Within the field of higher education, one of the important metrics for gauging the effectiveness of programs is student retention. Retention measures the number of students a school has been able to keep in their programs and in contrast, attrition measures the number of students who have withdrawn – either voluntarily or involuntarily. Another important word for this field is persistence, which is a measurement of a student’s drive and determination.

While retention and persistence may seem to measure the same criteria, I have made a distinction based upon the actions taken. For example, a school may have retention programs in place; whereas, helping students succeed in their programs bolsters their ability to persist and continue to make progress.

The sector of higher education I have the most experience in is for-profit online schools, with roles ranging from online educator to faculty development manager. For this industry, the typical retention rate is 50% or less. Retention initiatives that have been implemented in many of the schools I’ve worked for included changing feedback requirements, grading requirements, and changing the curriculum itself to make it easier for students to pass their classes.

While these initiatives may provide some help for the bottom line, I have found it has little impact on the student experience. What matters most for students is their ability to persist and be successful in their attempt to engage in the learning process. Is there a secret to student success? In my experience, I learned there is and it involves the support and resources students receive from the schools and their instructors.

Growth of the Non-Traditional Student

When I entered the field of higher education over 18 years ago, the phrase “non-traditional student” was becoming popular and I watched it become prominent now – especially with regards to how courses and curriculum are designed for students. The essence of this phrase is meant to describe new types of students, other than those who are starting college right out of high school, who are enrolling in college level courses and programs.

This one of the important factors that drove the growth of the for-profit online college industry. It is not uncommon to see online programs being offered for what is called the “working adult” – with promises made that the degrees obtained will help them advance within their chosen career. 

As a general rule, the non-traditional student can be someone who is older, part of a minority group, speaks English as a second language, attends school part-time, is employed, and has prior life experience. I have non-traditional students in my online classes with age ranges between their 30s and 60s, and many of them are working full time.

For these students, school work is not their only responsibility and this can create periodic time management challenges for them. In addition, by having life experience these students cannot be treated like blank slates, which is someone waiting to receive knowledge being dispensed by an instructor.

The Role of an Educator

Within traditional colleges and universities, the role of an educator has remained largely unchanged. This means they are at the front of the class and the center of attention during each scheduled session. It is a teacher-centered approach to instruction that is utilized in primary education.

This type of educator typically provides a lecture and students are expected to study for quizzes and exams. In contrast, an educator who is teaching online courses is finding their role to be evolving. The very nature of a virtual learning environment puts the primary responsibility for learning on students.

I have coached many traditional educators who have tried to make the transition to online teaching and found it to be difficult to adapt to as traditional teaching methods do not translate well. I can empathize with them as educators devote time and effort into developing their career and becoming a teaching expert – and then having to learn new methods may produce a lot of natural resistance.

Online teaching requires changing the focus from teacher-led to student-centered instruction. Does this have a direct impact on student success? The answer is yes, as an educator must be comfortable in their role and understand the needs of students they are charged with teaching.

Advisors and Mentors

The traditional responsibility for working with students has been part of the role of the academic advisor. An advisor is someone who may assist students with a wide range of tasks that includes registration, enrollment, course selection, and follow-up after being enrolled into a degree program.

Often this was a reactive role and that means an advisor could address a wide range of questions but only when initiated by the students. Within the for-profit online school industry, I have seen the advisor’s role evolve and include responsibility for conducting follow up for those students who were at risk for failing and/or dropping their courses.

There are also non-profit online schools that hired mentors, who are meant to take the place of faculty, or instructors who are on-call. For those schools, students are not assigned to classes and instead, they study to take assessments – usually with a low or minimal required passing score. It is like correspondence courses that preceded the online for-profit industry.

Discover The Top 5 Strategies That Support Student Success 

Based upon my experience and work with educators, students need an instructor – and just as important, they need ongoing support. An educator serves as the point of contact for implementing retention strategies put into place by a school, while working with their students to help them persist and succeed. An instructor can develop a productive relationship with students because they are working with them through learning activities, feedback, and discussions – and these tasks prompt learning. In other words, learning is relational.

Below are strategies any educator can use to help support student success, regardless of the class or subject matter taught.

Strategy #1. Provide Ongoing Support: Are you keeping track of the progress of your students? Every student has developmental needs, even those who are doing exceptionally well in your class. When you are familiar with their needs you will know what resources to recommend – whether those are sources provided by the school or supplemental resources.

