Creating Motivation
Make sure you keep your students engaged with asking and answering questions.
I think one challenge of creating motivation is showing that what is being taught is relevant.
I often ask my students if their employees, customers, or business partners are going to be interested in what grade they get, or are they going to be more interested in how well they can effectively communicate (I teach communications)?
I also like to share the experiences that i have had in the field. it seems to make them have more interest in the studies i continue with and they ask more questions over our class work aswell as homework.
Try to always motivate the students toward the learning processes or involve them into new learning processes that interests them.
Linda,
I also like to mix in stories from the field & this way they stay energized about their future careers.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Its important to bring out the students passion for the particular field that they are studying. Speak about the big picture and how the material they are learning can be applied in real life. This usually keeps them motivated.
TJ,
this is a great idea & point. Asking the questions to specific students helps all to stay engaged & can encourage those who are reluctant to speak up to answer so you can gauge their levels of understanding.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I always ask questions to gauge how well they grasp the material and make sure different students reply to avoid hearing from the same group all the time.
Motivation is so important in the classroom. Using a simple ball to toss from one student, as they ask questions to their classmates, to the other,keeps them on their toes, and assist with study habits.
Kaley,
yes & these are the students with whom we need to stay engaged ourselves.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Agreed, it is tough to get some students engaged.
Andrew,
this is a great idea as it sets the stage early on that this is a group effort & we are a community of learners who want to help each other & that means participating & even being willing to say, "I don't know."
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
i believe in answering questions with questions to make the students think.
Usually during the first day of class I explain to students that I may sometimes call on them individually, so please be prepared. Obviously there are always students that shudder at the thought of something like this. I like to explain to them how important it is to have the practice, because in their future careers they will have customers, managers and others calling on them and asking questions. There will be many times when they will answer incorrectly or won't have an answer at all - and that's okay. Getting this out in the open early on and setting expectations usually helps to "break the ice" with students getting used to being called on.
Yes! I love doing this in our automotive classes. It definitely seems to awake most all the class. I believe because I call on any one at any given time. Especially with the night students.
Melissa,
yes, this is an excellent point. This kind of reflection is sorely missing & the more we can encourage the better.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Asking and answering questions is a wonderful way to keep the students involved and motivated but I find that encouraging them to think and reflect on their own questions and curiosities of the topic really seems to motivate them as well.
I try to get my class to be more cohesive as a group so they can support each other in the learning process. For example, whenever I have a student work out a math problem in front of class, the students and I give him/her a round of applause afterwards. It lightens up the mood the the classroom and it makes that student smile.
Michael,
this is a great idea & provides that safety net for asking questions.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I like the idea of having students write questions on a piece of paper and sending them up to me. I also give students the option of claiming their question after it's answered; sometimes they want to express pride and other times they want to see if they can improve on the questions they ask. It's kind of win-win.
