Suggestion 169. Make personal contact with individual students
IF YOU WANT TO:
- Motivate students to do their best work
- Get to know your students
YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER:
Making personal contact with individual students.
"In motivating students to do their best work, I have found no substitute
for personal contact with individual students," says a faculty member of
business administration. "Such personal contact is a natural part of a
small, year-long seminar, but I have had to resort to short-cuts to
establish a measure of contact with individual students in large
classes." To increase opportunities for personal contact he employs
a variety of techniques:
a voluntary questionnaire on the personal and
educational backgrounds of members of the class.
"This survey has proved useful in identifying students
with special expertise that can be drawn on in
discussions."
mandatory visit by each student to his office hours.
"I try to schedule this around approval of their
research project."
thoughtful evaluation of students' written work. "I
have come to realize that evaluation of students'
written work provides the most direct opportunity for
one-to-one communication. I spend a great deal of
time commenting on papers, emphasizing how to improve
their performance."
Limitations on Use of Suggestion
Discipline: None
Course Level: None
Course Size: Limited to some but not all students in large
classes
Mode: None
Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California
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