Even recommending additional materials to review, along with subject matter related videos, those resources can help to enhance the learning experience and encourage engagement in the course. Why? The more interested a student is in the course, and the more they can develop their areas of weakness, the more they are going to be able to persist.

Strategy #2. Provide Engaging Feedback: I have heard many instructors state that students do not read the feedback provided and if they do, those students never seem to implement the suggestions provided. What I have discovered is that students develop a perception about feedback based upon their experiences.

As an instructor, I provide engaging feedback by taking time to insert comments directly into student papers and ask questions, offer insight, share my expertise, and relate topics to the real world. Again, if students find you have taken time to do more than provide a grade, they are going to consider what you have written. The more engaging your feedback becomes, the more likely they are going to maintain an interest in performing their best.

Strategy #3. Develop a High Level of Responsiveness: For some students, the thought of asking a question or making a request for help can be intimidating – especially at the beginning of a class when there isn’t a relationship established with their instructor.

When students approach you, and seek your assistance, your ability to demonstrate responsiveness is going to make a difference for them. If you can demonstrate a genuine concern for their request, and make it a point to help them in a meaningful manner, they will develop a perception you care and become more willing to work with you in the future. When you show you are responsive, students will also be more receptive to your coaching and feedback.

Strategy #4. Always Be Aware of Your Disposition and Tone: As an educator, you must be mindful of how you feel and the emotions you are experiencing as you work with students, as this will have a direct impact on your disposition. It will extend further into the tone of your communication and for an online class, you are represented by the words you use and you must consider how those words will be interpreted.

While you need to remain professional, it will be helpful to add some warmth to your messages to help develop a connection with your students. For example, consider the difference between the following two options for responding to a student’s email:

#1) “Student: This is my response to your email,” or,

#2) “Hello Student: It is good to hear from you. Here is a suggestion to help answer your question.”

Do you see how the second option communicates professionalism, warmth, and a genuine concern for providing assistance?

Strategy #5. Provide Follow-Up and Follow-Through: This probably one of the most important elements for student success and it involves going beyond answering questions or providing feedback. It means you pay attention to your students, all students, and you make it a point to maintain coaching and mentoring attempts. If a student asks a question by email, and it involves something complex, or may not be easily resolved, a simple follow-up email or call can support their success.

When a student is struggling, has performed poorly, or is not active in a class discussion – don’t wait to see if they improve. Contact that student right away and offer assistance. In addition, consider the value of a phone call and how a personal touch could influence their well-being. As another example, if you tell your students that you don’t have an answer to a question, be sure you find an answer and then follow up with them.

Will You Invest the Time Necessary?

The secret to student success involves the relationships which are established, nurtured, and maintained with them. It is an instructor who interacts directly with students, and knows firsthand how they are performing, which means they understand their needs and areas of development. More importantly, when an instructor is responsive to the needs of their students, they will likely have a greater chance of success.

An instructor who invests the time necessary to support the ongoing progress of their students is accomplishing something even greater; they are reinforcing a sense of persistence within them. Each hurdle a student experiences now becomes a building block, because they are being shown someone cares and wants to help them. All you need to do is to maintain a student-centered focus, in all interactions and instructional tasks, and you will find that supporting the success of your students becomes a natural process.

About Dr. Johnson

Dr. Bruce A. Johnson has 35 years of experience teaching and training adults. The first half of his career was spent in the field of Corporate Training and Development, with his last role as Manager of Training and Development.

Then in 2005, he made a transition into the field of distance learning. Over the past 18 years, he has been an online instructor, Faculty Development Specialist, Faculty Director, Faculty Development Manager, and Dissertation Chair.

Dr. Johnson is also an inspirational author, writer, and educator. His life mission is to teach, mentor, write, and inspire others. He has earned a PhD in Postsecondary and Adult Education, a Certificate in Training and Performance Improvement (TPI), a Master’s in Adult Education, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

As a scholar practitioner, Dr. J was published in a scholarly journal, and he has been a featured presenter at an international distance learning conference, along with presenting at three faculty conferences. He has also published over 230 online articles about adult learning, higher education, distance learning, online teaching, and mindset development. Dr. J has published three books related to higher education, including two about online teaching.

• Getting Down to Business: A Handbook for Faculty Who Teach Business.
• Transform Adult Education: Expert Teaching Strategies for Educators.
• Transform Online Teaching: Expert Strategies and Essential Resources Every Educator Needs.

