I teach courses that are part of the general curriculum and seemingly relevant to only a few of our majors. In the first class, I explain, with examples, why my courses are more related to dissimilar topics than otherwise thought. One example of this is that I analyze a painting using the techniques and vocabulary of a crime scene analysis. Once the CJ students realize they have skills that will help them in the class and will be able to hone the skills needed in their profession, they are all ears. Forensics is vital to art and vice versa.
Exactly my thoughts
I teach an A/C class in a southern state. It's HOT here most of the time. On the very first day I ask the students if anyone has ever asked them if they could fix their A/C. Almost everyone raises their hand. Then I mention that after this course the answer will be YES. They start to get excited with the prospect on making $.
Hi Sean,
It is important for students to understand the importance of the course so that their excitement shows. Excitement must start with the instructor first.
Patricia Scales
Some of the methods I use to get students excited about a course are to engage them in how they may apply what they will learn in the course to their jobs and their individual areas of interest outside of the classroom. I try to create discussions that combine class content and areas of interest from the students.
Some of the methods that I use to get students excited about a course are to engage them in discussions about how they will be able to apply what they can learn in this course in their jobs and individual experiences. I focus on the each student as a base point to stimulate how the course may be of interest and importance.
Some of the methods I use to get students excited about a course include letting them know how they will be able to apply what they have learned outside of school (be it for job welfare and or their own hands on knowlege that they may apply in their own experiences)and connecting class subject matter to current events that I target to the things that are going on in each of their lives and that are important to them.
I like to ask of certain topics: "why do you need to know this?", often following up with case histories of those in the field who clearly did not. It seems to spark interest and discussion.
Hi Greg,
Competition can be a good thing. It motivates students to try harder.
Patricia Scales
Hi Frank,
Students love hearing our stories as they apply to the course content.
Patricia Scales
Competition in the class in groups has worked well for me. Always changing up teams/groups and making sure all are involved.
Its' been my short experience that stories involving actual events in the field inspire questions that may never have occurred to students before, in particular humorous ones.
Getting students excited can be done by opening the floor, starting the day with what they already know, and getting them talking about and thinking about the topic. Once they are confident in this they may feel more comfortable about a topic they previously thought they didn't know about, or didn't like, or had no relevancy for. Then I like to pose a question to them in finality to think on, as we go through the lecture.
Hi Daniel,
This generation of students really do get real excited when you teach from a technolgical perspective. These students are very tech savy, and they are driven by technology.
Patricia Scales
Hi Albert,
I love how you take your students back to our origin to generate excitement. I got excited just reading the response. I can imagine if you were my instructor and presented this to me. The excitement would be even higher.
Patricia Scales
Hi Tammy,
When students understand the relevance of a course as to how it relates to their chosen career, they really do gain excitement.
Patricia Scales
Hi Daniel,
People always tend to enjoy what they are most comfortable with. I am sure you get a much more positive response when you something such as hip hop because the students are familiar with this type of music.
Patricia Scales
With most of my students in criminal justice coming from what I call "the technology generation," I try to create a vision of what the future holds in our profession, and how the future will incorporate the technology that is familiar to the students. I "sell" them on the notion that technology and its application to the challenges we face in the criminal justice field is the future......their future!!
I have guest speakers and go over the syllabus to show how this will relate to their careers.
I teach a music theory class. A lot of students dread it because it's a lot of rules and vocabulary to memorize. One way of making it more fun and interactive is when I lead them in clapping and singing exercises. It breaks the monotony of the lecture and forces them to use other parts of the brain.
Another issue with engagement is that some might perceive music theory as only being relevant to classical or traditional music. I like to take a contemporary pop or hip-hop song and create a score for it. Then they can follow along to familiar music and visually see the underlying structures.
I teach physics. I like introducing the course by presenting a "cosmic perspective" taking students back to the origin of the universe,with all of its matter and energy concentrated in a super dense cosmic egg followed by the " Big Bang", leading up to humans 13.8 billion years later and, of course, the T.V. show...which we also discuss in class. If things as basic as our origins are not interesting or exciting to a student I can't imagine what is. Ensuing lessons in classical mechanics are ALWAYS presented with plenty of demos, real world models and relevance to real world situations. Most of my students relate very well to this. I emphasize the fact to my students that even though physics is a very old discipline, dating back to at least ancient Greece, it is still very alive as evidenced by the very recent discovery of the Higgs Boson.. which gives matter its mass. I try to "excite" students with the realization that even though scientists have uncovered many of the secrets of the universe, there is still a lot more to be discovered and this sometimes motivates students to pursue further study in this area.
