Congratulations to
Linda Ohs (from the cover)
My Top Ten Tips for
Engaging Students
By Lynda Ohs, Part-time Liberal Arts Instructor
Even though it was eight long years
ago, I’ll never forget the first course I taught at
TCC. It was a Composition I class that met at
Metro Campus at 7:30 in the morning.
On the first day of class, seven students
showed up. Not on time. Not at 7:30 am! Are
you kidding me? But by 8, most had shuffled
in. Over the course of the next few weeks, I got
to know these students.
One student was a Vietnam War veteran attending college for the first time, hoping to get
an education that would lead to a better paying job. One was a brilliant international student…who could write pretty well, but could
barely speak English. One was a recent
McClain High School graduate and also a firstgeneration college student. One student was a
single mother of two young children. One was
a recent Jenks High School graduate who was
constantly asking me how she could earn an A
in the class. One student came to class directly
from his third shift job at Quik Trip. I honestly
don’t remember the seventh student because
he dropped the class after a couple weeks. He
was the first of many challenges I faced with
this class.
I didn’t know then what I know
now. That diverse class of seven students
came very close to fitting
the student profile of
every subsequent course
I taught at TCC. If you
teach general education
courses, you likely see
this profile in your classes as well. As an open
enrollment institution, it
is no surprise to have
students who are juggling jobs and school, first
generation college students, parents, veterans,
students who may not be
adequately prepared,
students who just want to get a quick
degree and get out, and of course, those
wonderful students who are adequately
prepared and are eagerly interested in
learning everything they can.
This diversity makes student
engagement in the classroom a challenge, but not an insurmountable
one. Over the years I have found that I
can get the majority of my students successfully engaged in learning and mastering my course content by following
ten tips.
The tips come from various
sources. Some come from workshops
I’ve attended here at TCC. The CELT
workshops have been some of the
best. I also give credit to OSU workshops and classes I took at the Eighth
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