Come join Dr. J’s new group, Motivation for Transformation:

• Any time of the day, visit this group to find your source of motivation, to be inspired and more importantly, have your mindset transformed: Motivation for Transformation

Dr. J offers transformative resources

Please visit Dr. J’s Books page on his brand-new website: Dr. J’s Books

You can also find Dr. J on the following social media sites:  Instagram

Follow @DrBruceAJohnson

Teaching adult students is a rewarding experience as I have found them to be goal driven and motivated to learn something they can apply to their lives or careers. When they make an investment in a degree program it is usually done with an expectation it will be of benefit in some manner, whether immediately or upon graduation. When I am engaged and highly involved in the class, students believe they are receiving something of value – and this motivates me to perform my best as an educator.

I know it is natural for some students to lose interest in the course topics, discussions, or assignments over time. If I have established a good relationship with them, and I have been responsive to their requests and questions, I am able to help keep them engaged during times when they are not feeling highly enthusiastic. There are also going to instances when students struggle with aspects of the class that should seem self-explanatory or easy to understand. For example, I have watched students get sidelined with writing assignments when they simply cannot think of a starting point or topic to begin writing about, and their academic writing skills are so under-developed they reach a point where the only option may be to completely give up.

When students reach this point, they may express “I can’t” – either through their direct words or indirect actions. These students present a challenge for me as an educator; not for me to question my career choice, rather it challenges me to be a better educator and help these students succeed.

I know this form of expression represents their frustration and there is an underlying issue which must be addressed. While I may never know the exact cause of the issue, I must try to help turn the phrase “I can’t” into “I can” or at the very least, turn it into “I will try” and encourage them not to give up.

How Students Express “I Can’t”

Students may express “I can’t” several ways without stating those words. Using a written assignment as an example, students have told me what they submitted is the best they can do, they worked hard and should have earned an “A” letter grade even though the requirements were not fully met, and they put in the minimum effort needed because that is all they know how to do. In other words, they are stating they cannot do better because they either do not know how to perform better, they were not encouraged to do so, or they have performed in this manner long enough that it has become a matter of routine.

There are also other indirect methods in which an “I can’t” statement may be expressed. You can tell students have this mindset when their performance begins to decline with class discussions or assignments, you find mistakes are repeated even when helpful feedback has been provided to them, or they are starting to miss assignment deadlines.

For any educator, it may be difficult to determine if the reason for any of these issues is a matter of “I can’t” or “I won’t” – or if there are any other underlying causes. What makes these situations even more challenging is that students may not be very receptive or open to receiving help, once they have reached this level of frustration.  

Regardless of the reasons, direct or indirect statements of this nature may be an expression of “I can’t do better than this right now” – until someone helps them to “do” otherwise or encourages them change their frame of reference. You do not have to know the actual reasons why help is needed for your students; you only need to acknowledge they are struggling and then try to help them.

Consider Your Perspective as an Educator

Any time you have students who are no longer able to realize their full potential, and you sense a lack of resilience when they are faced with challenges, it is helpful to first conduct an internal self-assessment of your expectations. For example, are you familiar with class discussions and assignments, and what should constitute a strong level of performance from your student? You have read responses and papers long enough to know what constitutes marginal, acceptable, and outstanding work on the part of your students.

However, if you have been working with those same learning activities long enough that your personal tolerance level for what you consider to be subpar responses and papers may be quite low now. You may have reached a point that you expect all students to make an above average effort, which may not be possible for all students to achieve.

For example, the best effort a student puts in may only be an average discussion response or written paper. That is their best, until they learn how to perform better with time and practice. This is the reason why it is helpful to re-examine your expectations, to determine if you expect too much from students, or if you can do more to help them reach their full potential.

Helping Students Develop an “I Can” Attitude

Whenever a student expresses “I can’t” to you in some form, either directly or indirectly, you should begin with a diagnosis to determine if it is a matter of “I won’t”, “I don’t know how”, “I’m not sure where to begin”, “I’m uncertain I can”, I am unable to find resources”, “I need help but I do not know how to ask for assistance”. In other words, look beyond the initial statement or what you believe the reactionary condition may be to determine if the underlying cause can be ascertained as you can better assist the student when you address problems rather than symptoms.

Whether or not you can learn about the underlying issue, you can still attempt to work with your students to help lessen their anxieties and change both their perspectives and outcomes. The following are strategies you can implement to meet this goal.

Strategies to Assist Students: The most important starting for working with students who seem unable to complete a task or activity is to ensure you are approaching your response to them from a position of empathy and genuine concern for their academic well-being. They will be able to tell from the perceived tone of your voice, along with anything you post in an online classroom or send by email, whether you are going through the motions or truly care about them. Your attitude also determines the amount of effort you will put into trying to assist them, and how willing you will be to try to find solutions for them.

