Pete,
You have a very professional approach to your classroom and this is a great way to show them what the expectations are going to be when they go into the work world. You are also there as a support so they know they can all upon you throughout the course for assistance as long as they put forth the needed effort.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
David,
I use graduates as speakers as well. When these graduates drop in and share with my students what they went through and how they have been successful my students really get ramped up because they can see themselves in such a setting in the not too distant future.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
A clean well organized working/learning environment. Places a student in a setting prepared to learn. I address my students with a Mr., Ms., or Mrs. After a particular lesson I give a task and with proper guidance complete the task and at the same time giving them a sense of pride and accomplishment along with positive reinforcement. I must being careful not to make easy for them as it can loose the value in the task/lesson at hand.
I try to reinforce the reason they are in class and what they can gain by finishing it.When former students drop in I let them know they are working in the field and doing well.
Chandan,
Your approach is progressive and this enables all of the students to be participates in a comfortable way. Good soft and supportive way to slowly get everyone thinking about how math can be applied and then getting to explain how they are using math in different settings.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Anthony,
I think activities like this are very important in getting a class off to a good start. By taking a few minutes to due something like this you are helping the students to reset their minds and get focused on the up coming class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think it is very important to hear from everyone in class. I teach Mathematics. In every semester, I get very less number of students who find this subject easy. Many times , they are shy to ask any questions also. So, I call on the stage one student who is interested in trying to solve the question. I have seen that it helps the other students and it helps me too. As I find them more involved and motivated to solve the question and I get to hear from almost everyone in class too!!
It seems to be pretty clear that engagement has to start as soon as possible in order to get the most out of it. A lot of teachers like to start their class off with some sort of “Warm Up†routine, be it physical or mental, which give students a chance to either burn off some extra energy or get their minds up to speed and ready to learn. When I was in high school I had a great math teacher who was very engaged and open. He had a true love for education and he made it a point to call on everyone in the class from time to time, epically those who were not quite paying attention. In the spirit of putting his class on track at the beginning of the period he would start every class with a mental math quiz. There was no pressure in this activity; you just had to answer as many questions (correctly of course) within the allotted 2-3 minutes. The students who scored above a certain mark were rewarded in some way or another. Looking back, this was a great way to kick start students minds that have been reset in the hallway with their peers. We looked forward to this class and that activity. The pure interest we showed in that little warm up got our minds on track and the class ran very smoothly because we were all wrapped around the teachers’ finger.
Jay,
Good way to show students how much they are valued. Knowing their names and talking about their future gets them excited about what they are studying and why they are in school.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I prefer to memorize the students names, talk about how the course can have an effect on the income they could receive, and positively reinforce thier actions.
Humor has always been one techniques that has helped me get students motivated. Once I have students laughing at some silly example or analogy related to the content, I make a strong connection with students immediately.
However, instructors always need to be careful with how much humor to use and the relevance of the the humorous anecdote. I always try to stay focused on the content. I have found that humorous digressions unrelated to the course content can lead to students perceiving the course as a joke.
I like to share stories about my experiences in the field that demonstrate why what we are currently learning is important, and how it may affect them out in the clinical setting, and how they might handle those situations. I use both good and bad experiences that I have had, and in the situations where things should have been handled differently, I point that out to them as well. I also have my students share their own stories about real world situations in their lives that pertain to our lecture.
David,
Good strategy to follow. You are teaching and then reinforcing through application and relevance. This increases as you have mention the retention of content rate for your students and they are able to have more take aways as a result.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
KIMBERLY,
Nice way of blending your instruction so you reach the different learning preferences of your students. The results are that you have students with higher levels of satisfaction with the course and have moved closer to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
A technique I like to use is to review everyday topics we have recently discussed and learned. I relate anecdotes and stories to this material that helps reinforce the students buy in of the information learned. This creates semantic learning by review and also episodic learning by asking the students how could they apply this in their new trade. This will create a transference of the students thoughts into a real life situation further creating motivation and student enthusiasm about the material.
I have a small group of students. Each student is motivated differently. However, I try to meet them where they are. Some of my students need examples through stories. Other students just need praise when they have done well.
Donna,
This is a great way to engage students. Thank you for sharing this strategy with us. By using all five of these items you are hitting on the motivation factors that student need to learn and grow in the course. I know this information will be of help to others as they do their instructional planning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I use a technique I have coined as "MENSA" for motivation of my students. M-Movement (get them up and working together from time to time), Engagement (They must be 'actively' doing something at all times), Novelty (by adding the element of surprise, information is often retained more readily), Safety (the empahsis here is on emotional safety), and Authenticity (thus the information has value in real-world application.) These five teaching strategies enhance motivation significantly.
Harry,
The value of having one's name remembered is almost immeasurable due the long term benefits it can return. We all appreciate having our names remembered and used when we are interacting with others. Thanks for sharing these comments about the value of remembering student names.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I try to remember all of my student names also. I think it started when I had a graduate come back to visit and I couldn't recall his name.I always knew it had more important value. It goes to respect, trust and appreciation. I now call students by name all the time. It also helps in reviews because they know I'll call on them by name.
