Hi Jonathan,
A simple act but one that students enjoy participating in even if they are adults. Adults are just kids wearing bigger clothes. Having some fun in class while learning is important to keep students engaged and focused on learning.
Gary
A motivating technique I've used in the past is tossing a student a piece of candy when they have given a response that was particularly good. The students enjoyed it and it became a way of maintaining interest in the topic as well as getting the students to relax.
This empowers the students by enabling them to take part in their learning.
Hi Eulalia,
Three excellent points for instructors to think about as they plan their courses. These will be of help to new instructor that are planning their strategies for their very first course. Thanks for sharing them.
Gary
Effective motivating techniques include:
1. Students like to see that they are doing well in class. The need to see their letter grades as a motivation that they are succeeding in the course. Instructors should submit grades and feedback in a timely manner to keep the students up to date with their performance.
2. It is important for the instructor to strategically plan their lesson so that the students can retain the lessons. It is best to combine the semantic and episodic memory types to enhance the correlation between the lesson and the events and happenings in their lives.
3. Instructors should teach and apply the lesson to real life situations so the students can easily relate and understand what is being taught.
I find that being excited about what I'm teaching them helps motivate them to learn.
Participation by the students is a motivation technique that I practice often. Asking higher level questions such as "What if" or "What would happen if" seems to draw the students in relatively easily.
One of the motivational factors I have found is to see the whole picture of things by being able to see how interconnected things are. For example, instead of teaching a subject in isolation, show how interconnected Physics is to, say, visual arts, and literature.
Dr. Kim
I believe that participation and involvement is the greatest way to motivate students. Also, anytime you can make your students feel like the subject matter expert either through their own experience or their studious study of the material goes a long way towards a motivated student as well.
Some techniques include stopping the lecture to ask for questions or to ask for a student's input (especially if they aren't asking questions).
I do the same thing, it really seems to motivate the students to get involved in the class.
I love this! especially since the main goal of career education is to create hireable graduates. In the culinary industry our students are hustling to find jobs and need all the motivation they can get to keep positive during this recession. Of our main focuses in culinary is not only in technique but professionalism. Thank you for the great quote.
One motivation technique that I have found is to challenge the students to get involved in the discussion and have input into the teaching.
Hi Clayton,
You use a key phrase that does say it all for students. "I would hire them." This shows a high level of confidence in their knowledge and skills to hear an instructor say he would hire them. This is A quality reinforcement.
Gary
Hi Shannon,
I like this method to get your students thinking like the professionals they are training to be. Plus, it lets them bring their experiences, in this case a meal, into the classroom so this helps them see relevancy in relation to life.
Gary
Hands on training in the lab or otherwise is great. Also, I love the use of multimedia presentations as everyone gets to shine where they are the best!
I use critiques with my students for motivation. Each week the students bring their work in front of the class for the other students to comment on. We focus on the aspects that are being used correctly and creatively. This leads to open discussions from the class and they get a sense of pride from it.
Telling a student "good job", really does help them. Telling a student that you would "hire them", makes there goals seem more real to them.
I pick a subject relative to topic and ask student to jot down a few lines on how they experienced the subject such as "describe the best meal you have ever had and why" then ask each one to share in a round table forum. This allows insight not only for me but their peers socially as well.
Hi Robert,
The development of critical thinking skills is important and with the method you are using you are giving your students a chance to develop those skills. By starting with simple responses you are building their confidence so they will be willing to attack the more difficult issues as they arise.
Well done.
Gary