Strategy #1 Immediate and Direct Contact:  Often when I worked with faculty in my role as faculty development specialist, I recommended they offer one-on-one contact with students through an outreach method such as an email. However, when a student has reached a point where they are stuck – waiting for a reply and attempting to schedule a meeting can take time and further escalate their frustration.

One approach I’ve used is to contact the student immediately by phone as most of my classes have been taught online. If I am unable to reach the student, I will leave a detailed request and provide times when I am available, making a genuine offer of assistance. I also add the student’s name to my calendar, and check on them again, to ensure I have received a response and if not, I will continue my direct attempts. Some schools I worked for only want communication to occur through the learning management system. If that’s the case, I use messaging for contact. I can also set up a Zoom meeting for a one-on-one discussion.

Strategy #2 Consider the Student’s State of Mind: Whenever a student appears to be frustrated, or they are unable to meet any of the course requirements, they are not going to have a positive frame of reference and it may extend towards you as their instructor. What I never want to do is to push back at the student or argue with them about the issue they are concerned about and instead, I will acknowledge their concerns as being valid and express interest in resolving them.

Even if the reason why they cannot complete a task is invalid, there is something involved that has created a barrier and this is what I want to help them get past somehow. The more I can work with students, the more they will be willing to work with me.

Strategy #3 Provide Immediate Assistance: Another helpful strategy is to provide assistance when you respond to them, rather than wait until you can speak with them. As an example, if I am providing feedback for a paper and I notice the same errors are being made from week to week, and I have provided detailed feedback before, I will write a personalized message with my notes to the student that includes a list of recommended resources and an offer to speak one-on-one. I can also utilize the same approach for an online class discussion, if I read continued minimal responses.

I can post a general classroom announcement and offer tips and resources. I can also contact the student, request a time to speak with them, and ask for their feedback first about class discussions to gauge their perspective before I try to assess what I believe the issue might be. If they believe they are meeting the necessary requirements, I can discuss strategies for creating substantive and engaging posts. The purpose of these strategies is to be proactive and develop a connection with my students, which goes beyond just sending an email asking to speak with them.

Students Who Cannot Progress

It is not uncommon for students to experience sticking points as they progress through a course. If they can be resilient and persist on their own, they will find a way to resolve any challenges encountered – sometimes with and without the help of their instructors. But when students remain stuck, and they cannot progress any further with a task or learning activity, this is when they are likely to express their inability to complete the requirements either directly or indirectly to their instructors.

As an educator, you always have a choice as to how you will approach these students. You may allow these students to continue and expect or hope they will figure it out on their own, you may demand compliance, or you may choose to empathize with them and provide assistance. Students will be more likely to discover their ability to resolve challenges experienced when they change their perspective about the learning process.

This is something you have an ability to influence through any action or inaction taken when you discover they are struggling. Changing “I can’t” to “I can” will take some effort, and I know the work of an instructor already takes significant time; however, the result for your students is a renewed sense of accomplishment, self-belief, and self-worth. One of the most important academic lessons any student can learn is the power of the words “I can”, as a result of your encouragement, empathy, and willingness to spend time with them.

About Dr. Johnson

Dr. Bruce A. Johnson has 35 years of experience teaching and training adults. The first half of his career was spent in the field of Corporate Training and Development, with his last role as Manager of Training and Development.

Then in 2005, he made a transition into the field of distance learning. Over the past 18 years, he has been an online instructor, Faculty Development Specialist, Faculty Director, Faculty Development Manager, and Dissertation Chair.

Dr. Johnson is also an inspirational author, writer, and educator. His life mission is to teach, mentor, write, and inspire others. He has earned a PhD in Postsecondary and Adult Education, a Certificate in Training and Performance Improvement (TPI), a Master’s in Adult Education, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

As a scholar practitioner, Dr. J was published in a scholarly journal, and he has been a featured presenter at an international distance learning conference, along with presenting at three faculty conferences. He has also published over 230 online articles about adult learning, higher education, distance learning, online teaching, and mindset development. Dr. J published three books related to higher education, including two about online teaching.

Getting Down to Business: A Handbook for Faculty Who Teach Business.

Transform Adult Education: Expert Teaching Strategies for Educators.

Transform Online Teaching: Expert Strategies and Essential Resources Every Educator Needs.

