Teaching Unprepared Students

This book provides professors and their graduate teaching assistants with techniques and approaches they can use in class to help at-risk students raise their skills so that they can successfully complete their studies. The author shares proven practices that will not only engage all students in a class, but also create the conditions- while maintaining high standards and high expectations- to enable at-risk and under-prepared students to develop academically and graduate with good grades. Within the framework of identifying those students who need help, establishing a rapport with them, adopting inclusive teaching strategies, and offering appropriate guidance, the book presents the theory teachers will need, and effective classroom strategies. The author covers teaching philosophy and goals; issues of discipline and behavior; motivation and making expectations explicit; classroom climate and learning styles; developing time management and study skills; as well as the application of "universal design" strategies. The ideas presented here- that the author has successfully employed over many years- can be easily integrated into any class.