The importance of instructor enthusiasm cannot be overstated. The teacher must show they truly enjoy what they are doing and that enthusiasm with transfer into student success and retention.
When teachers are excited about what they are doing and show the students how this will affect their careers, students will gain interest in that specific field.
Everyone remembers the teacher that didn't want to be there anymore than the students. It is so difficult to learn in that enviroment. Learning should be fun and engaging, and it starts with the teacher!
My enthusiasm for the topic is addictive! We enjoy having fun with the topic and students want to come back for the next class!
By showing your own enthusiasm for the subject matter and relating that enthusiam to their careers, students pick up on it. Also, it's important to keep the level of enthusiam high during the entire term and not just on the first night of class. Students will think it phony and insincere.
I think instructor enthusiasm plays a great deal in student retention. Students can strongly sense if you are sincerely interested in helping them learn effectively. Also,show them that you are there to learn as well, that you enjoy teaching them because there is a lot of learning you can get them.
Enthiusiasm has a huge part in influence student retention. Excitement and knowledge show that you are teaching a very interesting field and that you enjoy what you do and teach. It would be very hard for students to listen to someone who is blah and boring and not excited about their topic.
Because teaching on line can be very impersonal, I think it is critical to be enthusiatic about the subject of the course. When a student is sitting at a computer and listening to someone who is not present, it can be easy to become distracted. I tell my students frequently how much I truely enjoy the course I am teaching. I tell them how much I have enjoyed reading the materials and doing the research. I try to relate the topic to something that might be common to their lives or current events. This way, I think I can keep students interested in the class and, therefore, retain more students.
I am very enthusiastic about my subject matter. There is nothing else I'd rather be doing than being in a production environment. I love discussing concepts, encouraging critical thinking and our hands-on lab. My students see my enthusiasm and it's contageous! I get excited about silly little things (to them) like baking powder & baking soda, etc...I love to have fun and help them learn by enjoying their class experience. Before they know it, class time is up and learning snuck up on them!
The instructor enthusiasm influences student retention via his or her method of communication. Communication is essential in keeping enthusiasm alive among the students and to oneself as the instructor.
If your communication is monotone, uninterested then you are communicating that you as the instructor rather be someplace else. You have no interest in your class. As the instructor you need to watch your attitude, your presence, and enthusiasm.
Lauri
instructor enthusiasm shows students we are glad to be teaching and we will have fun while learning, this will help to engage them in the subject material
90 % of our communication is body language, so it is very important that you show the students that you are knowledgeable, energetic, and enthusiastic about the subject that you will be discussing.
Besides students can see if the instructor has or has not enthusiasm and follow his/her prototype.
I think this is the key to student retention! I find the more fun and enthusiastic I am about my material the more the students engage. I hear students complain about other instructors who are 'just there' and how they dislike those classes. I have made it a personal goal to never be one of these instructors and the way I do this is to keep current on the subject matter even if it is in opposition to their reading material. This gives the students an opportunity to also do some personal research if they feel the need.
I could not agree more. My approach (developing) is to try to marry enthusiasm with application. Fortunately, I am truly enthusiastic about my area of study - no feigning required. I like to share stories about how little bits and pieces of knowledge I have gained over the years has been used to "save the day" and how much fun it can be to be that problem solver.
You must show you know what you are talking about, also be happy about it.
Instructor enthousiasm is very important for student retention, especially in courses that are requirements where the student may not have initially registered by choice, but out of necessity :).
Some of the classes I teach include foundation mathematics courses and each quarter during introductions, there are several students who describe their apprehension about the course and that they are there because it is a requirement for their program.
By taking a softer approach to the material that is full of encouragement and recognition of the advancement that is made for each student in these courses I am able to get most of them beyond the initial fear of the material. It is important to identify and understand the individual level of capability that students come into these classes with, establish unique goals for each of them and focus on the positive progress that is being made with the material as we work through topics and concepts that they struggle with.
If we take a hard position in a course that students already do not have a high level of comfort with it is very easy for discouragement to set in, which can lead to a decision to drop the course or the program.
I believe instructor enthusiasm is key to a student's success.
Instructors that lack enthusiasm are less likely to try and tie the material into real world application. Adult learners are active learners that need to know how to apply what is being learned.
An instructor that has enthusiasm is happy to link the material with the application of it. In addition these instructors are more likely to share their own real world experiences. This type of personality works like a magnet and will draw the students into the material.
If the Instructor isn't enthusiastic about the subject, then the student will be less likely to be proactive in the class room. Even the students that are naturally independent learners will have trouble with this. I found when I taught the Medical Office Administration courses it was a challenge to include fun, interactive components that would equally excite the students as much as phlebotomy class did. So, I had to start every class with some sort of skit/role play with one student to demonstrate the topic to address that lecture. This allowed for me to get excited and to catch my student's attention on what they see as a "boring subject"
Hi Andrew,
Right you are. Passion sells the course. By being excited about what you are teaching you are letting the students know that you value your field and want to help them prepare to enter it.
Gary
This is a major influence, I wouldnt want to stay in class with an instructor who wasnt enthusiastic about their job. A positive, cheerful, professional, excited attitude is so important. Students feed off of the mood in the room, and the instructor sets that mood. Students will want to be part of something that motivates them, and what better way to motivate than for them to see the enthusiasm coming from the instructor.
If an instructor is not passionate about what he is teaching he has already set him self up for failure in his/her classroom with regards to retention. You have to show these student how enthusiastic you are and how passionate you are with respect to the material you are teaching so that the student become excited and want to learn and want to be in class on a daily basis as they will feed off this energy you bring to class
enthusiasm of the course content by the instructor is everything. Students lead by example, and will follow the lead of the teacher. If the leader is not excited, the mood will follow, thus affecting student retension!