Come join Dr. J’s new group, Motivation for Transformation:

• Any time of the day, visit this group to find your source of motivation, to be inspired and more importantly, have your mindset transformed: Motivation for Transformation

Dr. J offers transformative resources:

Please visit the Books page and Store page for transformative resources: Dr. J’s Books

You can also find Dr. J on the following social media sites:  Instagram

Follow @DrBruceAJohnson

Does every class run perfectly and without a problem? In a traditional classroom an instructor is able to visually assess how students are performing and responding to the demands made of them. However, with this visual element missing in an online class, it becomes much more challenging to “read” or get a feel for the pulse or mood of the class, especially when the class is not meeting at a scheduled time.

There is an aspect of online teaching which seems inevitable for educators and is likely to occur with every online class. It involves students who either remain distant from you as their instructor or they simply refuse to cooperate with you. Students who have this disposition may make demands about their grades or outcomes, resist viewing and utilizing feedback, or not accept constructive criticism in an objective manner.

Some students may be open to receiving constructive criticism and coaching, while others will require time before they will begin to interact directly with you. There will be other students who are going to be challenging simply because they have established patterns of thought or negative beliefs about instructors in general. There is also a trend now where students feel empowered with anonymity to freely speak their mind, without concern for respect or consequences when a lack of basic professionalism is maintained.

A perfect class would be easy to teach as every student would be responsive to your communication and feedback. But that isn’t always the case and it will help your work as an educator to have strategies available which can be used as part of your teaching style or practice when students become uncooperative.

Always Maintain Communication Attempts

Have you ever talked to a student and you knew from the moment the conversation began nothing you could say would change their attitude or disposition? They already established a closed mindset and it could be based upon perceptions or experience they’ve had with other instructors or the school.

Working with online students poses a unique challenge. You can be open to working with them and request a conversation by phone only to discover students simply do not respond to you. I know from my experience as an educator some students are either not conditioned to personalized interactions or they want to retain their anonymity. Trying to break through this type of mindset barrier can be challenging, even with the best of intentions.

My philosophy as an online educator is to respond to student emails within a matter of just a few hours on weekdays. On the weekend I will watch for emails and answer any pressing issues or concerns. While it establishes a level of responsiveness on my part, students may still not respond to those attempts to interact personally with them.

You should develop your own strategy. The time an uncooperative attitude comes into play is when you want to communicate with students about their progress and they simply ignore your attempt, or worse, they respond in a hostile manner or the tone of their communication is aggressive. When students maintain a disposition like that it can be difficult to gain their cooperation.

A Student’s Perspective

When students are non-responsive, or they do respond and seem to be uncooperative, it is often done so from a reactive state of mind. From my experience, there have been times when a student has viewed their cumulative grade or feedback for an assignment and had a reactive response. They may have believed the grade was unjust, they “worked hard” on an assignment and deserved a perfect score, or there can be any other number of reasons. Those students will either remain silent, finally reaching out when their frustration has built up, or eventually disengage from the class.

Those reactions may be tied to beliefs which were built upon unrealistic expectations. For example, a student may believe any amount of effort exerted on their part should equate to a certain grade. It is certainly understandable students may have a reaction and possibly with strong emotions; however, it is not acceptable to respond back to them with an aggressive demeanor. It serves no purpose and works against the development of a productive working relationship as they will resist any further attempts to provide helpful feedback and constructive criticism. 

Different Forms of Uncooperative Students

There are different types of uncooperative students. There is the shy student who may feel intimidated by their instructor, there may be a type a student who feels fully in charge of their education and doesn’t prefer any other interactions with their instructor, and then there are students who believe they know what is best for their development and won’t communicate unless their instructor is able to persuade them to change their perspective.

There are other forms of uncooperative students and due to the nature of an online class you may not get to know what their mindset is until you communicate with them. Consider this example: You have an uncooperative student who contacts you but they will not listen to you. You can either try to find common ground and discuss their progress or request another time to talk so they can regain their emotional balance.

While it is not pleasant working with students who are not responsive or uncooperative, or they are difficult to communicate with, it can help you learn more about yourself as an educator and prompt a time of professional self-evaluation. This is a time to ask yourself what can be learned so you are able to either reaffirm your teaching method is on target or make self-corrections as needed.

Five Strategies Every Educator Needs for Uncooperative Students

There are strategies that I have used and taught online faculty to use, which you may also find helpful as well.

