Hello, At times getting student excited can be a challenge. Many things come into play when our students attend class for the first day. Students may be required to be in class. Also students are paying to be there. Creating a exciting learning environment for student who do not want to be there is my challenge. I find it helpful to give insight and validity why content is important. Also involving from the first day, hands on things involved with course. I find each class is different from the other. I would like to teach to a class when everyone in the room wants to be there. I would like to inspire students to reach for further education with enthusiastic attitude.
Some of the methods I use to get students excited about my course are:
1. Question and answer sessions. This an informal but informative way of giving students a glimpse into the course, and I how objectives will be carried out.
2. Create meaningful activities that enhance course objectives and the textbook. I am not one who likes teaching from Powerpoints. Therefore, I create handouts or develop activities that require students to work in groups, individually, move around the room, etc.
3. I show excitement for the course. If I seem disinterested about the course, how can I expect the students to want to show up. I come into the classroom with a positive attitude.
I have seen that less aggressive people often
have the right answer, but not the confidence to speak up. Breaking the group down to smaller units, often will create a less intimidating environment, often, as with me when I was a student, the quiet student often has no choice but become more active in thier small group, i.e. making every member of the small group responsible for answering a question. I as the instructor needs to pay attention to all students and make sure all voices are heard...and hopefully more excited.
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I have to show enthusiasm about the course I am teaching. I have to show my students that I love what I am doing, express that I am here to guide and assist them towards both short term and long term goals. I will explain how the class is broken down and will provide them the opportunity to share thier information with the class and that its ok not to be a "subject expert" yet. By explaining the process given to them in the syllabus, we as a unit will take steps to give them the confidence to be proactive in thier education and hopefully course content.
Hi William,
Great use of technology to help generate excitement from students. YouTube is an awesome visual to utilize to help with various teaching concepts.
Patricia Scales
I like to show Youtube videos of emergency trauma cases such gun shot wounds to the chest. This approach helps them understand what they are potentially getting into. I also show videos of the routine surgical cases such as total knee replacements or laproscopic procedures. In doing so they can see the spectrum of surgical cases.
Hi John,
Students love examples as to how things are in the real world.
Patricia Scales
Give students real world examples
Hi Sonya,
I love how you make standards high for your students. We really get from our students what we expect. Students understand the benefit of the course when they learn how the course can help them either personally or professionally.
Patricia Scales
I constantly relate course material to their broader career goals and my times to their life outside of school. I choose challenging material on purpose to push students to think outside of their box and confront their on insecurities about themselves and what they are capable of achieving. This method has yielded intrinsically motivated students.
Hi Heather,
I agree! When students understand the full benefit of the course, they automatically become excited because they now know how the course is going to help them.
Patricia Scales
I was reading the discussion questions/topics and came to an interesting realization - topics 3, 4 and 5 are all connected. You can get a student excited about the course by showing them the relevancy it will have for their future careers. Now that you have them excited about the course and they know it's relevant for their careers they're most likely to have a buy in for the course.
Maybe the realization wasn't that big and the connection was a given?
I utilize a similar approach myself. My classes are a mixture of future dental hygienists and registered nurses. They are already in competition with one another because of the limited number of spaces in their respective upcoming programs. So, I try to channel that into a little bit of friendly competition by asking the class how they envision the course information benefiting their chosen careers. Initially only one or two students respond, but other students eventually jump in to add different perspectives.
Hi Harry,
Yes, this is information to certainly get students excited! Students love having an increase in their standard of living. Success is their goal.
Patricia Scales
I like to talk to them about, places I have traveled, the life style it has given me, the many different fields they will have the opportunity to move in to from this class. I love to see the gleam in there eyes as we talk about it. It makes my job worth it to me.
Hi Shelly,
Culinary students get really excited when they know that they will soon be working with the food because they know this is what they will encounter in the workplace.
Patricia Scales
Hi Patricia,
I teach psychology, this is a subject that either grabs most students and has some skeptical students, here and there. I feel that grabbing the attention of the students and engaging them is crucial for student learning and success in the classroom. I do experiments, I have students get involved with experiments, show videos on the topics, and we discuss relevant information to today's world. I have found this to be successful for my students, and helps getting them engaged into the material.
Melissa Giudici
I tell them about some of the class activitites and opportunities they will have to work with food - something most culinary students miss when taking academic classes.
Hi Sandra,
You certainly have the right mindset. Students need to be excited about what they are learning, and the excitement starts with the instructor. Continue to have a high level of enthusiasm, and you students will love to learn what you have to teach.
Patricia Scales
Donna,
This is a great way to get students excited and involved. It reminds me of the nursing tradition of learn one, do one, teach one. I recently had a preceptee (or student) who did just that and her excitement over being able to assist her fellow students to learn was contagious.
Sandra
