Brenda,
What are some strategies that you have found successful in helping them to follow through?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I try to motivate my students by encouraging them to follow through with their goals and not procrastinate.
As Michael Jackson said "start with the man in the mirror". We need to perspire enthusiasm and love for our profession, our career and the subject we are facilitating. If we meet those requirements, students will see us as role models, and the learning at hand becomes easier.
The second phase to my approach is to establish one-to-one contact either face-to-face or online, and establish an in-depth root-cause dialogue with the unmotivated student(s).
Regards.
Kimberly,
This is a good plan to follow. You are doing all you can for these types of student. Then it is up to them to decide if they are going to invest in their future. I am always amazed at students that don't care even when they are paying tuition to secure an education that will lead to a future. It is a their choice for sure but when I think of the many individuals that never get a chance to get such an education I wish they would catch fire and get engaged in the learning process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Kimberly,
You are on the right path as an instructor. You are engaging your students and getting them to think about the content that is being shared. This is a student centered approach and this is what your focus should be as an instructor of merit.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Melissa,
Way to go with your passion for your content and enthusiasm for teaching about it. This is what helps to "sell" the content to the students and this gets them engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Robert,
So true and so important. By showing them value in what is being taught you are helping them to see the relevance and application of the content and this increases their motivation.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is hard to cheerlead the seemingly unmotivated student. I will meet with the students individually at the first low score/missed assignment, let them know I notice and if there is something happening that is preventing them from putting in the needed effort. I ask them to make a plan of how to overcome the obstacles, offer my help if they need it. I let the student know from the start I care how they are doing.
I am a fairly new instructor, so far my strategy has been to be early to the classroom, excited to start, answering questions the students may have about the previous lessons. I also try to give real life scenarios of what I have seen in practice that relates to our topic, I ask student to think how what we are learning helps in the field. I try to relate the basic knowledge I am teaching to the real life practicality in the workplace
You really nailed it, Karen. I really love what I teach, and I teach core courses. However, it's important to remember in our efforts to motivate our students that we don't lose our own motivation due to their apathy. I agree; it most certainly can be a killer! I love learning, myself, so bringing my energy to the content is relatively easy. That said, the resistance and apathy you mentioned can suck the life out of our best efforts. Fortunately, not all student groups are alike. So, I find myself ensuring that I always endeavor to bring my best to the classroom, despite what might await, and I hold tight to the fact that there are usually at least a couple students there to really learn. Then, I celebrate when I have a whole classroom of students who want to learn!
Most definitely! I make sure to show my enthusiasm for the subject, even in such a way that makes my students laugh at their dorky teacher. Anatomy and physiology can be dry subjects, but, when presented properly are fascinating. The body is amazing, and I try to convey that to my students at every opportunity.
I like to motivate students by first building their confidence. Students may not understand or grasp the subject matter in the beginning of the term, but praising them for what they do understand builds their confidence and motivates them to want to learn more.
I use role playing in my classroom to demonstrate how the subject matter is relevant to their future careers.
I find the best way to motivate students is to show how what we are learning in the classroom is relevent to them. I want them to understand the more they put into the class, the more they will get out of it.
I have found that Keller’s ARCHs instructional design model to help in motivation. Keller’s ARCS instructional design model as defined by Keller, (1984) is a “system for improving the motivational appeal of instructional materials, of instructor behavior, and of the way in which lessons (or modules) and courses are designed†(p. 140).; author Huang (2006) writes that ARCS assists as guidelines for developing effective motivational strategies. Motivation strategies can be customized by approaching each subcategory of ARCS (Huang, 2006). The subcategories of ARCS are as follows:
• Attention: inquiry and variability;
• Relevance: goal orientation;
• Confidence: success opportunities linked with personal responsibility; and
• Satisfaction: intrinsic reinforcement and external rewards (Huang, 2006, p. 247).
References
Huang, W. K. (2006). A preliminary validation of Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction model-based Instructional Material Motivational Survey in a computer-based tutorial setting. British Journal Of Educational Technology, 37(2), 243-259.
Mary,
The more you can do this the better because by doing so you are bringing relevancy to students. You are increasing the value of the content and giving them reason for being enrolled.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like to talk about current events that pertain to the subject matter I'm teaching, so the students can see the "real world" application of what they are learning.
Erwin,
Not sure you can because that person has chosen not to be a part of the learning process. I would talk with that student and try to see if you can gain some insight into why he or she will not be a part of the class and then ask for their cooperation. If that does not work then I would concentrate on those student that want to be in class and enjoy the success you can have with them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
How do you motivate someone who obviously has shown they are unmotivated based on previous shortcomings in the class (via quiz grade or exam grade)?
Chris,
Yes it is. Excitement is catching and this sets the stage for a engaging course for students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
