Naomi,
Good way to make a connection with your students and bring enthusiasm to your teaching.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
The first thing that I do is to show my love of the subject matter. I think this is the best way of motivating students. I write little comments on their graded papers and I don't shy away from compliments of the students. Most of the time the students want to be recognized for their effort.
Carl,
Real life experiences makes the course content come alive. The more relevance and application you can make the greater the engagement is going to be. Thanks for these good points.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Valorie,
The fear factor for students that have been out of school for a period of time is very real. You make a number of good points about how to work with these individuals to help them get settled into the learning environment while being successful.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Orientation is a good time to talk to your students about why they are here. I ask all students why are you here? The feedback, I receive, determines how I will prepare the class for lecture or laboratory. Students who are here because they want to be need motivation to continue but not as much. Students who are here because they were not sure what to do need more motivation to continue and follow through.
I found there are many fields that these techniques will work in as long as there are current opportunities in the field locally.
You can get students very motivated and excited about your course by informing them about real world applications of the course. Sharing stories of career positions in the field now and in the future. Bringing in local news articles about events happening in the field in always a very positive item(s) to share.
When you have a good working knowledge of your area of expertise and you know how it is utilized in the industry, then you can relay that knowledge to your students so that they will "get" the relevancy of what you are trying to teach them. Try showing them with examples or finished projects, help them understand why it is important for them to learn these skills.
I think one of most basic ways to motivate your students is to show them the "real life" relevance of the course material they are being taught. As a student I would always be looking for the relevance to the material I was learning. If I saw an eaxmaple of the benefits of the course it would motivate more in that particular class.
I believe there is alot of fear that happens when one goes back to school, but I believe it is the fear of change and stepping out of one's own comfort zone. As a facilitator I do believe it is very important to connect with yur students and let them know that you are there supporting them and that you will continue to help them to achieve their goals. Alot of positive feedback goes a long way!
I think the main objective to keeping students motivated and excited would to not be repetitious and keep doing the same thing day after day. As a facilitator it is your job to keep it interesting also by tone of voice, keep eye contact, do group participation, making sure there is hands on and can also include events in your personal life that may be influential in the particular topic.
I think all students have a desire to succeed but sometimes over burden of school and personal life interferes with that. I have found that if you try and bring the focus back to whay they are in school helps. It also helps when you encourage and fascinate them about the topic you are teaching and the relevance of it in their future careeres, the students usually respond well and doen't complain about work load as much.
It seemes like they undestand then why they are going through the learning process and how it will positively effect theior abilities to perform better in their future jobs.
I have seen taht ole play also works very well.
Annette,
They really need to develop the connection between the course content and their career development. The more ways you can do it the more they will be engaged. Good point.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Sherile,
This is a good strategy to use with the students. It gets them to reflect on what is driving them to be successful in the classroom.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I also find that relating the material that they are learning to their own lives or lives of others around them, motivates the students to really learn the material. This helps them to understand their own body and recognize relationships between the different body systems.
Our students do a 'Motivation' poster, present it to the class and discuss (briefly) what motivates them. Nearly all of their motivators are outside of the classroom.
First I share with them my own excitment and experience in the Barbering world. Then I take the time to show them different techniques and show them where they can go from here.
Denise,
Keep up the reminding this is what it is about for students. Helping them to see that it is up to them and their desire for success if they are going to advance their career development.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Teachers can spark excitement and enhance motivation by showing an interest in their students and their subject matter. When you show that you care and you deliver an exciting lesson, your students have a better chance at staying motivated.
This is a tricky topic. Some learners are motivated from within, others need some help. The biggest problem I have is figuring out what motivates each person, as everyones triggers are different.....I also find it hard to motivate students in some classes because the topic may be less than interesting. For these courses, I try to remind them (and myelf) that we need to complete this step to reach the top of our ladder (our goal) of getting that degree!
