I believe that enthusiasm is contagious! If we enter the room with a sour defeated attitude, it doesn’t take long for the same sour defeated attitude to take over the class. I believe that instructors are more effective if they are excited about what they are teaching. I like to start the class with some sort of course related game or competition. It seems to make them excited and sets the class off to a great start! It also wakes them up and gets them moving... in 8am classes most of the students are still sleepy!
I believe it is extremely important to include a variety of learning styles into a course. Whether auditory, visual, etc. the student will better connect with their instructor. Having this connection through incorporating learning styles not only aids in the learning process but allows the student to feel included and proactive in the classroom. It is one thing to teach from a textbook, but another when group activities and participation in the classroom are included in the course. Pin pointing the student's learning style creates a motivated, active, and exciting learning environment.
Hi Bruce,
This has been my experience as well. It helps to make you real plus it starts the development of rapport between you and them.
Gary
Enthusiasm is so important. If you are not excited about your subject how can you expect them to be excitied.
This has really worked for me. I find that students like to hear about your life, it makes you more real to them. They get motivated by the things you tell them.
Hi Steve,
This is a good point. Students become so focused on the specific class they are in they forget how this class contributes to their total career training. By pointing that out you are helping them to get a vision of the future.
Gary
I teach accounting and have found informing the students of the bigger picture, what we are trying to achieve, overall and with any particular sub area, before hitting the detail rules, made much more sense to them and much more excited about the class.
Hi Michael,
I think you have a great strategy for teaching this abstract content area. By making it real to your students you are showing them relevance and that is what going to school is all about. Well done.
Gary
Thanks, and it definitely makes it easier, and much more enjoyable when I have the opportunity to share my passion with others, especially when they become excited in return about learning something they may not have thought much about before.
I like this idea - I am a recently new teacher and I know like most of you will use experiences I have had in my field of study but I like this idea of relating the information they are learning into what they will be doing in the future.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for sharing this great example of how the instructor can set the stage for learning in a subject that many people might not think is exciting. I had a world history teacher my junior year in high school that made history come alive for me and I have been a history buff ever since. To him I will always be thankful. By letting the students know what your passion is (paleontology) you are helping them to expand their world to include a subject area that normally would not be a part of their lives. Keep up the good work!
Gary
My subject(economics) is very abstract, but at the same time, very relevant to my student's lives. Part of my job is to communicate that. In the discussion boards and our classroom discussions, I try to ask questions that ask for examples from their own experience or their communities.
Students are motivated to excel and take on challenging assignments when they know I believe in them, and that I'm willing to do whatever I can to help them succeed. I break challenging assignments into pieces, and we look at them step by step. I also motivate students to try difficult things by giving them permission to do poorly on their first attempts. This way, students are willing to jump in, try, and to learn from their mistakes.
The biggest thing Dr. Meers is for me to show excitement and passion for my subject (geology). Students have shared with me in the past that my enthusiasm, and excitement about paleontology (my passion) has really helped them to enjoy, and get more from the class, and in some cases, have turned them on to either finding out more about the subject, or even changing majors, which is very cool!
Hi Evelyn,
Good point about respect for what every student brings to the classroom. These contributions will help to enrich the total learning experience for all students.
Gary
I teach advertising and graphic design. My students seem motivated when they see real world applications of what they are learning. They are further motivated when they receive creative challenges. For my an advertising research class, we found "obscure sodas" that were actually created but failed in the real-world market. They came up with their own plans and ads that might have made the sodas successful (after much research). It was a fun and real topic for them. They also got to work with something that was real.
I talk about the projects they will be working on. Since it's a Photoshop class I talk about making a Movie Poster with them in it or a friend of theirs. I also talk about the color comic project where they color a Black & White comic in Photoshop like the pros and most of the class freaks out (in a good excited way) because they think the program is made for photos not for artwork.
I have taught everything from Elementary Education to Adult Ed, and from that experience I have learned that students are motivated to learn when you can touch the intrinsic interests they have for learning. One way is to help students explore "real life" experience, or tie topics in to their lives so they can make connections and associations with the material. Another is to have respect for their own experiences, insight, and potential, because THEY can contribute a lot to the learning environment, and are more motivated to learn when they know their ideas add to the dynamics and learning of the class as a whole.
Cynthia, yes, I completely agree with your statement about motivation: "timely feedback"...when soomebody is learning to drive a car the feedback is provided pretty much every few seconds. When one learns content of some sort and applies it and does not know whether application was appropriate or simply out of mark is certainly impossible for adequate learning to occur. Timely feedback is necessary, it is crucial.
Good idea Kari, keeping clear and fresh in students' minds how relevant assignments are for reaching the instructional objectives fuels their interest in completing them successfully. There is no worse scenario when as a student you question the purpose of any assignment...that lack of connection with the objectives is simply a motivational killer.
