In my classes that i have been teaching i have seen that a hands on approach really work, you can only lecture so much about the 5 mother sauces. You have to eventually let them get in there and make the sauce, fabricate their own meat for their station. That really helps them see what I have been talking about for the past 6 weeks.
I tell them about the rewards of knowing how to do body work and how they can use this knowledge to build thir own cars.
Motivational tools I use are: praise amongst fellow classmates,involving them in problem solving, open ended questions,drawing connections to good techniques to the real world job,performance comparisons to the students favorite sport, team, or athlete,insight on how it aided me in my field, having the whole class observe and participate in that technique as I helped improve each one's technique. All these things done with passion helps motivate them in the learning process.
carlos
Hi Carol,
These are good ideas concerning how you can help your students see the relevancy of the course. Past graduates really help to excite and encourage students because they tell it like it is, even though you have already told them, they believe it more because their peers are telling them.
Gary
You have great ideas. I will use these techniques!!
Carol Kravitz
I like to share some experiences of my past students had success in the "real world as well as my personal experiences. it seems to give my students a real boost when they hear that other students have be able to actually progress toward their career goals. Sometimes I even ask graduated students to come back and talk to my current class , which is a great boast to both the presenter and the students.
Hi Gordon,
Thanks for sharing this example of how a good thing can be overdone. We need to have a balance between what we deliver and who we have come in.
Gary
I agree - I've done this before and it is always a big hit. However, one class I over did the guess speaker thing and I actually had students comment wishing they had heard more from me and my experiences.
Gordon
Motivation techniques I like include integrating practical with theoretical. For example, in a course I teach on ecommerce I allow a couple of different final project choices. The choice that is becoming quite popular is the ability to create one's own ecommerce site. Many students have business ideas. It is fun to watch them turn their business ideas into something real. I had one student create a granola ecommerce site and it was fantastic. So, the key is to make sure there is some integration of what is motivating the student in the first place and to integrate with their life's experiences.
gordon
Using my personal stories for sucess and failures and to help the student understand the importance of the skills they have learned. Also daily feed back on the how the class went for that day.
I like to get my students involved by learning, practicing and then discussing the topic. Therefore, we have a little motivation by getting up and applying your learning skills.
I find that praising the student for a job well done motivates them even more. They like hearing when they have done a good job, and they work even harder for that next complement.And if they don't do such a good job I complement them on the things they did do well and point out the things they may need to work on. This still kind of gives them a pat on the back and keeps them motivated and focused on what they still need to work on.
Hi Meggan,
I think you have a good plan for motivating your students. Yes, motivating students in a online course setting is harder but with the discussion groups you are creating this gets them involved and talking with each other. All this helps to create a level of motivation even when not fact to face.
Gary
Stories, games, example of personal success & failures. Humanize I guess you might say.
This is a hard topic for me since I teach only online. The classes I teach are basic computer courses. It's easy for students to see why they need computers since most jobs use them. Some things that have helped the students is giving them discussion topics such as how will you use this program in your work or personal life. This gets them thinking of ways they could incorporate what they're learning outside of the classroom.
Hands on learning works well for all age groups.
Hi Terrie,
I commend you for the ways you are making it "real" for your students. You are really doing that with all of your different approaches.
Gary
Hi Andy,
Right you are. Motivation has to come from the heart. The more you can do to help the students to personalize their learning the higher the level of motivation will be. Keep up the good work.
Gary
The students actually work in a real business. I give them each a turn at different jobs. They discover new things they really enjoy. Many students have requested to spend extra time in the class because of this.
Another motivation tool I use is involving my students in tastings - not just discussing different foods and coffees, but actually participating in the tastings. I have had so much success with this and many requests to repeat them.
As described in this unit, Reinforcement - this is in the form of grades, feedback. Let the student know how they are doing in the class, pay attention to issues they might have if they are struggling. Retention - showing students how what they are learning reflects into the profession they have choosen or in their daily lives. Use teaching methods that appeal to different types of learners and review or bring back some information at a later time to see just how students remember or use what they have learned.
