Get Your Students Hired
Tanya,
Passion and zeal for one's field helps to sell the content as you well know. Keep bringing it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think it's VERY important to let them know the course objectives. I always get excited, and give my students real world experiences to make them excited to learn the material. =)
I love the subjects I teach and enjoy teaching.
My students feel that and usually are very motivated.
Tammy,
I am always amazed at some of my students that do not get this concept. There is a reason why they are there and they have chosen to enroll so they can expand their career opportunities. Yet, many of them complain about having to come to class, do the work and exert effort. Bottom line is their ROI will be what they put into the course and they are not entitled to a grade just because they paid tuition.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One of the greatest motivator is money, but we cannot give out money for completing each course or program. As one of my instructors in college stated "You don't go to the grocery store load up your cart, pay and leave with-out your goods. Learning is the same concept. On their first day of class we review this concept. They understand that the goods are education and in order for them to get everything out of the money they spend we (instructor and student) must work together to achieve their educational goals.
Kim,
Love your attitude and enthusiasm. Your personality sets the stage for learning success. Mix in your continual search for knowledge and you have the winning combination for effective teaching and learning. I wish you continued success with your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I truly love my subject matter. Because I teach about the body, it is easy to convey the relevance of the material. And I am constantly amazed about what I am learning every day. My goal is to see that look in their eyes every class that says "I can't wait to see what happens next".
Tammie,
You are a case study in adult learning. I commend you for all your effort and passion for being successful. You will be a great example for your students because you have been where they are and they can see that you are able to relate to their situations. This is such valuable support for adult learners to have.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Tom,
I really like your list of factors for engaging students in the learning process while helping them to be motivated by what they are learning. This list is going to be valuable to other instructors as they come into the field of teaching. Thanks for sharing it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This is my first experience as a classroom instructor but I have had opportunities to teach in other settings. I agree completely about having fear as a motivator. I had been a stay at home mom for years until my husband and I had decided that I really needed to learn some kind of skill incase anything every happened to him and I was left to support my four children. I was very scared to enter back in to the school setting since I had been out for many years. I had instructors who motivated me along the way and assured me that I would be able to do it. I also had instructors who said I needed more remedial classes, since I had been out for so long, and they weren't sure that I would be able to do it without those classes. Not much encouragement there. I chose not to listen to them and did whatever it took to pass those classes, ie. study long and hard and receive tutoring. I am happy to say that I stuck it out and was able to finish college and obtain a degree in a field that I love. Motivation goes a long way. I hope that I can be one of those motivating instructors that helps a student to push past their fears and obtain a degree that they love as well.
Gary,
Some of the ways I motivate students are:
1)communicate my passion for the subject I am teaching,
2)listen carefully to students interests, learning styles, purposes and goals and connect some of these interests and goals to the subject I am teaching,
3)show students how they can benefit from the subject I am teaching,
4)let students present (individually and in small groups) some of the content of the course.
Tom
Lisa,
You are also helping the students to develop their own problem solving and cooperation skills. In the real world we have to work together to resolve or solve problems and this is great training for them to learn how to do this.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Travis,
Good plan. Internal motivation is the longest lasting and most driving.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Encourage group and independent activities by letting students create and decide on their own projects. This encourages them to think of the educational aspects, and standadrds of grading. I have noted that projects are top notch and not something turned in to just get by.
Encourage group and independent activities by letting students create and decide on their own projects. This encourages them to think of the educational aspects, and standadrds of grading. I have noted that projects are top notch and not something turned in to just get by.
My intention is to allow the student to develop their own personal motivation. I prefer to offer multiple reasons that may spark motivation. Personal experience, prior students reactions, or even the credit awarded. This allows each student to develop their own personal movtivation.
Pauline,
This is such a great way to connect the dots for students between the content they are learning and the world they are preparing to enter. The more examples and stories they hear the more they become engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Lairlyn,
This is a great way to enhance the value of the course content. Hearing from graduates motivates the students because they start to see themselves as graduates and being successful in the field. I use graduates as guest speakers a lot in my classes for the reasons you state.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I motivate my learners by incorporating real life scenarios in the class. I get to know each of my students and what route they are choosing in their new career field. I tell stories of what I have experienced and this motivates them to learn about that field. In some cases students have redirected their interest from one route to another because my stories have motivated them. As instructors it is easy to teach from a book, but most of the motivation comes from real life stories from our experience.
I am teaching VN students,when schedule permits, I invite graduate students especially those who just passed the NCLEX Board. I request them to talk for a few minutes and share about their study habits particulary their time management.I noticed after the new VN left our classroom , they get all so excited & motivated .