Having a class discussion on the factors that influence learning Have them see you outside of class

Angry Students Here, we are not reverting back to an aggressive student, but rather, one that has emotional problems that emerge as true hostility. While we cannot ignore it, we also cannot respond with hostility because it would not provide a good model of how to deal with emotional situations, for that student or the remainder of the class.

Angry Students Are less likely to present open hostility if we become more acquainted with them. If they do present as openly hostile (e.g., attacks your point of view during a lecture; blames you for their performance), we must begin by listening carefully and respectfully. We must let these students know we recognize them as individuals, that we are committed to their learning, and that we’ll listen and respond as constructively as possible.

Sensitive Topics Some students will also have very emotional responses to sensitive subject matter that must be discussed. We must help these students see the complexity of such issues but we should: Acknowledge the sensitivity of the topic Admit the difficulty and importance of sharing ideas in a respectful manner Encourage students to defend their positions in a rational manner

Psychological Problems Listen rather than intervening Recognize your limitations In some cases, professional help will be needed and we should become aware of what is available before we need it If the student agrees to professional assistance, take the next step to facilitate the process

If teachers & students care about each other’s success . . . We can make a difference in . . . each other’s lives . . . the classroom . . . Texas A&M University-Commerce . . . and society. We can if we will . . . We know how.

Questions?