Danielle, what a great accomplishment especially when measured among your peers. Such awards can also help with building trust and comfort with your students.
James Jackson
Pamela, great topic and a real situation we as instructors must face. Statistics suggest the average person will hold more than 14 jobs in their life time and 3 or more careers. This is one area of motivation for students to consider and is becoming more the norm.
James Jackson
Intrinsically: I am motivated my the wonderful feeling I get when students tell me how much they have learned and thank you for my instruction to them.
Extrinsically: I am motivated by the "Best Instructor" award that I just received this past Friday.
I too find that a lot of my students are exttinsicly motivated because of the economy, they have lost jobs because of downsizing, not because of their ability. They are questioning why they should do their best if tomorrow they may not have a job. My students tell me that they have chosen the medical field for job security. I have to encourage this train of thought even though I just came off of a period of umemployment do to downsizing.
My intrinsic motivators to be effective in the classroom are that it makes me feel I have done my job to the best of my ability when I see that the students understand the material covered.I enjoy sharing my expertise.
I would say the an obvious extrinsic motivator would be a raise. Where I work they give GEM awards for instructors that go above and beyond.
Fred, great technique when you have the supplies to support. I have also used an assortment of gums and candies including those with dietary restrictions. One of the questionnaires I would have students fill out, especially for shorter duration courses of 5 weeks or less, included a brief series of questions about treats they prefer and if they have any dietary restrictions. The stores that offer bulk purchases and also offer specials tend to be great for stocking up with these types of positive reinforcement techniques.
James Jackson
I give students recognition when they answer questions correctly. This helps very much in getting participation. In other classes, I use a grab bag full of paperback dictionaries, pencils, and writing pads. Students select an item if they answer questions or volunteer in class.
Fred
Susan, what are your intrinsic and extrinsic motivators? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Kathy, what are your intrinsic and extrinsic motivators? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Trevor, what is it about seeing your students succeed inside and outside the classroom that intrinsically motivates you? Dig a little deeper and bring out how this situation makes you feel. Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Laurie, great definitions. What would you say are the reasons you want to excel as a teacher and have a positive impact on your students?
James Jackson
Denise, very well stated. When students ask for you by name, you know you are building relationships. When you add to this that your students are also learning and progressing on to successful careers then you have something really special. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Intrinsic motivation I use the power of choosing tasks that are motivational and also learning.I choose active learning activites.
Extrinic motivation I give them rewards and recognition.
Actually assessing the effectiveness of the motivation motivates me, challenges me especially with a struggling student. Also, seeing the "lightbulb" go off when a student gets it is an intrisic and extrinsic motivator to me.
Intrinsically-I want all of my students to feel good about achieving. This enhances their self-esteem,hence,they will perform at optimal levels in the classroom.
Extrinsically, I want to reward all of my students with excellent grades which in turn validates their performance!
Seeing my students succeed inside and outside of the classroom is definitely an intrinsic motivator. I am extrinsically motivated by the recognition that I receive from my managers and colleagues.
Intrinsic motivators include my desire to excel as a teacher and to have a positive impact on all students.
Extrinsic motivators include recognition by supervisors, peers and students in the form of evaluations and comments; nomination for Educator of the Year; and pay raises due to exceptional performance.
Justin, your focus on self and improving your skills will continue to make you an effective and skillful instructor. Thanks for sharing your motivators.
Regards,
James Jackson
Marcia, emphasis on the relevance of the materials and the relationship to their future careers is critical and a proven technique to move students closer to being successful.
Regards,
James Jackson
I am intrinsically motivated by this inner sense of duty and responsibility toward my students to give them much more than they ever thought they would receive in instruction. That is my driving force of motivation in the classroom. Honestly, the outside recognition is not important to me unless it is coming directly from my students. That lets me know that they appreciate what I bring to the classroom and respect me as an instructor. When a student asks if I an teaching a course next term and have a smile on their face when they find out I am (or a frown when they find out I am not) that is when they say...JOB WELL DONE! And that is all I need.
