I have used stories of my own experiences in my teaching as motivating examples with great success. I have found if I keep them short and to thepoint I don't lose student interest.
Bess,
Can you expand on this. I'm not sure I understand how this model works? Thanks.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
reveals target material for that day.
Instructors can use praise and encouragement to movitvate students to continue their hard work and to encourage other students to try their hardest.
Giving frequent reviews, by asking questions on what were covered in previous lessons, then asking them to make connections between the previous lesson with the current one and then making them write at the end of the meeting what in their own words they have learned on that session. This is because I believe that the more the students retain in memory by frequent reinforcements the more they are motivated.
Sometimes students are unsure of themselves. If this continues throughout the course, they may drop out because they have no confidence or feel that the class isn't beneficial for them. Once you reinforce the things they are doing right, they can make a connection and find value in themselves and the class. This will help energize them to keep them going.
I really like this idea! I'm going to try to incorporate it into my daily routine. I think it will be a good way to show the students that everyone learns at a different pace and that not everyone gets the same things at the same time.
I have often used a surprise review of what the class has achieved so far as a confidence booster and motivator. I'll ask the class to go back to the middle of the first week of class and remember how they were just developing the ability to understand and utilize the subject matter. Then we fast forward to where we are today and very often students will immediately understand that what they have achieved is much greater than they were giving themselves credit for. Enthusiasm for class is usually much greater the next day!
Bridgette,
Good point. Students like it when we are excited about our content and getting to share it with them.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Staying positive!! and having some sort of incintive in place .
Activities that promote a little competition or incentives are great ways to reinforce what students have learned.
One way I use it is by backing up the material covered with a real life example. I also like to point out not only the things I did well, but the things I did not. This gives the students and opportunity to learn from my mistakes.
Ladansa,
I use games in my classes as well. They are a fun way to review for an upcoming test.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I like to play games like wheel a fortune, hangman and etc. This helps to reienforce what was taught and they love to play the games.
Joseph,
I use food as well. I find that not only is food a good reward but also when we are eating our snacks the students relax and we have more informal interaction which increase the development of rapport.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Having students demonstrate or verbally explain a skill set they recently mastered is powerful for the student as they see first hand the progress they are making in school.
I like to reward students with "Food". They seem to try extra hard if I give a Food Reward" for the class reaching a certain goal. They goal must be reasonably and achiveable.
Allen,
What a great example of relevance and application. This is such a motivating factor for students to see and experience in their lives outside of class. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
In one of my classes the textbook for Microsoft word 2010 uses three very similar problems to reinforce concepts for learning the software application. Many of my students report to me that they have used some of these skills with the application to create new documents for use at work. Their skill is instantly recognized by management, the students return with excitement that what they learned is relevant, and they can't wait to see what else is in store for them to practice. Reinforcement is easy if you keep a clear focus on relevancy.
David,
This is a very effective way to teach. They are getting multiple ways to reinforce the content in their minds as they work through the lectures and then the applications.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
