I like doing that and giving extra credit for those who are relating the subject to out of class sources and in real life.
I totally agree with relating life's experience. Once student asked me very sincerely how long it took me to learn about my major. That made me stop in my tracks and realize it took a long time. When telling him that, he sighed relief and I saw a release of some pressure he had put on himself to learn everything about the subject just this quarter. I will use that example in the future.
A problem I'm having is bringing in new guest speakers. Because of the economy, many of them will do this once, but I feel guilty asking quarter after quarter to come in even though they are just what I need. Should schools have a budget to give money to those who repeatedly come as guest lecturers for an hour?
I agree with teaching something about which you are not as familiar. I am usually afraid I'll be found out and my knowledge is mainly from the book. It is not the way I like to teach, but I try to involve them more in those cases about their own experiences which augment mine.
I think students are always looking for the way to relate what they learn in class to the world in which they live. That's the way they can remember what they learn. Sometimes I wonder if I tell them too much in relating information, but in some evaluations they respond affirmatively, especially as I'm an "older" teacher and have had lots of life's experiences.
Hi Barbara,
Great way to get the students to thinking about what they are about to study. They are using their newly acquired knowledge from the very first class meeting. What a great motivator this is.
Gary
I try to keep in mind that the common culture or our students is "what's in it for me". Keeping that in mind, I ensure that in each of my courses I make sure to let them know the value of the material. The clinical examples are always good, but even more important is modeling a love of your profession.
As I teach various subjects, one of them is textiles. As we progress, I ask them to look around the room and find something that is not a textile. You can always see their eyes light up when they can only find one or two things that don't fit into the textile category. And I like to relate our subject to the world around them and how dependent we are on the subject. They have also told me they love all the samples I bring in and pass around the room. This keeps them interested and awake.
Hey there......
I try to motivate students by:
Using real world exciting examples
Keep a very positive attitude
Detail the classroom experience with humor in learning
Share personal upbeat situations
Incourage the best from the students
Be a role model and confidant
Hi Selinza,
Well said. Your last sentence says it all "A Nurse". You are a nurse because you chose to be and you are helping others to become nurses as well. This is your passion and it shows. The more the students can see your passion the more motivated they will become as they progress through their education to become nurses.
Gary
By giving them real life examples of how the material you are covering is relevant outside the classroom.
A passionate display of my own... passion still exist, being so prepared for class with a goal of being informative and entertaining (to maintain the attention of my students) as well as thorough with the information. I enjoy making my class time interactive, encouraging everyones participation with hands on and verbal interactions. I believe the excitement of the leader can be contagious, especially because the students that I have the privilage of teaching have made the career choice to be who I am "A Nurse."
Hi Tim,
Good approach to helping students see the end results of their work. This way they can see how the foundation is being created and then the skills are built from that. As you say it helps them to keep from becoming overwhelmed.
Gary
I find that making the roll playing as close to real life as possible really motivates students. Also, explaining errors to students and how to avoid such errors seems to hold their interest.
Some ways I can help my students to become motivated and excited about their course is by not making them try to do too many goals at once - especially during lecture. I teach Photoshop and that can be rather overwhelming to beginners. I begin with a goal in mind (sometimes show an inspirational piece of work someone has done using the same technique) and then build up to it throughout the lesson. This way, the students feel they are building up to a crescendo. I also focus on a student's positives and never commit to their negatives. If someone consistently has difficulty with a certain aspect of the lesson, I will try to find other ways of tackling the problem in a positive way.
Hi Heather,
Thank you for sharing how you get your students invested in their course work. By sharing real life situations and outcomes you are connecting the classroom to the real world. The emotional part of feedback coming from patients is a great way of getting them to become invested in their training. Helping others is a very powerful motivator as you already know. Keep up the good work.
Gary
I like to use real-world experiences to engage the students. I also am a fan of the "hands on" work; it gives the students a sense of what they will be doing in the real work field. I also like to hear about their own experiences as related to the course (if appropriate to share).
Heather, giving the students real life experiences is also very helpful in my classroom. I teach CAD training and when I have my Advisory Board Members come in to do guest lectures and also when I take them to their offices to witness professsionals on the job it really impacts their learning experience in the classroom. Keep up the good work Heather.
James, I could not agree with you more. The more excited students are concerning their learning experience the more successful they will be with that experience, and that is led by me being excited and motivated with the subject matter. I love the learning process, not only for me but also by my students.
Hi James,
You are right about leading by example and excitement. It does rub off on the students and the class becomes more motivated by what is going on in the classroom/lab.
Gary
