Motivation
I love to bring excitement to the class. I think by being a positive energy I can bring more excitement than standing up front lecturing with a monotone voice. I always try fun new way to be creative and bring the students energy up as well.
Indeed, when I start with something that is not "in the book or material", they are all ears, provided of course what I say is done with mysterious intensity, or on other occasions, with humor.......variety keeps their attention!
I totally agree with your approach, Michael. I try to think of a new way to present material every class to keep things interesting. Even if I've had a successful and engaging class, I realize that simply repeating those methods and activities at every class meeting can start to make them less interesting for everyone.
An easy way for me to keep the excitement alive, is to always tweak the class design, structure, and assignments. That way I'm always on my toes. And, if I'm doing something different, and maybe even learning something new, I find myself more engaged and my excitement boils over to my students.
Michael
Shelby,
I whole-heartedly agree. By becoming an antenna for positive energy one can 'broadcast' excitement and exuberance to the students. This can lead to a chain reaction of events which get the students more involved, more active in class, which can lead to better retention and promote the transference of their knowledge that they acquired in the classroom.
