Increasing Retention in the Adult Education (GED) Classroom

If you are an experienced GED teacher, you know that retention is always a concern. Adults tend to have busy lives and unless they make earning a GED certificate one of their main priorities, sooner or later, they will come up with a reason to stop attending class. Although losing students is an unfortunate reality, there are a few ways that we, as teachers, can improve retention and student success.

First, your attitude matters. If you aren’t excited about and dedicated to your GED students, chances are, you will have a group of students who are just going through the motions. Think of your students as mirrors who simply reflect what they see. If you show excitement, your students will mirror excitement, but if you show apathy, you will get apathy back. Give 100% to your class everyday, and you will find that a lot of students stay simply because they don’t want to disappoint you.

Second, facilitate an encouraging environment. Your attitude isn’t the only one that matters, so encourage your students to support one another. Vocalize accomplishments and encourage students to celebrate these milestones. This can be done in so many ways. A simple clapping of hands works great, but see if you can think of some more creative rewards. For instance, in one of my former classes, whenever someone passed a GED test, I popped popcorn for everyone. This made the GED passer feel like not only had they done something good for themselves (pass a test), but the class also got a snack because of their success.

Next, students who bring negative energy to the class need to be excused. I hope you will find this to be a rare event, but in my 20 years of teaching, I have had to ask a total of 3 students to pursue their GED somewhere else. This may sound harsh, but if someone is in class for the wrong reasons, they will only hurt the class as a whole. View your classroom as a team; for this example, let’s visualize a soccer team. You are the coach, and the students are the team members. Now imagine that you have 10 players on the field who have worked hard leading up to a game. They are in shape, they have practiced, and they are ready to win the match. Now, imagine that the 11th player on the field mostly just stands there during the game and sometimes even gets in the way of the other players’ passes. It’s pretty hard to win a game in such a scenario, and it is simply not fair to the players who have prepared themselves.

Fourth, have students set goals. If they want to get their GED, when do they want to get it? Why do they want to get it? Keeping their ultimate goals in mind will help them to stick with the curriculum, even when it gets difficult. In addition, make sure that the students’ goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely). Most students picture themselves graduating after a few months, but that wouldn’t be a realistic goal for everyone.

Fifth, learn everything you can about your students. Are they married? Do they have kids? Pets? Do they work? What are their hobbies? Then, try to refer to this knowledge bank whenever your can. For instance, if a student has children but wants to quit class, remind that student of how proud her kids will be if she finishes. Or maybe something you know about a student ties into a lesson. Pointing out this connection involves the student and makes for more eager participation.

Sixth, time spent celebrating successes is never wasted. Throw a Christmas party, have an awards ceremony, recognize a particular class achievement by showing a movie, etc. Events like these will help your students bond with each other and with you. Hard work should be recognized and celebrated.

Next, take pictures. Make sure you get a written consent to keep in student files and make sure that your particular program allows for photos. If pictures are allowed, take them every chance you get, then make a classroom scrap book. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but having a photo album will be appreciated by your students. When I take a student’s picture, I also make sure to text them a copy. Students love getting these texted photos to show their friends and family.

Finally, show the students their absence is noticed. Most students will need to miss an occasional class. If it is an unexpected absence, send them a text to check on them. I have found that learners are much less likely to miss if they realize that their absence was noticed. In addition, as you get to know your students, give them daily tasks. This will make them attend more often knowing that their particular class assignment will either go undone or have to be done by someone else in their absence. For instance, if you have someone who is concerned with cleanliness, ask them to wipe down the surfaces of the class at the end of each session. If you have someone who likes for things to stay organized, ask them to straighten the materials each day before they leave.

In conclusion, do everything you can to make the class feel like a home away from home. Students shouldn’t dread coming to class. Instead, they should look forward to attending because they know that they will learn something new, make some new friends, and leave feeling good about themselves.

If you are looking for some new materials to increase student involvement and excitement, check out my TPT store by clicking on the icon below.

And as always, if you have any questions or if I can assist you in anyway, please fill out the contact form found on this website.