My course is a law enforcement related course. The students enjoy hearing how the course content applies to real life situations. I find when giving an actual scenario to prove a point, the students remember the topic or objective over just lecturing about the topic. They enjoy knowing the skills they are learning ARE actually used in the field.
I think their enthusiasm bubbles up when I can bring in some current news, film event and compare it to something specific in the course (i.e. a contract for Conan O'Brien or Keith Olbermann).
It may be cheesie (?) but I give cheers each of the first few weeks. I should probably do it in some manner each week, maybe with a bit more subtlety or in different spots as the quarter progresses.
Hi Casey,
Absolutely! Our students are busy enough. Each assignment should be very purposeful.
Patricia
I agree that students should enjoy doing the assignments, they should be engaging and fun because they are learning things they've never learned before. Assignments shouldn't be put in place just for busy work.
I usually start the course off with some icebreakers such as questions about themselves, I tell them about me etc. This usually makes them feel more comfortable. I like to get them laughing, it really sets the room and makes everyone relax a little. I also joke and tell stories at the appropriate times and just get them involved as much as I can.
Hi Jeff,
Great ways to get students excited. I teach Professional Development, and I like to get my students excited by sharing placement information with them whenever graduates find jobs to begin their careers.
Patricia
Some methods I use to get students excited about a course is to discuss the importance of the material and how it relates to them being successful in their career. I may also give some examples of students successes in the course. Or discuss how I found out, in my career, why the material was important.
Hi Elizabeth,
Students love to have fun while learning. I like how you add the fun side by showing movie clips.
Patricia
Hi Tracy,
Visuals are always a great way to generate excitement. Technology is a big hit in today's society. Generation Y gets motivated from technology.
Patricia
The best way for me to get students excited in class is to show videos on systems that are currently being used today, plus I try to get some guest speekers in to answer some questions that the class may have on the speekers past experiences.
One way in which I get students excited about course content in speech classes in particular is to show students real-life examples of speeches. I show political speeches, conference presentations, and for more fun, I also show movie clips of speeches to get students engaged and talking about the class content.
Hi Maureen,
Break things down so that students fully grasp what is being said.
Patricia
I agree with this, but I also think it's a fine line between telling engaging stories and making students feel inferior. You also need to consider the wording of your stories - if your students are new to the profession, there may be terms that they are unsure of, which can increase their feeling of inferiority.
Hi Tracy,
Guest speakers are awesome! They add a lot of flavor to the course. Students enjoy hearing from other professionals other than the instructor.
Patricia
Hi Marina,
Students enjoy hearing about our experiences and stories as to how they apply to the lesson.
Patricia
What I have just done recently in my class was I got the students involved in finding tutorials on certain sibjects that we may not have hit on enough and have them share it with the class. They need to share with the class on what they got out of a power point or just a tutorial. This usually gives the student a sense of worthieness.
I like to apply my own experience if it is related to the course. This way students can see things in reality and have their questions answered.
Get some guest speekers in to class that pertain to the field and show them some new and up coming eventsin the field of choice
Hi George,
Absolutely! Students need to and want to know how the information is going to be applied.
Patricia
