I agree and said something similar in my response Lynn. The more control we can give students over their education, the more successful they will be with becoming life long learners and finding value in the material. When people have choice, they feel in control. Tying subject matter back to the students' personal lives gives students the choice to be involved in something that matters to them, or give up the control. Most often, students will chose to take the control.
I think that the #1 way to generate natural motivation is to make the subject matter relevant to your students. Everyone is tuned into the WIIFM radio, What's In It For Me? Too often school is something that is pushed on students or "done to them." It has become a passive activity that students engage in because they feel that they need to, not because they want to. Making subject matter relevant to your student's lives gives them a reason to engage and personalize the subject matter.
Also, I find that showing enthusiasm myself is very helpful as well as playing the role of facilitator in my students' exploration of the course content. This takes out the top-down hierarchy of the traditional classroom that can stifle learning if the student thinks they are learning for your sake and not from their own desire.
Motivation can come from success. Showing student that they are capable of learning and growing is a plus to motivation. As a teacher trying to motivate students it is imperative to be positive and show the student that they are capable of accomplishing their goals. As the students master their first goal harder more challenging goals may be set. This encourages students to set harder goals, in turn motivating the student by challenging his or her capability. Teaching technique come into play when students are not at the same learning levels. Therefore, the teacher most be aware of the students capabilities and praise each student separately.
Hi Sarah,
You are on the right path with your instructional approach. The more examples, case studies and problem based worksheets you can use the more application and relevancy your students are going to see.
Gary
Hi Victor,
Good way to show application of your content area in a big picture format. All work doesn't have to be engine work but can be other parts of the car or truck. Good idea in tying income potential to AC knowledge. For many students this is the carrot to learn the information.
Gary
Hi John,
You are doing them a real service by giving them accurate information about their career options. TV has done so much to distort careers. CSI shows and Food Network to name a couple. So they do need to hear this information so they can make choices that will benefit their future.
Gary
Hi Susan,
Good approach because you are helping them direct their learning experiences. This helps them to become invested in the course at a higher level.
Gary
I want the students to come to my class motivated and excited. The way I have accomplished this is I send all the new students a welcome to the college and class letter. In the letter I tell them about me and let them know up front that I am a strict Instructor, but I also like to have fun. I also tell them the tasks and skills they will be learning in the next 5 weeks.
Delivery as you know is key!A magnetic personality intertwined with expertise is a win, win for all!
Here are a few ways for this moment:
1)Structure course which is logically sounding, interesting
2)Give questions which are controversial, and relevant.
3)Serve real life exemplar that inspires…
I also bring examples of claims, EOBs, insurance ID cards and medical records. First, of course, I remove all HIPAA-protected PHI, such as patient name, ID #, etc.
By explaining & showing some examples to them of what we do here ties in directly with some of the things they will be doing out in the industry that they are trainig for.
I use games as one of my motivational teaching methods. To review for exams, I divide students into teams, give each team a dog squeaky toy, and use a "Family Feud" model. When a question is asked, each team confers with their teammates and the first team to "squeak" gets to answer the question. Team members earn bonus points to be used on quizzes, exams or assignments. This gaming methodology allows the students to get a little rowdy & have fun learning. It's especially effective at night, when everyone starts winding down & getting tired around 9pm.
I too like to share personal experiences with my students. I work as a research coordinator, so I also like to bring in journal articles to discuss with the class. It's a great way to show the students that they are entering an exciting field that is always advancing.
I teach a general education environmental science class that is not strictly in the career "track" for any of my students. I have had good success motivating students to learn by showing how environmental science relates to their lives. However, I still struggle with keeping students who are very focused on a career and job change motivated to learn something that is considered non-essential for their career. I try to encourage them to see their time in school as a chance for education, not just a chance for a new job. That seems to help, but does anyone else have suggestions?
I teach air conditioning and a lot of students don't have much interest in ac, they all want to learn about engines. I try to show value for ac work (good paying work, always in demand) and try to make it more interesting, more fun, open the floor to discusion, also include as much live work as I can and back that up with how much a job they did would pay. Knowing what they can make seems to help.
Dr. Meers,
I found that the most success I have with motivating students is to show how it will benefit them and be applied outside the classroom. I am always looking for new methods as most of the students in the CJ program are surprisingly not interested in being line level police officers but rather interested in victim advocacy, juvenile advocacy, and thanks to television, crime scene investigations. I don't want to quash their desire to continue with their education but want to honest with them about job availability, etc.
John
When I can link information that they have been taught together to a common concept that the students can then practice, I often notice the "ah-ha moment" expression and this usually motivates them to put more information together.
I like the idea of letting the students hear how this job is in real life. They can then decide if they want to continue in the field or would rather choose something else. Sometimes students pick a career because it looks glamorous or financially appealing. Talking to someone who actually works in the field will give the true picture of what working in the field is like.
We have learners coming in to class with different learning abilities. We need to help all students be successful in class. This may mean using different teaching styles to help each student learn. Teachers need to be flexible and willing to offer different teaching methods to students if one doesn't work.
