Ways that I believe you can help your students become motivated and excited about a course is to clearly explain learning objectives and expectations. It is also important to find aspects of the course where it would be appropriate for adult learners to make choices about how they can best achieve their learning goals. This may be achieved by allowing students to choose a method to complete an assignment out of a list of options. This method allows students to choose a method of learning that they feel comfortable with.
There are many ways that you can help students become motivated. One main way is personal involvement-- some students like it when they are participating instead of just listening and watching. Putting students in groups is another way of changing the classroom dynamics.
I believe my engery and passion for my career transfer to the students. I bring my knowledge and experiances to the class and add to my lecture where needed. My real life stories add to their motivation.
These are tangible motivators that they can fully appreciate. I also try to get them to consider their professional need & respect that they can earn in performing the vocational skill they provide.
Hi Sarah,
Everything rises and falls on leadership. Your example is one of them. By being excited, prepared and organized you are showing your students you are a professional and that they can benefit from studying with you in the coming course. This is a great way to set the stage for a successful course.
Gary
Hi Meliha,
Good methods of reaching students. You are bringing application and relevancy to the class and this is so important for students. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Simply by being motivated about the course material yourself, you can really convince your class that the course is exciting and that they want to learn more about it. I found that when I was excited about the topics in the course I just completed the students would get more interested. They would make more comments and ask more questions. One of the things I intend to do better in my next secession is to be more excited about all of the topics, not just the ones that I personally found interesting.
One of the ways I can, as an instructor, motivate my students about the course is walk into the classroom with an example of a real world event that the day's objectives will cover. So for example if the students are to learn about insurance fraud, I would spark a discussion based off a current event that revolves around a particular case of the fraud. This way the student can see not only how the rules were broken, but also the ramifications to the organizations and individuals involved.
Another way is to provide an outwardly excited appearance at the class content. If the students see my enthusiasm and passion for the class, they will as well. Use words like "I like", "I enjoy", "I personally found this important", and "This is very good information".
I could also examples of executive or high managerial type individuals who succeeded in their career because of learning items that are taught in the course (if the course was business based), so in effect I would provide an example as to what they can achieve.
There are various other methods, but those above are the ones that come to mind at first!
I would discuss the benefits I have experienced in my field, in order to keep them motivated to achieve the same rewards that I have. A nice house, financial security, etc
Helping students learn and master the important aspects of their field. This will help them provide confidence and competency
One way I have used to help students become motivated and excited about the course is to ask them what they know about the subject. Then I ask them what they would like to learn. Once I have that information I share how what the know and what they wish to be learn can be used to reach the overall goal. I also engage the students by asking them to tell the entire class more about there experience on the topic and help the student reall see the relationship between the subject and what they know.
GIVE THEM EXAMPLES AND REASONS TO WANT TO KNOW THE THINGS THAT YOU ARE TEACHING THEM.
I think Motivating students to to take pride and ownership of their illustration work is often a difficult task. I try to model an excitement for the program and content with exposure to what's going on in the Digital illustration Community. Sharing links to great professional portfolios, illustration blogs I have come upon and other resources from the professional design world.
I want to instill a passion for the industry in my students by constantly referring them to examples of what we are doing in class each week within the professional world — to take the lessons we learn from our text and see how other designers have applied them to professional output.
Hi Gloria,
I always like to hear from instructors that love their field and have the opportunity to teach within their career field. Your excitement I know carries your students to a higher level of involvement and learning. Keep up the good work.
Gary
I am a nurse and I love being a nurse. I use my chosen profession and my enthusiasm for nursing to guide me as I prepare and deliver nursing content. Some of the information is really dry and some is even depressing. Yet, students need to know this information if they are to be succesful both academinally and professionally as a nurse.
So I share my experiences with the students (taking care to always protect patient confidentiality). I think that this makes the content real to them and hopefully motivates them to learn more about a subject or content area that may not be as much fun as others. I enjoy teaching, and I especially enjoy teaching nursing. I believe that this enthusiasm and "contentness" with my chose profession is a positive motivator in the classroom.
Gloria Mattson Huerta
Since I teach writing, motivation is important in my classroom. It isn't that students dislike English; rather, they often don't immediately see the relevance to their career fields. I find that excitement is contagious, and my love of the field can sometimes create more excitement in students.
I also try to bring in real-life examples of how writing is used in their fields. I involve students, asking them to think of how they might use writing in the future. There are several articles online discussing communication and its importance in the workplace. I also break down the thinking skills developed by English classes and show how those can apply.
For me, I suppose I try to motivate through a blend of true love for my field, which I try to express everyday in class, and real-life examples of how material relates to each student's goals.
Your response has hit the target for me as a new math teacher for culinary students. I hear many of them say that they hate math, were never good at it, and just want to get their passing grade and move on. The math class does provide a lot of very useful information and examples, depending on whether or not the student is planning to work in catering, as a sous chef or higher. Students stress too much over paper tests. If I go over the same material that is on a paper test wtih them in person, they are usually able to come up with the correct answers. Having to put their answers on paper seems to make them very uncomfortable and not confident in what I as a teacher know that they know.
Seeing the relevancy of the classroom learning as a cohesive learning experience to what the student is learning in a lab or hands-on training session. I think students need to 'see' that classroom learning is not just an intellectual theory but that it does have real validation in everyday working situations.
having students stand in to watch special procedures , attending pharmaceutical and vendor conventions , creating prize oriented quizzes , using a team approach to problem solve, develop programs by student design , allow students to openly communicate with peers and mentors, these are some examples of successful techniques i have used in the past when dealing with students and other anciiary personell. lou ruocco
I talk to them about my own experiences in health care, including wonderful and difficult scenarios, as a way to motivate them to learn more (spread their tiny wings and fly).
Keeping their attention, injecting ideas into the classroom setting that excite the students can be difficult. What may draw one student in doesn't necessarily draw all the others. Some types of "hooks" I've used include learning games like "Jeopardy," encouraging other students to share their experiences in the health care system.
