I also agree that motivation is the key , also hands on is what students seem to want the most.
Julie,
Thank you for sharing this strategy and how effective it is with us. This is the kind of information that helps others to see how they can reinforce their students. You are so right about the need for students to have someone to notice that they worked hard and earned a good grade.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I work on the administrative side of education. Each week I review to make sure the grades are posted in a timely manner. I like to send out WTG (way to go) emails to the students and congratulate them on a job well-done. I get back a lot of responses that say things from "thank you" to "I worked so hard on that assignment, thanks for noticing". Being that they know who I am and I'm not their instructor, I think they enjoy the personalized attention. Please note that I send one email and BCC them, but from their perspective, all they see is that someone noticed their hard work.
Reinforcing positive activities, like calling out students for a job well done and focusing on what they've accomplished, can build student confidence. Once a student has a sense that they can do well in your class, they will want to continue in that direction, and are likely to repeat positive behaviors.
Cynthia,
I think you are going to like the results you get with this method. You are going to learn a lot more about what your students are expecting to learn as well as what they have learned from this strategy.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Can't wait to try this out in my next class. While I've mentioned what we have talked about in class, hearing what the students actually have learned will definintely provide reinforcement.
Glen,
Good strategy because you are checking for understanding while giving students the opportunity to reflect on what has been said and then recall what they have stored in their working memories.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I use repetition on many of the harder questions that I ask.This reinforces their ability to retain the knowledge in their memory then I'll wait a long while then ask the question again and get an amazing right response throughout the class. I CAN TELL they are very excited about retaining that knowledge in their memory and being able to give an immediate answer.
Shawn,
Helping them to see their progress is so important once they start to wear down during the middle or latter part of the course. Once they see that they in fact have come a long way they start to get motivated and are able to finish the course with enthusiasm.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Reinforcement can be used to motivate students on multiple levels. Allowing students to see how far they have come can spur them on to finishing strong what they initially came to career college for. It can show them that failure in one area does not mean they are a failure but rather an excellent learning opportunity. By going over what they have learned students can and wil be inspired. They will see how far they have come, the trials and circumstances they have overcome and the belief that they are doing it and will do it.
Reinforcement is a kindly way of motivation because it feeds the pride of the student. Making the student feel comfortable with their skills and now knowledge raises the interest on learning more. It is also a way to support the student toward the learning process, which we already know is not easy. Positive reinforcement balances the enviroment in the classroom and makes students happy because they are being cherished after their goals are reach.
Michael,
You make a good point about fairness and consistency. Both of these approaches need to be in place if students are going to respect and follow you as the learning leader.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It's make students feel how improved in their learning. I usually go over everything with them to making sure what they doing good and what they need to pay more attention to improve their weakness. Make sure you have to be fair to all students.
When student e-mail their assignments and projects, I would reinforce them in my reply. This makes them do the next assignment before the deadline because they want to see/ read the reply I send them.
Students e-mail their assignments and projects and a positive word about their sent assignment or projects makes them do their best to send one because they want to get comments.
Often times when the students get their printout for their portfolio, I tell them that I am the manager and I would like to know how they did it, or was it easy or challenging
They get enthusiastic to explain and prove that they learned something.
I try to give my students as much positive feedback as possible. I also try to return their quizzes and exams to them as soon as possible and offer my assistance in any areas they don't understand.
I think this is a great idea and I am going to adopt it myself! I usually do a 5 minute wrap up of the day's lesson anyway. This is another way to do the same thing.
Don,
This is good training for when they are in the workplace and have to defend their positions or methods to fellow workers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When I have students design programs or processes I like to pick a few students to share with the class and we go over why their choices are good. If a choice is possibly not the best one, they usually figure it out through our discussion about how they came to their decision. I find this helps to motivate the students because they feel they are really learning and understanding the material.
Lindsay,
I agree with you about the application aspect of teaching a course like writing. It is extremely valuable yet many students do not, as you have mentioned see it as having value. The more connections you can make between your content and real world applications the better.
I teach a required gen ed course so I can relate to the challenges you face in trying to get your students to see why good writing is a career builder.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
