Do we have to?
I hear this a lot from my students. I find it very important to know the answer beyond yes. What I mean is an instructor who can say, "Yes you do have to BECAUSE...you will get _____ out of it and that will be helpful in the future when you ____." Make sure students know the value of the lesson and how it relates to their goals.
Kari,
Right you are and we need to keep up the "sales" job on this because they do tend to get worn down with life throughout the course session.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Thank you for your advice! It is another way to point a student back to why they came in the door. The ultimate goal: To gain a rewarding career in a field that they love.
I like to turn this over to the class to recieve possible reasons as to why this may be an important aspect to their body of knowledge.
Mauricio,
This is where teachers need to become experts in selling. Instructors are "selling" content that will have future value to and for students and it is our job to convince them they need to put forth the effort to acquire such content.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Yes many of my students do the same despite they are in their early 20's
Cory,
We need to help our students to see the ROI in relation to the course and their time. The more value they see in the content the more value they associate with their career preparation program and this leads to successful retention.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I AGREE NOTHING BOTHERS ME MORE PERSONALLY THAN FEELING LIKE I AM WASTING MY TIME. IF WE GIVE THEM AN EXAMPLE OF WHY THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING THEY HAVE A WAY TO TIE IT ALL TOGETHER IN APPLICATION AND THEORY.
Angelia,
I am still amazed all these years later. Not sure what they expected when they enrolled in college. If they didn't want to have to think, and work then maybe they shouldn't have enrolled. I don't tolerate complaining very well in my classes and my students learn that very quickly.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Glad to hear someone else hears that in their classroom. Whenever I hand out an assignment that seems to be lengthy I hear those words coming from the classroom. It amazes me at this age, that students will complain about homework and having to work for their grades.
Jennifer,
You are helping your students to see the ROI of their efforts by showing them the big picture of why they are in school and the value of the content being learned. This is an important part of being an effective instructor.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
