Students’ success comes through a variety of strategies. Below are some strategies you can use to create successful students.
- Check out absentees. Call or write a personal note.
- Diagnose the students’ prerequisite learning by questionnaire or pre-test and give them the feedback as soon as possible.
- Hand out study questions or study guides.
- Be redundant. Students should hear, read, or see key material at least three times.
- Allow students to demonstrate progress in learning: give a summary quiz over the day’s work or a written reaction to the day’s material.
- Use non-graded oral feedback to let students know how they are doing or post answers to ungraded quizzes, problem sets, exercises in class.
- Reward behavior you want: praise, honor roll, personal note.
- Give a visible structure by posting the day’s “menu” on the chalk- board or overhead.
- Use multiple media: overhead, slides, film, videotape, audio tape, models, sample material.
- Use multiple examples, in multiple media, to illustrate key points and important concepts.
- Make appointments with all students (individually or in small groups).
- Print all-important course dates on a card that can be handed out and taped to a mirror.
- Maintain an open-lab grade book, with grades kept current, during lab time so that students can check their progress.
- Tell students what they need to do to receive an “A” in your course.