#1. Be Proactive When Working with Students

The first step an online instructor can take is to be proactive in their approach to working with students. Encourage open communication through scheduled office hours, with availability for one-on-one communication (such as class messages or telephone appointments), and include notations in your feedback that encourages students to ask questions. For example, I always end my written feedback with a notation that asks students to contact me with any questions about their feedback or progress in class.

#2. Make Outreach Attempts with Students

A challenge for online teaching is the possibility students may slowly disengage from their class. When students are not communicative it can either mean they are not cooperating or they are in the process of withdrawing from the class. You may not know the reason why until you talk to the students, so make every effort to reach them. One of the clues available to me are missed deadlines for discussions and assignments. I’ll send a message and ask the student if they need assistance or have questions. This doesn’t mean I will change the late policy rules, but it does demonstrate I care about the student.

#3. Keep the Momentum Going

Once you are able to gain cooperation with your students, and you have established a productive working relationship them, don’t assume it is set and complete for the duration of your class. Maintain your efforts to keep them engaged and continue to offer personalized assistance throughout the duration of the class. If a student was uncooperative once, they may still have a negative belief about instructors and/or learning, which means it will take more than one positive interaction to overcome their doubts.

#4. Address an Uncooperative Mindset

When a student does not contact you, and they have an uncooperative mindset, it means there is an underlying need or negative perspective that may or may not be easily changed. In your outreach attempts you can offer to discuss the specifics about their progress in class and then decide upon an action plan. If you are able to speak with the student by phone and they become aggressive or threatening, it may be time to discontinue the call and talk with them during a less emotional time. Whatever you do, when you try to address a student with an uncooperative mindset, demonstrate empathy for them. There is something unresolved and through your tolerance, patience, and willingness to assist, you may be able to gain a breakthrough with them.

#5. Teach with Compassion

The best advice for working with any student, cooperative or uncooperative, is to always have their best interests in mind and address their academic needs. It may be challenging at times, especially if they are utilizing inappropriate communication. You may not always handle every situation perfectly because you can still experience natural human emotions; however, if you teach with a caring mindset, students will likely respond in a favorable manner.

Maintaining Open Communication

For online classes, communication in the form of online posts, messages, and emails may feel impersonal. This can be overcome by being highly self-conscious of the tone used and how it may be interpreted. As to working with online students, make it your goal to always maintain open communication.

What does this mean? It is a mindset of welcoming your students’ attempts to communicate directly with you, whether by email, phone, or other methods that you have established for them to use. When they send you an email or message, demonstrate through your reply you are glad they have reached out to you and do your best to welcome future communication.

As an educator, be the one who demonstrates a cooperative demeanor as a means of modeling it for your students. For those students who resist your attempts, or they simply won’t respond to you, they might not ever change their approach. Be sure to make outreach attempts to demonstrate consistency and a caring attitude at all times.

Becoming an effective educator is an ongoing process of learning through trial and practice, and error at times, attempting to gain cooperation and responsiveness from your students. Make it your goal to do what you can to be open and responsive to all students – even those who challenge you. When you turn a lack of cooperation into collaboration, you have successfully harnessed the transformative power of education.

About Dr. Johnson

Dr. Bruce A. Johnson has 35 years of experience teaching and training adults. The first half of his career was spent in the field of Corporate Training and Development, with his last role as Manager of Training and Development.

Then in 2005, he made a transition into the field of distance learning. Over the past 18 years, he has been an online instructor, Faculty Development Specialist, Faculty Director, Faculty Development Manager, and Dissertation Chair.

Dr. Johnson is also an inspirational author, writer, and educator. His life mission is to teach, mentor, write, and inspire others. He has earned a PhD in Postsecondary and Adult Education, a Certificate in Training and Performance Improvement (TPI), a Master’s in Adult Education, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

As a scholar practitioner, Dr. J was published in a scholarly journal, and he has been a featured presenter at an international distance learning conference, along with presenting at three faculty conferences. He has also published over 230 online articles about adult learning, higher education, distance learning, online teaching, and mindset development. Dr. J published three books related to higher education, including two about online teaching.

Getting Down to Business: A Handbook for Faculty Who Teach Business.

Transform Adult Education: Expert Teaching Strategies for Educators.

Transform Online Teaching: Expert Strategies and Essential Resources Every Educator Needs.

Come join Dr. J’s new group, Motivation for Transformation:

• Any time of the day, visit this group to find your source of motivation, to be inspired and more importantly, have your mindset transformed: Motivation for Transformation

Dr. J offers transformative resources

Please visit the Books page and Store page for more details.

You can also find Dr. J on the following social media sites:

• Instagram

Follow @DrBruceAJohnson