Ken,
I like your way of approaching a new class. You are seeking the keys to learning from the students so you will know how to customize your instructional effort.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Hetty,
Like your word - relevance. The more relevance students can see the more application of the content they will be able to make.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
As instructors, we set the stage for the tone of our classroom. By exhibiting enthusiasm and excitement about the material we are presenting, we have the opportunity to transpose that enthusiasm on to our student. I also find, involving the student in the learning process with different types of classroom participation can motivate even the "quiet" students in time.
Fortunately, in the Career Education arena, students are usually enrolled because they have a true desire and passion for the industry they are studying. With that said, it is often necessary to motivate students on a case by case daily basis, depending upon the topic being discussed or issues going on in a student's personal life. I find that most of the time simply sharing my enthusiasm and passion for teaching helps to motivate students. Also, involving them in "active" learning and group work with a bit of healthy competition usually does the trick.
How many students will a instructor have contact with in her/his teaching carrer? That will be the number of ways an instructor will need to grow motivation. The first few days of instructing are very important to the instructor. In that not only are you teaching but also quietly disecting the student's personal character and background. This is to find out what method,style and/or language level will have a chance to motivate this person with only the need to fine tune your effort. In other words, what will work with THIS person?
I think students really take their cues from the instructor. As a teacher of Art History I take great pleasure in changing the sour attitudes many students have when entering the class. Many students feel the subject matter is not relevant. I try hard to show them the connections to modern life and in so doing they leave pleasantly surprised and happy to have taken the class. The buzz word is relevance!
Carolyn,
I like your approach. This is a good way to keep students engaged while introducing hands on applications. I am sure your students enjoy doing these exercises as well.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
My class is both lecture and lab concerning the medical profession. Occasionally in the middle of a lecture, I will stop, create a mock emergency situation, pick two students at random and ask them to rush out to the lab and "take care of the emergency". I hope this wakes them up a bit and breaks the monotomy of a lecture. Also, the students never know when I will do this, what emergency it will be and who will be picked. Hopefully this will be create an awareness of the importance of hands-on skills.
Jessica,
I agree and this is why we need to bring our A game to class each time it meets. If we are not excited about the class it is for sure they won't be.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Maria,
You are a great role model for your adult students. They can see how you have been successful and hopefully reduce their personal fears some. If we can get them over their fears and help them see how they can be successful then they will start to build their confidence to the point they become engaged and focused learners.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I feel students will mirror your feelings to the subject you are teaching. If the teacher enjoys their subject matter, they students will model their behavior and attitude.
This is my first experience as an instructor, and I have to agree with you about the fear being one of the most important motivators for some students. Some of my students admitted that they chose a career school out of desperation, fear of not having another chance to better themselves. I try to make them understand that they do not have to stop here, that this can be the beginning of a new career, a new life, and that they can accomplish so many wonderful things. I was one of those students,before I decided to go back to school, and now I am working on a double masters. I share my story, and not only mine, with them only because I feel, I know that the support,and encouragement that we provide can make a difference. If, in the long run some of our students will decide to pursue a higher education degree, I will probably probably think that we did a good job as educators.
Patricia,
Excitement is important because if you aren't excited about the field it is for sure the students won't be because you will have dampen their enthusiasm. Good point about why we need to bring excitement to the classroom each time we teach.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
If you are excited about your course the students will latch on to your enthusiasm. teach them as if each of them were taking care of their own family members stressing the fact that it is their job to keep the subjects as safe as they can while they are in their care.
Mandy,
Insight is critical as you reinforce and give feedback to students. You are using a customized approach to make sure you are targeting each individual student.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I am new to formal teaching, but have done alot of bedside teaching to family members who will be taking care of a loved one. That being said they need to be resured they can do it! Some need a verbal "good job", others need a high five, and others just want to be checked off. I feel its important to know what type of motivation your learner needs, because it does vary from person to person. What works for one doesnt work for someone else.
James,
Seems like I have one of these students each course phase as well. The challenge is to find something that will expand such a student's knowledge base, keep him/her busy but not in a just make work type of format. I use these students to help with certain lab activities as well and they like being a part of the instructional process.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Robin,
Good point about bringing the human factor into your instructional delivery. You got to where you are as a result of life and career experiences and by sharing them the students learn the value of the content you are bringing into the class each time it meets.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
This is a pretty open ended question. Only because I have one of these "Students" in my class. The student is very knowledgeable in what we are studying, and I see him powering thru the assignments that should take 4 hours in like an hour or even a half an hour. Lecturing for a hour and having the 4 hours of lab time becomes difficult every day. So I think up of extra credit "Tasking" that I give the student to open his mind into expressing his creativity. (Mainly I give him a "not too hard of a task" to express himself with...) Asking the excellent question, "So What Is It That You Like, or Like To DO On Your Free Time?" Getting the info I need to be spontaneous and say "well let’s do this to showcase what you learned." "And while you are at it," giving something they can do on top of what they had learned in past lab time they had. A busy student is a Happy Student when they are doing something they are going to school for and wanting to be there.
After the paper work has been completed, when starting a new class for each term, I like to give them the course over view, as well as true story experiences through my working in the field. Students thrive when they realize that I am actually a human with mistakes and learning experiences to share.
