By knowing why your students have enrolled it allows the instructor to have a better idea how to motivate the student and adjust the individual instructions to meet the student’s needs when possible.
In some cases, knowing that students are really looking forward to taking your class, will allow you to teach at a higher level than normal. The reason is if a student has a high interest in the subject, he may be better informed on the subject matter than those that have only a passing interest. This is not always the case so you must procede with caution at first, until you have determined the interest and knowledge level of the class. Classes that have a high interest in the subject will be more receptive to more advanced concepts and ideas and want to get every last bit of info that you have to offer.
Knowing this information will help you plan instructional methods which will motivate the students to learn. Knowing their reasons for enrolling allows you as the instructor to tailor some of your lessons specifically to the needs and wants of the students. This will not only keep the students interested, it will also motivate them to work even harder.
Knowing the approximate ages of students and years of experience in the work world allows me to tailor my assignments and discussions appropriately. For example, for one of my public speaking classes students give a business meeting presentation. If many of the students have worked in professional environments they have likely attended a meeting before. However, if I have a lot of students who are approx. 18-20 years old, they may lack this experience and need a little more direction and possibly an example outline to get them started.
I love Dariusz Stusowski comment on reasons for enrolling. I hope you don't mind if i borrow your idea. That is such a creative idea. Kudos!! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Dariusz,
This is a really good way of getting the students to start to develop a vision of their future career. By developing the five year plan they have at least done some thinking about where they see themselves going. This should help to keep them focused on their courses in relation to their total educational development.
Gary
In my classroom, one of our first assignments concerns the creation five year career plan. This not only helps students focus on their professional goals, but it also gives me as the instructor a meaningful insight into a student's motivation. Formal assignments such as these can be a good way to get both student and teacher thinking about motivating principles.
Stories are a great way of making it "human
Hi Mark,
You make a very good point about knowing the reason for students being enrolled in the course and if they see how their career is coming together. Many students do not have a realistic understanding of their field and what it takes to be successful in it. They jump into the courses and then complain that they have to take certain required courses without knowing how each one contributes to their grow.
Gary
Some of the responses here seem to imply that it is important for us to measure the "commitment" of each student. To me, this is irrelevant to us. It is however, relevant to the student.
Students come to our institutions with a variety of goals, seeking a variety of answers. Granted, some may have been manipulated by persons they trust to enroll, and if that happens, it is unfortunate, but it is not the end. Even these students can find their own motivation if we help them.
The maturity of a student, however, is something that we should be prepared to adapt to, not judge. There is no need to determine which students have "worthy" goals or "sufficient commitment".
Part of the education process is to enhance students' abilities to think, increase their understanding of the world, their place in that world, and why they are in our classroom.
If a student comes to the conclusion that they are in the wrong place, so be it. That is part of the maturity process. But that is their judgement to make, not ours. It may be possible that students come to us with misperceptions and illusions about what they will become once they graduate. In fact, probably all do. It is possible for these students to keep their idealism in-tact and we should help them understand what is realistic by educating them. Meanwhile, we should encourage them to remember their dreams. Such dreams can be powerful motivators in their academic and professional work.
Some students may be unmotivated. It is our job to create an atmosphere in which they can find motivation. Many just need structure. Many need to envision themselves after graduation, with a good job, a good life, and more possibilities.
Some, if not many, courses in a program of study are required. Some, if not many, students may have objections to taking such a required course. Students may disagree about the requirment, they may not be interested in the topics covered in some courses, and they may just have some misconceptions about the importance of some topics.
Knowing why a student is in a program of study is helpful to find a way to motivate these kinds of students, retain them through these courses, and enhance their understanding of the field.
As an example, take information technology, a broad field that includes networking, web development, programming, database, operating systems, security, and business skills. Some students may have it in their mind that they "want to be a network professional". This is good, but networks alone are useless. These networks connect computers with various operating systems, web services, databases and so on. Network software is, well, software and must be understood and developed and maintained. The security of a network affects the security of all machines on that network.
A breadth of knowledge early in one's IT career is helpful for getting an entry level job. In mid-career, a focus may lead to pay and promotional advances. But again, later in one's career, a breadth of knowledge again becomes important as we may need to think about the entire system, and hire experts with specialized knowledge.
In many cases, exercises and discussion can be adapted to topics that interest students.
You will be better able to understand their motivation for learning and communicate with them in a way that meets their needs.
Hi Debbie,
I really like your last sentence. It says it all for our students. They need to be reminded on a regular basis the value of an education. As you say you can never lose your education but you can fail to acquire it. So our students need to be supported in their effort to acquire an education that can change the direction of their lives.
Gary
In an effort to get to know my students, I try to get them to talk about their interests. I would relate their enrolled classes to what they are interested in. In the current workforce, many position that were once closed to variation now assimilate many different adaptations. For example, now a student with medical terminology can not only work for a doctor or hospital but also insurance companies, home heatlth care, coding/billing outsourcing companies, etc.
I would try to help them find a common thread to utilize what they are learning. Help them to find personal interest in what they are learning to further what they love.
I also remind my students it is only a beginning whether they are 25 or 55. They start at the beginning and add to their education as they are working through life. We are never really sure where the journey takes us but we can always remain positive that with education we never lose.
Hi Debbie,
Good point. I like to know the "why" as well. It helps you to have insight into how to approach and work with different students. You can be more targeted in your efforts.
Gary
Hi Thomas,
When I get students like this I try to spend some time with them talking about career options. I encourage them to explore other career choices that may target their interests better. I work with my college students services office to help them with their exploration efforts.
I try to encourage them and get them excited about my field if they are going to stay in the class because I want them to do well and I don't want to have to continually deal with their negative attitudes. If they get too bad I will remove them from the class and refer them to the main office for assistance. I don't want them to spoil the class for others.
Gary
Getting to know my students and finding out why and their needs of why they had to enroll. If they are troubled students then that will help me to determine how to help them acheive their goals of being successful. Encouraging them to be successful will help tehir moral.
Knowing the "why" my students have enrolled will give me the advantage of where they are coming from and where they are wanting to go.
This information will allow for ideas to be incoporated in our daily discussions. It gives me a feel for their status. Additionally, the information helps with understanding their attitude, concerns, and fears.
You bring up an interesting point .we have some students that you really don not know why they are enrolled. Some of the inter city and other students are in class because there parents made them. with no interest in the field. This is very hard to instruct and plan for.any though on this?
