On the first night of class, engage in an ice-breaking name game while everyone enjoys a nice, refreshing cup of juice or kool-aid. After this activity is completed, tell them that anyone who makes it through to the last class session, and does so with a passing grade, will receive the antidote.
Hi Sara,
This is a good point about learning styles. What you need to do in your instructional planning is to offer variety just as you mentioned. This way the students all work in a variety of learning preference areas but they get the opportunity to work in their strongly preferred area for part of the course so they should excel when the content is offered in their preference area.
Gary
Hi Ruth,
I think this strategy is a good one because it is graphic and there for the students to see throughout the course. These goals are also reminders to and for the students when they get worn down about half way through the course. They can look at them and think to themselves "this is what I put down that I want to accomplish" so I am going to have to keep working hard if I am going to meet those goals.
Gary
I agree that it's incredibly useful to tailor assignments to learning style. However, I find that I do not always have the luxury of a small enough class to make this possible--I try then to provide projects that incorporate multiple learning styles and then group the students. This allows them to develop those important group skills (that we often have to employ in the real world) as well as to learn from each other and to have the opportunity to really show what they can do.
I'm constantly playing Devil's Advocate with my students -- whatever answer they come up with I challenge, whichever side of the question they come down on. The first time I did this my students got flustered, but then I told them what I was doing was challenging them to consider all sides of a question and not make up their mind too quickly. Once they understood I would be challenging them like that in every class they started preparing more and getting excited when they could stump me. In other words, they're engaged!
I like to ask students to write a plan of where they like to see themselves at midterm and at the end of their class. I basically ask them to write down their goals and what are they going to do to reach those goals. I also like to ask my students to keep that plan handy where and to perform self assessments of how they are following their own plan.
What do you think about this strategy?
Student motivation is a tough topic to tackle. I have found that younger students don't have the motivation that older students have in the classroom. I think that teachers that can relate subject material to real-world applications are more capable of motivating students. When students can visualize how this course can help them in the future, it puts a little more emphasis on why they should and want to learn the material.
Connecting students to actual issues related to the current job environment, and pointing them to success: this underlines the relevancy of the course, a key motivator.
I give examples of former students who have attained professional success in companies that students are familiar with and view highly.
I discuss the diligence of these former students and how their tenacity during their time in class paid off in the real world.
INCREASING THE TIME OF PRACTICE WILL MOTIVATE THE STUDENTS,BUT NOT ON THE COAST OF THE THEORETICAL PART,MAKING SURE THAT STUDENTS KNOW THAT THE PRACTICAL PART IS VERY IMPORTANT TO FIND A JOB,ALSO MAKING QUIZ AFTER EACH CHAPTER WILL MOTIVATE STUDENTS A LOT.
My course content involves graphic design projects. The students are preparing for a very focused career that requires them to interact with clients and management about visual solutions to problems that are often mystical to even the clients.
I present my own professional projects with all aspects of the process explained and illustrated. Initial brief from the client. My thumbnails. Notes from client meetings. Changes made based on those meetings. Restatement of the brief. Redesign. Final signoffs. And then production interaction with production houses. I motivate them by reinforcing the fact that complex design problems can be decoded and accomplished in well defined steps.
Hi Dr. Meers,
If we strive to represent ourselves as professionals, then merely leading by example may be a simple strategy for getting our students motivated. We're definitely setting the standards up there in front of the classroom.
Hi Dr. Norton,
Good job with setting the tone for your class. There is nothing wrong with showing everyone how they can earn an A in the course. I do the same with my courses. Once the course starts then the students start to drift to the different grade levels due the effort they put forth or the desire they have to be successful in the class.
Gary
For the coursework involved in my field specifically, it is important for students to perceive that obtaining additional education in the field is valuable. Making associations between education and success in real-world applications and practice is vital. One very palpable example of this is the increased salary that comes from being certified in the field.
More acutely, I attempt to give students the strong impression that they are expected to perform well in my classroom and that I will do everything possible on my end to make sure that they do.
Subsequently, if they do perform well, there needs to be some type of positive reinforcement for doing so. I have told them I am not against having every student in my class getting an "A." More than that, however, if they understand the concepts presented in class, they truly will be significantly more prepared and better equipped when they enter practice.
So far they all seem very motivated. I have been extremely impressed.
-Dr. Will Norton, DVM
I think some strategies for increasing student motivation are to relate the goals and objectives to the "real world" careers the students will find themselves in. To thoroughly describe the impact they will have on the lives of others when they are well educated and can perform their jobs with great quality.
Rhonda
Hi Karen,
Good strategies. You are helping to make the connections between the classroom and the real world for your students.
Gary
Strategies involve making aware of the value of the class to carrer, finding out students experience and/or knowledge with the topic, and my experience and excitement with the topic
Hi Desiree,
Well said. None of us have succeeded one hundred percent in our first efforts. We make mistakes we learn, we improve, we try again and again if necessary. This is a life lesson our students need to learn.
Gary
I think it's important to encourage positive thinking. We naturally say things like "you're a picky eater," instead of "you should try your peas, you might like them." Unfortunately, this type of learning starts when we're very young and the older we get, the more difficult it is to be positive. But students need to feel positive about taking chances with their work and need to be encouraged to do so. It's ok if you work on a problem and fail, because together, we can learn from it. The goal is to encourage them to keep going and try again. Not succeeding the first time is not a bad thing, it's healthy to learn from our mistakes and move forward.
By challenging the students with projects, activities, and assignments that are made interesting, they will be more motivated to complete them.
