Beth,
I like knowing this information as well. It gives me insight into the student dynamics I have to work with during the course.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I find out the first day of class what has "motivated" them to enroll in school. Why do they want to be a massage therapist. I reinforce their desire to enroll and be a part of the class every chance I get.
Jeffrey,
Good advice for instructors. We all like to know where we are at when we are doing something. In sports it is keeping score. So students want to know their status in the course and the more feedback we can give them the more engaged they are going to be.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Stephanie,
Thanks for sharing this strategy. It is a good one to get students excited about the course when they start to get bogged down about three fourths the way through the course.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Letting your students know where they stand in their performance and understanding. They should be aware of their grades and should not come as a surprise at the end of the term. As the instructor and student monitor the grades on a regular basis they can work together to make adjustments if necessary.
An example of an effective motivation technique is taking the time to "revisit" their goals and what has brought them into your classroom to begin with. Allowing them to share information also is a form of validation for them and motivates them while also giving them that self-esteem "boost" that they need.
a STUDENT CAN BE MOTIVATED, BY THE WAY THE TEACHER SHARES THEIR LIFE EXPERIENCES TO RELATE TO THE SUBJECT BEING TOUGHT, AND SHOWING, HOW POSITIVE THINKING, IS THE BEST WAY TO GO.
Students are motivated when they are applauded for their contributions to class and also for their effort. Additionally, allowing students to share their life experiences in class helps them to feel valued and important to the classroom community.
I want to motivate my students to hand in their work on time. When the student hands in their work, I thank them. I work with assignments and return them in the next class. I find this motivates students to get their work in. I grade using 100 points. I give high grades. I am lenient on the first few papers. I require more for those grades as we cover the materials in class. I read and compliment students on their work in class.
Vicki,
Thank you for the comments and sharing your own inspirational story. This is what being a role model is all about. Many students as you know think their instructors do not exist outside of the classroom. With your story they learn that yes, instructors have challenges as well and they got to be instructors by hard work, self motivation and dedication to learning.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I once shared my own Technical School transcripts with my students. While they were looking at my transcripts I shared my story with them. I was a single mom of 2 small children, ages 2 and 5, while attending. They could see from the transcript that I graduated with a 4.0 average. I then said............... "If I can do it, so can you!" They were extremely motivated by that. As a matter of fact, this group of students is leaving to go out on externship for the next 3 months and they have lost very few classmates because of drop-outs.
I feel self-motivation is a long term key to success. Therefore I try to appeal to a student’s intellect to plant that seed as well as one of personal accountability instead of acting more as a temporary external force.
I have found that sharing what they have already learned encourages more learning. When a student feels overwhelmed it is always encouraging to show them their own personal progress.
Salina,
Learning is a multi-stage process and by creating a team framework from which to operate you are helping them to see, as you mention they everybody including the instructor is in it for a learning opportunity. This helps them to keep moving forward in their learning pathway as well as understanding the value of the content being offered.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Kelly,
This is a compliment to you as a role model for your students and the success you have achieved in your profession.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Some effective motivation techniques that career college instructors can implement are: positive reinforcement strategies, encouragement, being efficient, prepared, empathy, expertise, excitement in your teaching, allowing the student feel like they are a part of the class, building rapport with the students individually, and something that I like to do is to include myself in the learning process during class as I am teaching I will use a phrase such as today "We are going to learn how to..." which I think makes them feel that we are in this together and we are going to succeed together.
I like to recall on my times as a student and were i finish my program at a young age student look up to me. I think that they say "hey shes really young (22) and shes succesful and teaching at a college level. and when i give them tips and recomendations in regaurds to schooling, they tend to take me serios. I love my job and my students and i think it shows.
I like to use incentive to reinforce my course materials.
We can use life experience to channel the students focus to the course work. As well as placed complemets for activities or attemps completed.
I think that the use of a guided discussion method helps to show interest in the students and their own experiences. If you know that you are able to contribute to the learning as a student, you are more likely to get involved and often that is something lacking in other courses.
