Intervention

It's that time of the semester when students and parents start to panic. Understandable, they all want a means to pass...and I want to provide them with a path to do so. A few years ago, I read a book entitled, No Excuses (http://www.amazon.com/No-Excuses-Lessons-High-Performing-High-Poverty/dp/0891950907). I believe that all students can be successful in my class and am determined to meet my personal goal of an 80% passing rate for both my classes.

To achieve this goal, I thought I'd borrow some best practices from the traditional classroom. Here are some of the things that I do to help students, but I would love to hear about other ideas for reaching these students in the online environment.
 Reminder E-mail –As I grade, send out an e-mail the Wednesday before the benchmark deadline for each outstanding assignment. Copy personal e-mail, parents, and facilitators.

1. Office hours -Host a live drop-in session
2. Targeted Live Sessions (Differentiation) –If students are not turning in or not doing well on a particular assignment, invite them to complete the assignment together in a live session after some instruction or provide them with samples of successful student work.
3. Proactive Page -“I noticed that you are having some trouble. What can I do to help you?”
4. Contact –call and speak in person with students, parents, and facilitators with a specific list of items that can still be turned in. Follow up with an e-mail documenting the call and add to the communication log.
5. Quiz-Test Corrections –A fantastic way for student remediation and for teachers to target misconceptions is through quiz and test corrections.
6. Parent-Student Conferences –Meet with student via live meeting software to review grades and opportunities to improve.
7. Learning Contracts –Create a written contract that establishes a “trial period” in which students must complete certain task to display their commitment and determination. If students meet this criteria, allow them to turn in late assignments. I believe this helps to build character and teach life lessons as well as support student success.