Motivation
My students feel using the white board, talking about real life situations, going on field trips and using power points realy help he alot. just reading from a book is boring to them and they block me ot. I am energetic an always moving which gives them motivation and helps them succed.
Jennifer,
These real life stories really help to reinforce the course content. By interjecting them as you do this make the content come alive and shows them the value of what they are learning.
Gary
Since I worked in my field for about 12 years before going into teaching, I have a lot of personal experiences. I can tell when students don't understand a concept by the look on their faces. That's when, I know, they need a personal story. I'm passioniate about my field and I always try to convey that to my students.
I usually utilize group activities to help with motivation class efforts, and also creating group forum activities so that the students can share their experiences as part of the discussion. Many time students learn from each other during these times which allow them to stay more engaged with the subject.
I find all those techniques work but sometimes the material is just so dry I barely can stay wak while I lecture. When this happens I usually try to get all of us moving...maybe a you tube video is appropriate . I was talking about communication styles and defense mechanisms one class. This subject is a lot of lists. So I found a You Tube vidoe of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Oh my that got all of listening and then role playing and discussing the interactions.
