Hi William,
What a great set of life experiences you have had. Your story is inspiring and a model that students can use in their own lives. They need to reflect on what you share with them as they struggle to come to class and handle life issues. You have been a life long learner and I commend you for this. May you continue in your teaching career for years to come since you are an exciting and dedicated teacher with a story to tell. I wish you the very best.
Gary
I help them tie their experiences to the importance of being clear, concise, and correct when communicating in the work place. I also have them check job ads in their field to see what those ads have to say about communication. This helps relate English class to real life. As an instructor, I use feedback to motivate also.
A good way to catch a students attention is to bring money into the game. If you can speak of a way that can make money directly from the subject you are speaking of then you have there attention.
Helping students identify a skill in class that helps them either at home or on the job. Making connections reinforces the learning and often can provide a reason for coming to class. I have used storied to help students better understand and then asked if they can describe a connection to the real world. Often we have to talk through, but as we do learning begins and more engage in the discussion and learning.
Positive feedback can serve as a source of mtivation for most students. When students are told what they are doing right they develop a sense of achievement.
My students want to know that they can succeed in the field and to a large extent, I think they are looking for role models. An instructor can be a role model, either a good one or bad one. I like to share my own work/educational background. I try to mitigate any false impressions. I let them know that as a lifelong working student, I encountered many of the obstacles that some of them are dealing with. First off, I tell them that it took me 14 years to get my Bachelor's degree. Part of the reason for that was, I was not a very motivated student when I began. I even flunked out a semester, was booted from the university and almost immediately got drafted. Went off to war - that that was some motivation to get right in my expectations.
After 4 years in the service, I got out, got a job, started college again in a different part of the country. Work and family often created serious obstacles, but I persisted and got the B.A. My first stab at graduate school was not a good one coming too soon after the long trek for the BA. The family expected more attention. There was divorce and a delay of over a decade when, after a layoff, I decided to go back to grade school, but not for my original choice of degree. I had started my second career, in higher education, and I wanted something more related to that. Well, I got my MEd. commuting 140 miles one way to class and have gone on for my PhD.
The most frequent question I get now is, when are you going to retire? Why bother with the commute and expense? Why persist in this venture? I love learning new things and I try to convey that to my students. Learning if hard work, I am not brilliant, I just work hard. I am a typical student, I have typical difficulties, but I persist. It's exciting; it means overcoming a lot of odds and obstacles. I am not a gatekeeper; I convey what works for me, it might work for my students. My first wife, after reading a paper I'd written for class, told me that English was my second language, I wrote so poorly. Today that is not the case, good communication is power. I learned that. If I can do it, my students can do it.
Allowing students to share personal stories/experiences is helpful.
Hi Katie,
I call this "connecting the dots". When you show the students the relevancy of what you are teaching them they can ramped up and excited about their studies. This also helps them to capture a vision of how their careers can be developed.
Gary
Hi Roger,
Thanks for sharing this information on how you encourage your students. Reminders like this really make a difference with students. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Hi Gregory,
Little things like bonus points can serve to get students ramped up and ready to do their very best. Things like this also gets the students excited about them being able to show off their new knowledge.
Gary
I agree. Especially in the classes I teach at the business college. Students want to know that what they are learning is applicable in the real world. I always try to use real world examples from my career, experiences and also the students' experiences.
It is critical for teachers to increase student motivation to learn and the best way to do this is for teachers to spark student interest at the beginning of every class / lesson.
One example of an effective motivation technique that career college instructors can use in their classes is the use of critical thinking questions. These types of questions don't necessarily have a right or wrong answer so students can express their own opinions as opposed to simply being told to memorize facts.
Another example is to relate what students are learning to what is going on in the "real world”. Students need to know "why" they are learning something to feel motivated to learn it.
I think that students are generally motivated by encouragement and understanding. For example, after I have finished grading an assignment, in my Powerpoint presentations, I include slides that say "Excellent work on this assignment!" or "Terrific work on this paper!" and thank students for doing such a great job. Especially in an online teaching format, which can be isolating, I find that it is essential to acknowledge the effort and hard work of students.
Motivation techniques vary as we all should know one I learned and the one that left a mark was on how important a handshake is I explaine how I used this knowege to figure out my customer's personality Doing so I could plan on how to deal with this new customer with out pushing them away I send the class home for the weekend and ask them to remember each time they shake a hand was it strong/firm form a dominating or wet clamy to soft and try to figure that personality out did he (dominate) or was it a frindly shake it can fun and most times is
The one I consistantly use is the Bonus Points on tests. Effectively, the students are all being graded on the same number of points and on the same material, but the fact that the points are "bonuses" somehow makes them more desirable.
I find that my students stay motivated when I consistently (weekly) present them with the new trends and innovations occurring in their chosen career field. I also use social bookmarking to keep my students aware of all the research that I do for class. This lets the students know that I am enthusiastic about the topics that we are studying.
Hi Andrea,
This is a good method (2x2) to use in providing support and feedback to your students. The music is a good way to get the students settled into the course format. I am sure that with this approach you get good buy in and engagement from your students.
Gary
We use 2x2 feedback, two positives and two areas to work on. I don't look at those as faults or weaknesses, just areas of learning and potential.
Also, I will sometimes play a bit of music in my online class relating to the subject before starting my live chat. Music tends to stimulate learning for many.
Andrea Ahlsen-Mall
Hi Hector,
What are some ways that you go about recognizing student success? How do you provide positive reinforcement to your students?
Gary
Acknowledging student success is key. Each student will have success on a different level. Recognizing each student as an individual and using positive reinforcement will keep students engaged and ready to learn.
