Hi Deborah,
that is a really interesting technique. How exactly do you implement it? Do you have to dedicate a lot of class time to it? Are there any other techniques you would recommend?
Tricia,
Students love to play games no matter what age they are. I use games a lot in reviewing material. Jeopardy is a winner. Another fun one is Family Feud. The students really like to come up with the questions and then see if they can answer them in a competitive format.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
using games and competition (teams) with the winning side having some sort of reward..
Carlos,
A lot of my students seem to lack social skills and knowledge of how to interact with others. So the more opportunities such as those you are providing that they can experience the better prepared they will be to work with others in their careers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
even though grades are a personal matter for each student I always encourage team building skills by creating activities that could enhance group and social skills
Deborah,
I love this as well ! I actually tried this last week and the students want it incorporated into each class. They are actually sitting at attention more often. Thanks for the tip.
J. Ramos
Sandra,
Your last sentence really outlines the value of providing reinforcement and how it contributes to student success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Reinforcement has to be valued by the student in order for it to be effective. There is no single way to motivate students. Students come to the classroom with different types of diversities. Knowing your students is the first step to positive reinforcement. Instructors should provide constant feedback as reinforcement, letting students know they are doing well or to provide assistance in areas where they might need improvement. Positive reinforcement keeps students engaged in learning new skills. Reinforcement must be positive, steady and dependable in order to motivate students to do their best and reach their goals.
Travis,
I am sure these presentations really help to open the eyes of the students and illustrate to them the value of what they are being taught. They help them to see relevancy in the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Due to the nature of our course. We bring in multiple graaduates and non-graduates and compare and contrast their performances and experiences at the next level in reference to the course material.
I write the objectives for the day on the board. Since I teach a four hour class I energize the students with a game, class discussion or describing life experiences of the subject they are learning. Students are actively listening and participating and learning that repetition of the information is active learning and motivating.
Jamie,
So important and so critical for students success. The more feedback we can give the more the students will see how they are progressing in the course and that they are learning a lot even if at times they don['t think so.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Formative feedback is useful. Immediate and individualized acknowledgement of successes and supportive / clear direction for improvement motivate students.
Jennifer,
Great strategy. Thank you for sharing it with us. I know it will be of value to other instructors.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
One type of reinforcement that I do use is the 3-2-1 assessment. Then must list 3 things that they learned in class today, 2 things that surprised them about the lecture, and 1 thing they still have questions about. This helps them realize what they actually did learn during the class and enables them to know that if there was something they did not understand, I will explain it during the next class. This helps reinforce that the information we covered one day will be focused on another day as well.
Reinforcement provides students feedback which they can use to build confidence or build desire. If a student receives positive feedback they will become more confident in their skills and want to further develop them. If a student receives constructive criticism/feedback they can take that and use it as either a challenge, motivation, or signal that they need to work harder, seek help, or both to find the path to success.
This subject is like training a dog to hunt be firm and strict when they succeed in a task then reward them with a good job and possitive reinforcement.
It can motivate students by showing them that either through repetition or hard work sucess can be found. Also postive reinforcement allows the students moments of sucess which will strengthen their commit to learning.
I typically introduce a topic with a real life story, then ask if students have had or heard of similar situations. I then have an activity that reinforces the lecture/conversation and possibly a homework assignment that correlates to the message. When it comes time for the quiz, I make sure that it matches the topic, lecture, activity and assignment. It should also be connected to the unti objectives so there is a " come full circle " effect.
Rosa,
Students really like application stories like those you are sharing. It helps to make the content come alive as well as showing the students the ROI they can get from being successful in your class.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
