Voices of Vets Discussion

Voices of Vets Discussion

by Wyatt Roehler -
Number of replies: 0

  1. Identify the challenges veterans may face in your online course.

    When I was watching the video and thinking about the their experiences in the type of courses that I may be teaching a few things really came to mind for myself. The first item I thought about in particular was ensuring that they felt welcomed and respected as students rather than being singled out as being a veteran. Another item I noted was that was very common was they may have difficulties remembering course material and performing under pressure given some of the mental trauma they may or may not possess as a result of their service.

  2. How might you address these needs?

    For the first item I think that this one is fairly easy to address by simply embracing the inclusive values and culture of NMC that already services many different age groups, ethnicities, experiences, etc. Simply living our values as an instructor should make them feel welcomed and respected in my classes. The second one is a bit more challenging to address with a blanket policy. As all students (let alone veterans) are different there isn't going to necessarily be a one size fits all approach to the problem. A few strategies I might employ would be to when possible allow for multiple attempts on graded course work, and uploading all lectures to the class Moodle page. By allowing multiple attempts I feel like I am prioritizing the student's learning rather than their ability to memorize and regurgitate information. Additionally when multiple attempts are given it takes the pressure off of the students and lets them focus more easily knowing that if they don't do as well as they we hoping then they can re-visit the materials and re-attempt the exercise after getting some feedback from their first attempt. By uploading all lecture content I am supporting student's needs to sometimes just take a mental health day for themselves so that they can stay invested in their education over the long term. I know from my experience as a manager that my team members really appreciate knowing that while they are expected to perform over a long time scale it is perfectly ok to have off days and need a bit of personal time to ensure that they can come back the next day and be ready to deliver the work they know they are capable of doing.

  3. What other types of students (other than Veterans) might have challenges that will need to be addressed when you deliver course content and instruction? 

    I think a big demographic that might have some challenges are students that are older than having just graduated high school. These older students might have full-time job, families, other large time commitments, or a combination of any of the above. They are likely coming back to school to trying and improve themselves and might even be slightly embarrassed of their past or present situation. If I encounter any of these students in my classes it would be imperative to treat them the same as everyone else in the class and to make it clear to not just them but to everyone that the ultimate goal of the class is to master the coursework and provide everyone opportunities to make exceptions when necessary so that everyone can get the full value of the course materials and come out of my class more confident in their abilities and future than when they started my class.