Increase Your Enrollment

It is that time of year again. Spring is here and people are thinking of things other than taking your class.

They will miss a great opportunity and all your hard work preparing for the class may be for naught. The solution to the problem is simple--increase your class enrollment.

Three straight-forward activities that can increase your enrollment were discussed in a previous post. However, they are certainly worth repeating.

• Contact potential students and tell them about your class.
• Make announcements in places where people gather who would be interested in your topic.
• Email prospective students and give them the department Internet address so they can register online. http://noncredit.cocc.edu/

Spring Break!

Posts will return March 29, 2010.

Classroom Management Strategies With a High Priority

With a new session beginning, it is a good time to mention some basic classroom management strategies.

• Use nametags or the equivalence to call students by their names.
• Do not compare people and classes.
• Set realistic expectations for the class.
• Never ignore or ridicule questions.
• Try not to help too much.
• Do not focus on mistakes.
• Resist having a favorite student.
• Manage your frustration.

Search the Blog

Looking for something specific on the blog?

With 80 posts, many of which contain a great deal of information, it can be a daunting task to find just the right item. Sometimes using the keyword/labels in the sidebar can prove time consuming. The good news is that there is another way to find what you seek that is usually faster.

It is the search function in the upper left corner of the screen. Notice the Blogger icon with a blank area to its right. Type in a keyword or phrase in the blank area and click on the magnifying glass icon. Viola! The post(s) that contain the word(s) replaces the most current post.

Helping the Absent Student

This seems to be a time of the year when students miss class because of illness. Rather than have them get behind, miss the one session for which they enrolled, or stop attending altogether, I would often provide the missing student with a copy of the material from that meeting. The material usually consisted of my notes, an assignment, or task to perform.

The material was sent via email. For those who did not provide an email address when enrolling in the class, I would call them on the telephone, explain that I would like to send them the material from the missed meeting, and ask for an email address. They not only provided an address but expressed gratitude for the extra effort being made on their behalf.