I use both initial & continuing motivation as I teach my classes.
Things must not only be relevant to to their lives but, relevant to what they already know.
Humor is great in a classroom. But, one has to be careful so the humor doesn't become predominant and the concept(s) one is teaching get lost.
Hi Lisa,
Great balance to your teaching. You are making learning fun and exciting for your students. That is what teaching should be about. You are creating a legacy for your field and impacting the lives of students, this is a great opportunity and should be enjoyed.
Gary
I feel students who are excited about your class are going to be motivated to learn. If you keep you r topics relevant and transferrable to their lives, they will be engaged and more apt to come prepared to learn. I do this by using all sorts of technology, storytelling, role playing and open discussion. There is a high percentage chance they will laugh in my classroom, because I love to incorporate humor into my lessons. Most of the content and assignments happen while in class so if they don’t come they miss out on rich learning opportunities.
You increase student motivation by showing that your course is relevant.
Karen, Not everyone in our classes will welcome the role of mentor, but those who do will make our job as an instructor so much more rewarding if we do not forget to acknowledge those individuals who can provide that extra level of support to those students who may benefit.
Joe
Karen, I suspect that you are right in that assumption. That is especially apparent as one works with different cohorts as the move through their course of study. It certaily has to do with the confidence level one would expect from the more experienced learner.
Ask students to take notes in the class, give them study guides and handouts along with class lecture. Give examples so the students can relate to.
I try to include an experience, example, about the topic being discussed. I feel this helps the student relate to something more visable or memorable, rather than just lecturing on that particular subjec or topic.
I believe that sharing stories of your own experiences can serve as a motivating factor for students.
For new students, I like to tell them a little about myself, where I have been and what I have done in my career. I then have them go around the room and tell something about themselves. This sets them a little more at ease with their new classmates. It also helps them see that their goals are attainable. Also, If the student knows that I am available to them for any reason, I think that they feel a little less apprehensive about the whole class setting.
Hi Jean,
This is what "connecting the dots" is all about in learning. You are showing your students that they are learning content and skills that will help them create a future for themselves. The more of this we can do the more motivated they will to complete their program.
Gary
Hi Lynn,
This is a good way to get the students into the field and talking with those that are working where they want to be upon graduation. The more realistic information they can get the better prepared they will be to enter and succeed in the field. Also, when you have them do such interviews they bring back to the classroom so much information that they is always a lot of discussion that follows.
Gary
Real life examples show expertise in subject matter and give students motivation to be involved.
Guest speakers are also a great way to motivate students with real world experience. I have had students take there seriousness about the course up a notch when this happens.
Students also have commented that they will work harder so they can get a reference from the experience as well. (Instructor and Speaker)
One strategy might be for each student to do an information interview with someone in the career field doing something they think they would like to do or think might be interesting. I think this would give them a realistic goal to work towards and better understand how the course will help them achieve this goal.
Hi Craig,
This is a great way to help the students to see value from what is going to occur in the coming course. These real life examples of situations that you have encountered help the students to make a connection between you and them and accounting and their studies.
Gary
I also agree that it is a great suggestion. Letting students know your availablity is encouraging, because it is less threatening than asking something in front of a large group.
Small groups are wonderful, because again, there is less pressure to memorize concepts on one's own, and students can motivate each other.
Some strategies for increasing motivation are to point out study guides available such as a workbook. I encourage students to study in groups, because it can be motivating in that they help each other stay focused. In the study groups, there may be different types of learners such as visual, auditory, and tactical. When they are together, there may be different individuals that successfully understood a concept due to the differences in learning styles. If someone in the group did not understand the same concept, the one that did understand it may be able to present it to the one that did not.
Another way to do this might be to show the students some statistics of job placements in their current field of study.
A guest speaker that works in the career field the students are working towards is a great motivator as well.
I teach accounting. Near the start of every class I present a "Real Life Accounting Adventure" that ties something I've encountered in my practice to what we're studying.
Specific strategies for increasing student motivation are maintaining excitement for the topic, demonstrating instructional professionalism (there were so many great definitions of this as part of this course), giving timely feedback, and focusing on the final goal of graduation in an interesting career field.
