Hi Danielle,
I can tell you are an animal lover. This would not excite me nor would I be able to participate all; I am not an animal lover. I will not treat them mean, but I would have nothing to discuss. Have you ever experienced a student like me?
Patricia
Hi Lisa,
Students need and want variation in teaching methods. Students look forward to the mixture of different ways to learn a concept(s).
Patricia
I give information as to what we will be doing during the quarter (guest speakers, role play and field trips) if applicable.
I am fortunate to teach one of the first "boot camp" type classes in the curriculum where the students put together the pieces they learned in earlier classes. It helps to provide a more practical context for them. While they are a bit apprehensive as to what they are getting into, they are equally excited to see their earlier educational pieces come together in practice. The rationale is heavily discussed on day one of class.
Prior to exams, I divide students up into teams (the most recent occasion involved CJ students on one team, Accounting students on another team, Paralegal students on another team, etc.). I distributed small, $1 dry erase boards and markers to each team and selected a team captain. I used a timer and played the jeopardy theme music too for fun.
After chapter-related questions were read, students consulted with their team members and wrote their answers on the dry erase board. Score was kept on the classroom's dry erase board. (Points were taken away for incorrect answers too!) This gave me the opportunity to determine who was prepared for the scheduled exam and what topics we needed to open our book up to during the game to discuss why a question was missed.
To keep networking alive, the next time we play the chapter-review game, students will be divided up differently so they get to know others in the classroom.
Small prizes are occasionally given to the winning team in my smaller classes. My students enjoyed this type of review and they got to hear other team members' explanations for answering a question the way they did.
methods i use to help get the students excited about our course is to talk in groups about their pets and their experiences with animals. my favorite question is, " what is your favorite pet, its name and why?" then i ask "if you could be any animal, what would it be and why?" i also respond to the questions myself, so that we are all a part of the overall discussion. everyone loves their pets, let me tell ya !!!
Most people want to know what is in it for them. I start my class of by letting them know how this education, not just my class, will help them in the real world. One of the example I use is with math. I tell student you may never use this type of math the rest of your life, but It has tought you one more thing in life and that is how to solve problems. This is everday problems.
I teach online, this would be hard for me too do, but if I was in your class I would be into it and ready to go.
I also think that this works as a great ice-breaker for the class and then we can get down to the nuts and bolts of the class and what I expect. Also when I review each assignment, I give clear expectations and show my grading rubrics so the know what I expect and how I will grade them on each assignment.
I always start my class with a peace of music and end the class in a trivia question. Most of my trivia will show student on how we over look thing or haw we can over think thing and the answer can really be quite simple.
I've been know for having an unwavering passion for my field of graphic design. I get my GD2 students excited about the course, because we do 3 projects with the final project due in week 9. In week 10, we go on a field trip. So, on the first day, I tell them that if they work hard for the first 9 weeks, they will get to have fun on the last day of class and go tour a creative agency, studio or other commercial business related to Graphic Design. This gets them motivated to have something to look forward to after their hard work.
I use Career Coaching to get studnents excited about the course. It is always exciting for studnets to know what skills they will learn in the course that they will use WHEN they are an industry professional.
I use the WIIFM approach alot, personalizing how my nursing students can truly affect patient care by their strong assessment skills.
Hi Melissa,
Students need to take ownership in every course that they take. When there is a sense of ownership, there is a sense of purpose.
Patricia
I find the more active you can get the students in your course through classroom activites and real life examples the more excited and motivated the students become. We also talk about the students' expectations for the course on the first day, the habits they need to be successful, and the beliefs they may have that could help them or get in the way of them reaching those expectations. This gives students more owernship and feeling of control or the end result of the course.
You have to make the course work fun and interesting and at the same time you cannot stray from the topic. This approach in my opinion helps alot especially when teaching an evening class. Everyone comes in tired from a long day at work and you as an instructor needs to be able to keep their energy up
I use ice breakers, and real world examples. They also like to do mock scenarios (oil tycoons and stock ownership are two that work really well).
Hi Luciano,
Anytime you mention $$$$ students get really excited. Money motivates us all.
Patricia
Talk abut your passed in the feld and the money to be made.
One way that I have found to get students excited about my course is to explain to them the benefits. Letting them know that knowing the information contained in my course will make them more prestigous or worth more money in their industry is always a good tool.
