Public
Activity Feed Discussions Blogs Bookmarks Files

Motivating Students to Come to Class

Although I give points for group participation and attendance I have found many students skipping class. The class I teach is a general education course and many students find it irrelevant. Assignments and course discussion are designed to apply content to personal and work life but I'm still having difficulties getting students interested in the materials.

Hello all,
I am a new adjunct instructor teaching a GEN Ed. class. I have the same problems with my class.
The students started out skipping the very first day of class. The ones who did attend were very vocal about how ridiculous their enrollment in this class was... I give participation points 1 per min. in class. I start each class with a 3 question quiz (3 giveaway questions) to reward the participants. The class is scaffolded ...missing a class is difficult to make up. I have project assignments that are based in the student's career field....use fun activities ..the students always look like their best friend died through out the entire class.
I'm trying not to take their lack of interest & motivation personally...feeling stumped & frustrated. ( the first time I taught this class my students loved it..)

I've got the same results on similar situations. Once they realize it will affect their grades, they will change that attitude.

Thanks Julie!

I certainly agree with the negative attitude with general education courses. I strive to continually remind them that they are here for a career - not a job. Skills (specifically for me, communication) learned and applied in each class will no doubt help them progress professionally and personally.

Hi Tammy,
Keep sending the message about effort being the formula for success. Many students don't get it the first, second or even third time but if you keep pushing the concept many of them will get it. Those are the students that I love to hear from a couple a years after graduation when they drop by to thank me for not giving up on them and pushing them. These types of thanks make it all worth while.
Gary

I agree that students should know that they are cheating themselves when they skip class or don't put genuine effort into the work. In an active learning environment, what you get out of a class is in direct proportion to what you put into it. If you come to class, do the work, ask questions, and stretch yourself a little, you gain so much. If you skip class or don't put any genuine work into it, you get almost nothing out of the experience. My hope in saying this to them is that they will feel responsible for their own learning and rise to the challenge.

Hi Dara,
You make a good point about having guest speakers reinforce the points you have been making in the course. I use them frequently in my courses because of just what you said. The students will listen to them with more concentration that they will an instructor. Recent graduates are great because the students can really identify with them since they see them as peers due to the fact that they just recently graduated.
Gary

I bring in industry-appropriate speakers to discuss the relevance of attendance at school to attendance at work. One speaker who is a hiring manager in an industry in which my students hope to work actually says, "Students think that they are miraculously going to develop a great work ethic the moment they start a job. They think they're going to automatically start coming to work every day on time, but that doesn't happen. The habits you develop now carry right into the workplace." He then talks about how he always asks about student attendance because it is a predictor of how they will act at work. He says all the same things that I try to tell students, but somehow hearing it from an industry executive seems to make a bigger impact. I notice a difference in the attitude of students after I bring him in as a guest speaker.

I, too, have tried the calculating of tuition per day. For me, it backfired. For some it might work great, but for me, the students turned it back on me. Whenever we did anything that they perceived as something they didn't see the value in, they would say, "Well, there's $X I spent today...." Of course, I try to always sell students on the value of every activity, but there will alwqays be some who challenge an activity as valid, particularly in an learning environment where we're tasked with having active learning tasks incorporated into the daily classroom agenda.

Students today seem to be lazy.THey seem to think that school is not that important. In the real world skipping work or school would cause them to discharge you. How do you get around this?

I have done this as well, my studnets have to write a paper on professionalism and how not to get fired. Attendance is always an issue, thier response to me when I ask how it would look on the job is - "I wouldn't miss these many days at work", but they still do. I have also calculated their tuition per day and let them know how much they are wasting by not coming to school. The students are not allowed to make up any missed work, and still there are a few that just can't make it to class daily.

Hi Joel,
Yes there are always those students that think learning is optional even though they are enrolled in college. This is why I give professional points and these are based upon attendance and contributions to the class. I make them of high enough value so the students that miss a lot or don't contribute either through small group or case studies will not do well in class. Needless to say the points do get the attention of the students. It is just some of them never put forth the effort to be successful and their grades reflect their effort.
Gary

Dr. Gary Meers,
Thank you for that reply, and I agree. As an incentive, the first assignment I have my students write is about a successful business in their field so they can see their potential for employment.

I also tell the students that if they miss class, the lesson materials are on line and it is their responsibility to make up the missing work.

However, there are still students that feel that class is about having fun or optional and will miss class at their discretion.

Joel Freese

Hi Peggy,
Great to hear! This type of connection serves to reaffirm what you are doing as an instructor. Keep up the good teaching and keep sharing with others.
Gary

Hi Julie,
Well done! You have laid out a great argument for general education and the benefits that come from what is being taught. The more we can show these benefits to the students the greater their interest is going to be as the course progresses.
Gary

Hi Anne,
It is so important for instructors to see that skipping class is really cheating themselves in terms of educational benefits. This is in addition to what you mentioned in relation to getting themselves prepared to be good employees. If they aren't there they won't be employees long and they have to realize that.
Gary

Gary, I find the more I talk with Instructors the more I see we do think alike. Sometimes when I thin I am way off base, I will talk with someone new and they agree with me. This is a fantastic way to see that.PegRapai

I agree, I have talked about how it is difficult for me as an instructor to actually give them the same information they have missed is nearly impossible.

I also teach general education classes, and have the same problems. Students tend to have a negative attitude about general education from the very minute they come through the door on the first day of class. It's a difficult thing to deal with, but what I've found works best is organizing your course to make the subject they are learning relevant in their eyes. You need to establish a connection between the subject you are teaching, and how it will be relevant to their field/career later on down the road. Initially, they won't see the importance until you open their eyes to it. It takes time, thought, and creativity to do this and come up with lessons/activities which make those connections, but it can definitely be accomplished. Some times it takes some realistic conversation in your classroom, such as explaining to students that their future is completely unpredictable - the paths, roads, and options they have in the career market are endless. What they think they see themselves doing when they graduate might not be what they end up doing at first, or ever. The more they learn/know, makes them more well-rounded and opens more doors in the future. Let them know that "knowledge is power".

Hi Peggy,
Good ideas on how to engage online learners in the class and start the exchange of information. These methods really help them to feel a part of the class and that they have something to contribute.
Gary

Hi Ashley,
Are there any incentives you can use to get the students to come to class and complete their assignments? I teach a gen ed course and I work very hard to make the content relevant and show methods of application to the students. There are still a number of them that choose to be absent. I have constructed my course in a way that if they are absent they are unable to complete the assignments and are unable to pass the course. When they start having grade problems I have their attention and I have a private talk with each of them and explain what it takes to pass the course. Keeping in mind I have already explained this to them at the beginning of the course and it is outlined in the syllabus. This captures their attention and they start to become engaged in the course. I have some that fail and that is their choice but I have given them every opportunity to be successful so I have fulfilled my obligation as an educator.
Gary

Sign In to comment