Remedial Education at the College Level

I was beyond terrified on my first night of teaching. I had worked at the Community College for over a year, but I had never worked with students in this capacity. I had always be a part of the customer service side. I wasn’t even sure this is what I really wanted to do. At my bosses urging, I looked into picking up some extra money as adjunct faculty. After meeting with my program chair and the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, I was still uncertain of what to expect. As scared as I was, it is hard to believe that night changed my life. That was the night I discovered my passion for teaching remedial English Composition.

Being a first time teacher at the college level already has its share of stresses. You have to learn how to plan your lecture. You quickly discover that what you thought was plenty of content to fill your class time will only fill about half of the time. You run the risk of having a very unresponsive class. You have no clue whether or not your material makes sense or is effective if you never receive any feedback. There are many lessons learned in that first semester. Remedial classes have all that and more.

Finding lecture material and activity suggestions can be maddening. Because the material covered in these classes is traditionally taught to younger students, it is hard to find activities and materials geared toward the adult student. I remember spending night after night researching online. I would find tons of hand out ideas and activities for middle schoolers. However, the median age in my class was around 22. Sometimes a little creativity is needed. I had to find activities that were helpful and didn’t insult my students.

In any teaching situation, every class is different. This is no different. My first semester of teaching, my students were very independent. They rarely asked questions, and rarely had problems. They needed very little structure to keep focused and on task. Since that semester, I have never had a class like that again. I have had classes where there have been a few students who need one on one attention, while the others are more self sufficient. Other times I have had totally needy and dependent students who all need a little bit of extra help. It just depends.

While you want to be prepared for the semester, sometimes it is better to not put your schedule in stone. Since the student atmosphere and need level fluctuates so much from term to term, having the option to change your mind can be helpful. Just because your lecture on subject verb agreement made sense last semester doesn’t mean that it is going to hit home this semester. If you discover that your students are still struggling with a concept after it has been covered in class, do not be afraid to tackle the subject again. If your schedule is more flexible, you can easily shuffle things around to make time for this.

Everyone has a different learning style. Do not be discouraged when you lecture doesn’t go over the way you planned. Like I said before, a lecture that works for one class will baffle another. As you plan your lecture, keep your class in mind. Like I am always telling my students: Your writing (in your case lecture) will be less effective if you do not gear it towards your audience. If your first attempt bombs out (in some cases flies over the students’ heads), try another approach. Just because they do not totally comprehend it, does not mean they are not paying attention. Try to think of other ways to package the material.

Most likely, your students will be a mix of traditional and non-traditional college students. Many times traditional students had a hard time in high school. They weren’t focus on education or they may have had some learning issues. They may have been belittled and even treated badly by their instructors. I have had very bright, very competent students who have the capacity to be skilled writers in my classes. However, they had been told they were bad writers, or that they weren’t smart. That negative reinforcement has had major effects on them.

Non-traditional students may suffer from some of the same afflictions. This is made even more messy, by the fact that it may have been years since they were in a classroom setting. Even if it has only been ten years, schools have changed a great deal in the past decade. I have had non-traditional students gaffe at the younger students for making school into a social occasion. There is also the fact that it may be difficult to adjust to the classroom after being away for so long.

The best way to handle these issues is to be prepared. Do your homework. Know about the different learning archetypes. Be aware of your students. How much structure do they need? What is the most effective way to reach them? If something didn’t work, what can you do to make it clearer? Do you know the differences in attitude between your younger students and your older students? If you can, get connected with a mentor. It is always good to gain insight from a weathered pro. Join teacher forums and web groups. It is a great way to see how other people make it work. Plus having a support group never hurts! Search you course content online. See what other people have put out there and see if it can work for you.