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One of the great joys of being a professor is being able to mentor the next generation of researchers who will carry on our work of innovation and creation, expanding human knowledge, and improving the human condition. Mentoring students is usually rewarding since we get to see our students’ progress, discovery, and learning.
Mentoring, on the other hand, can be exhausting, stressful, and even nasty at times. This happens most often when a pupil does not make the required and expected progress. The current focus is on such students: how should mentors react when a student fails to progress?
To examine, comprehend, and then handle the problem of a failing student, we advocate using a structured three-step approach: (a) establish the cause, (b) evaluate options, and (c) act.
Determine what is causing the Students’ inability to succeed.
In all circumstances, we advocate speaking with the student directly, as well as observing and considering behaviour trends over time, as well as consulting with other faculty members or persons who may have relevant information.
Every case will be unique, and the majority of them will have several obstacles to overcome. We’ve listed a few of the more frequent elements that affect student achievement below.
- Inadequate ability: Students are occasionally admitted to programmes without the intellectual aptitude required to succeed in those programmes for a variety of reasons. This is undesirable because it might irritate mentors and cause students to make unreasonable and unattainable demands.
- Inadequate preparation: For a variety of reasons, curricula often fail to provide students with the abilities they require to succeed.
- Stressors in Students’ Lives: Students have families, friends, and lives outside of school, so they must face the full range of human issues. Relationship difficulties, sick parents, parenting responsibilities, and financial insecurity are all typical issues.
- Mental illness: Students, like everyone else, might have mental diseases, which can obstruct their success at work. Depression and addiction are widespread problems.
Consider the alternative that is causing the Student’s failure.
Each situation will be unique, and many solutions may be attempted or required. Before taking action, mentors should evaluate the following choices.
- Additional training: The student may benefit from additional training that ranges from structured and formal (e.g., enrolling in a class) to semi-structured (e.g., mentor-guided readings) to fully unstructured (e.g., tutoring) (e.g., mentor suggests the student read certain areas and the student is responsible for self-training).
- Mentors can advise their students to seek medical or psychiatric help, but they are not required to do so. Although privacy rules limit the information mentors can obtain from students, some students will readily react and share the results of their search for help.
- Probationary period: Some programmes give students the option of being placed on probation, and this status can be tremendously motivating for some students. Students are typically cautioned before being placed on probation and then placed on probation with the assumption that milestones will be fulfilled by a specific deadline. If you don’t make those deadlines, you’ll be fired.
- A leave of absence is a successful method to enable students to focus on other life goals for a period of time, returning to their programme only when they are ready to refocus on the intellectual and emotional rigours of training.
HOW CAN YOU ASSIST A FAILING STUDENT?
- Get the parents involved as soon as possible. Whether or not you believe the parents will make a difference, get them involved as soon as possible. Because it is ultimately the parents’ responsibility to teach their children, not ours, they must be informed about what is going on.
- Whenever feasible, assist the pupil on purpose. Depending on your grade level and class structure, how you do this will vary, but make it a priority to assist your failing kids whenever possible. I allocated time for pupils to work on problems in my middle school maths classroom so that I could go about the room and assist people. Check in on your struggling kids, even if they didn’t raise their hands for assistance. Make them your top priority if you see their hand up.
- They should be encouraged. Consider how irritated and discouraged we are with our challenging pupils at times. Now image how they must feel. Yes, they appear unconcerned at times, but this is generally only a mask or coping technique for their frustration. We must do everything we can to encourage them. Praise them for even the tiniest accomplishments or advances, and tell them you believe in them and are confident in their ability to succeed.
- Don’t abandon them. Too often, it appears as nothing will ever change, but we cannot abandon our pupils. We may not see the benefits for months or even years, but this does not imply that we are squandering our time. We must believe in our pupils and demonstrate that belief to them.
FAQ’s
Q. What can you do to assist failing students?
Ans: Get the parents involved as soon as possible.
- Whenever feasible, assist the pupil on purpose.
- They should be encouraged…
- Create a space for self-reflection.
- Inquire about how you can assist.
- Look for any underlying issues.
- Require them to finish their classwork.
- Don’t abandon them.
Q. How can you re-energise a pupil who has failed?
Ans: Encouraging A Student Who Has Failed An Exam.
- Remind the pupil that he or she is merely a person.
- Make an effort to draw his or her attention to the necessity of perseverance.
- Make no insensitive remarks or mock the person.
- Assist the individual.
- Direct them to options that can assist them in getting back on track.
How might mentoring help a student who is struggling academically?
Mentoring has been shown to increase student engagement, improve communication skills, and improve deep knowledge of a topic. Each student was allocated a mentor who assisted with learning and offered advice on study skills that were pertinent to that student's needs.
