I like to tell them that they are doing a good job. every monday i call each student up and tell them their grade. i till them good job if they are getting a 100% or 78%. Just by being positive towards them keeps them positiove.
Motivating students for me comes in the form of encouragement on their lab projects and pushing them to expand their knoweledge and expierences with lab projects.
Many of my stories come from the field and I ask them to share in the answers and why a tech made the decision to repair or not repair.
I ask them to diagnos specific sceneros, as well as give ideas for lab drawings and specific componenets for lab analysis.
Many of the new students are vetrans and have good stories from the military, mistakles, successes to emphasize correct procedures in our classes
The comment made by Chuck Schlessman “Due to the material I teach being of a more limited interest I often hear "I'm not going to do this when I graduate" rings so true in the course I teach.
I teach service writing at our campus and when my students arrive on the first day of class I let them know that when the recruiter had talked about our school with them that not many of them when they found out that service writing was one of the courses being offered here said “Where’s the form to sign me up.” I tell them that they chose this school because of their passion for taking things apart and reassembling them back together in a working condition and for some of them strive to reassemble it better than the condition the manufacture had built them.
I explain to them that the career path they have chosen is very similar to a pro athlete’s career. Now we all know that the pay scale is complete opposite but the similarities are there if you look. The pro athlete knows that his passion for the sport (career) will not die but his ability to actually play the game will not last forever. He or she must have a plan b in place to fall back on to when that time arrives to allow them to continue in their career choice. An injury in either the pro athlete career or during the career of the student’s choice would be the deciding factor to implement plan b or not.
My other way of motivating my students about this subject is that their earning potential is going to be limited to the earning potential of the weakest link of the team. By learning the responsibilities of the other members of the service team and have an understanding of the “What's In It for ME” (WIIFM) principle . For a technician, WIIFM includes higher efficiencies leading to increased earnings, larger tickets leading to easier workdays as a result of working on fewer vehicles and less risk for comeback due to the types of services being performed.
Steve,I like to show my students how important this subject will be to them,by explaining how the industrey is changing and by showing as much enthusiasm as i can even on days i feel like well....They pay alot to come to school, and we have to show them the subject is important to them and usefull in day to day activity. The class is challenging but you must make it fun also don"t go over there head and make them lose intrest befor they start.Let them know mistakes will happen but learn from them. Even when they give wrong answers try and get something possitive out of it,it reallyn helps the next time you deal with that student.
I try from the first day the more knowledge a person has about what they working on the easier the equipment is to diagnose and repair.
I demonstrate to them how the knowlege of this lesson or lab excrise is important to them and how it can help them in the industry.
Hi Audie,
The financial connection is very important in helping students to understand how what they are learning now will contribute to their increase earning potential in the years to come.
Gary
Hi Adam,
This is a good point. Many times if a students has worked hard to come up with a solution after several tries the retention of the process is even greater because of the effort of trying to find the right answer.
Gary
First i ask them instead of ordering them that workd best for me. Help them along the way that is best going to serve them. An example i would use the white board and use a math problem and showing them how they affect the income of the shop that they are or will be working in. I relate that to the profit sharing or 401k or retirement that the whole company missed out on. It does help them open thier eyes to how they are loosing out as well. Showing them on the program that will be using to fill out repair orders that are legal when filled out correctly so they will get paid for the work they have performed.
Audie Toney
It's easy to tell a student they are doing a good when everything comes easy to them. I find that when you have a student that is struggling more challenging. What I've learned is that even when they are wrong, I don't use the word wrong. What I'll try do is question the student to get that wrong answer right, so this way they get the answer & hopefully start them to want to do better.
Show them how what they are learning is a value and how they need to know why they are learning what they are here for and how to apply it to real world situations.
I like to motivate my students by celebrating their accomplishments. I have learned that some students love to show what they know or what they have accomplished in their lives. I like to talk about these accomplishments and relate them to what they are doing here in class. Everyone is here for a reason so I feel the best motivation is finding out what makes my students tic and what the ultimate goal is. When the going gets rough I remind them the reason they are here. Along with that I also remind them how much they have learned and give them projects I know they can succeed at. Positive reinforcement and small accomplishments go a long way.
When meeting with students that are "AT RISK" We need to sit down with the student and dig into what might be holding the student back from succeding. It could be that they are hungry, semi homeless, expecting a child, parent problems and the list goes on and on.
We need to explore ways to motivate and keep them motivated to achieving their goals and why they came to school.
I have found that just being a sounding post for them and lending them a quiet place to talk about what is on their minds helps keep them in school and keep them focused.
I have also found that when the student is in need of direction because they don't understand the rules or SOP's that as with all learnings, One on One instruction will take care of any questions in as few as a couple of minutes, this time can make the world of difference and show the student that you CARE.
Steve,
i like to encourge them by simply telling them to stay focused on their dreams, and their education while here, compliments and well dones are also important to keep the motivation running stong.
The couple of ways I use to motivate my students is to use my experience in the field and examples of previous students that are now working in the field. I try to reassure them that they made the right choice and there are many opportunities for them to be sucessful.
Hi Steve. I like to be into what I am teaching,this way I can give real life experiances which brings out what can happen if a student stays focused.
I point out to them that they are here in school because they seek a better life..ie more money !
Reinforce that this is a short term deal compared to the years that they will earn a good income.
i like to motivate my students as a whole class
by gathering there thoughts about what they want to do in life.Then maybe discuss some of the things I have been able to do because of my goals in life and reasure them that anything is possible if they put there minds and heart into what there passion is.
I like to share examples of how what is being taught by this material has helped me to be better in my career. By demonstrating that there are real benefits to them student are motivated to master the skill. Creating a task that allows students to use the skill and be successful creates a desire to learn more.
I think that the main way that I motivate students is with my confidence as a diesel technician. By showing them that I have comfidence in my abilities, it motivates them to pay closer attention in class, and to try to use the things that we teach them. After all, they have come to our school to be what we are.You can talk all that you want to, but the proof is in the pudding. Walk the walk. If you cannot use what you are teaching them, why would they want to try harder. But if you can show them that what you are teaching will in fact help them, becuase it helps you, that will really motivate them.
