I believe that one of the ways we as instructors can be motivators, is by being excited about the class we are teaching as well as being positive. Motivation can also come in the form of sharing yourself with the students, so that they can see that as a professional, we also go through day-to-day struggles, yet we overcome.
Kelly,
You are their learning leader and as a result you have a great impact on their lives. By showing them you have been where they are and that you are currently carrying a heavy load in relation to your personal and professional life via being a mother, nurse and educator you are creating a connection between them and your desire to help them be successful.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a student, mother, nurse and educator, I try to give my students a glimpse of me as a person who was where they currently are. Going to school full-time, having a family, working full-time and the stress associated with all facets of that.
I want my students to know that I am not all that different from them. I work 50+ hours a week, I was going to school and taking care of a 1 years old.
I want them to understand that I KNOW what they are going through!
I also want them to KNOW that IT CAN BE DONE! That they can also do this! Despite the feeling of being overwhelmed sometimes.
I remind them of their reasons for being in my class and being in school to further their education in general!
I remind them that if it were easy everyone would be doing it and that THEY CAN DO IT!
I am their biggest cheerleader, their biggest advocate. But, I am also the person who will hold them accountable for their actions or inaction as the case may be!
Bliss,
It is amazing how a few words spoken at the right time and encourage and support a student. By being available to the students before and after class for a quick chat you will send a message that you care and that you are there to help them succeed if they are willing to put forth the needed effort.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
There are many ways you can motivate your student. What I find that is very helpful is encouraging them even when they have failed. Letting them know that we as humans make mistakes and the. Maybe showing a different way of teaching a specific thing.
I use my energy and channel it to my students. I always start my class with a schema activator that is consistent with the subject and have team building challenges.
STEPHEN,
Like your standards. We need to keep the goal of high achievement in the minds of our students at all times. They need to feel pride in their skill development so they can leave our courses with craftmanship of which they can be proud.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Looking for ways to use practical application that will appeal to the students' need for growth in their future careers.
I like to motivate my Students by emphasizing the passion for quality craftsmanship we should always strive to maintain in our field, and to always keep educated with the related changing technologies that happen continually. Having values such as these will result in a successful career.
Harlan,
This unfortunately is becoming more common all the time. Hard to convince students just because they paid tuition to come to our college that did not entitle them to purchase an A. They have to earn the A. I work with my students on realistic goal setting but still am unable to get through to some of them that success is based upon hard work and dedication. Not giving up but wish more would heed the message.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Matt,
Your entire approach, the energy, enthusiasm, passion plus examples blend to give your students instructional delivery that will hold their attention and get them to value the content being presented. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I struggle with students who have unrealistic goals, and I truly do not understand where they come from. Maybe it is just the new generation and the fact that I was raised different and didn't look at thing as being entitled, rather I saw and still do see my goals as something I have to work for not something I am entitled to.
I try to lead by example. I am passionate about my field and excited about both teaching and continuing my own education. My high energy and level of interest usually proves to be infectious.
Additionally, I try to include examples of success in the field as an illustration of where the right motivation can get you.
I feel that I can motivate students by the way I talk during lecture, discuss the procedure during a demo, and by adding little bytes of how much fun I had when I was in the field working on the same things.
Dave,
This is one of the main factors in engaging students because you have earned your living in the field that you are teaching about. You are bringing real life experiences to the classroom and combining that with the needed knowledge to help the students move closer to their career goals. This is what should make the course valuable to the.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As stated in this course of study, we instructors that have worked in the field relating to the curriculum we are teaching, can motivate students by relating our experiences with the subject so that they can see the potential of what they are studying.
Joseph,
Students really perk up when stories from the field are shared. They start to see how both relevancy and application can be made from the content that is being covered via the stories. So keep up the sharing.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Telling stories about being in the field and the success I had let the students know what they can look forward to.
Walter,
Good way to balance learning and application. The students get the information and then have a chance to apply it by relating it to real world case studies. This increases their buy in to the course content and increases the value of what is being taught.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Sometimes it helps to ask students' to look at things from a different perspective, then relate to a first hand "real world" quick story, based on the learning objective. We give them every opportunity and assistance to learn, but in the end we grade on their performance.
