MOTIVATION
MOTIVATING YOUR STUDENTS IS IMPORTANT. IT WILL HELP THEM STAY FOCUSED AND INTERESTED IN YOUR CLASS.
Trina,
So true without motivation there is no engagement and without engagement students are not progressing toward their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree, we always have to find a way to motivate students, if there is no motivation there is no succeed!!!!
Mark,
This is such a powerful way to connect the dots for your students. They get to see what they are learning in the classroom and lab really does have impact on the lives of others. Seeing the "other" in this case patients makes it real and as you say they get "hit with it" in a big way.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Your statement that students have to see the meaning in what they do is absolutely correct. When I take my students on field trips, we will walk by patient rooms and I will point out the IV bag hanging from the IV pole to show them that what they will be doing has real meaning in the sense that they are helping very sick people ride the road of recovery through medication provided by the Pharmacy and possibly even componded by you. Its awesome to see reality hit them!
HI Anna -
I believe it to not only be important, but absolutely critical. No motivation in class is a certain sign of epic failure. Students have to see the meaning in what they do and how the things their learning will help them. So it creates a self-sustaining cycle - motivation to learn - learn to motivate.
I had a student, just today, who told me that his interest was to "get a good grade". in a Applied Gen Ed class, so he could move on to the more interesting IT classes I told him that wasn't the right motivator, but rather, think of each class as a piece of the whole. After sharing with him that I used to write technical articles for a magazine, he perked up. I guess he had an Ah-ha moment that English study is essential to the IT professional.
Each student has their own motivations to being in school and in class. Connecting with those motivations, to me, is what brings them through the class
Cheers,
-R
