Using motivation as an advisor
Since I am not an instructor, some of this module was not as practical for me. However, I do see the value of finding out what motivates my individual students so that I can help them stay focused. My part in the process has a lot to do with reinforcement since I am often the one who conveys encouragement about exams passed or milestones achieved. One thing I learned here was about immediate reinforcement. We are able to return exam grades very quickly since they are computer scored. However, we are much slower about returning written assignments and I can see that students get frustrated about this. They put much more of themselves into a written assignment than an exam and want to have quicker feedback. This is something I hope to work on in our system.
Gail,
You make a good point about how you are able to return quiz/test scores quickly since they are computer scored. I have found that students have a general idea of how they have performed on quizzes or tests so with the quick turn around they can stay current with the testing aspects of the class. Their performances on other projects, assignments, etc. is not so clear because they are more subjective in nature. It is a good idea to get these back to students as soon as possible so they can see how they are doing with the application phase of the course. This at times can be difficult due to the fact they need to be individually read and scored but the pay off for students is well worth the effort. Another thing that is very helpful to students is to use a grading rubric for these types of assignments so the students see where points were earned and lost within the assignment. Another benefit is that when counseling with a student about a score on an assignment the rubric shows how each section was scored so attention can be given to the concern areas of the assignment. Otherwise getting a score of 60 out of 100 doesn't tell the student much about what exactly needs to be focused on to improve performance.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
