Get Your Students Hired
Lisa,
The outside stressors are always the hardest things to overcome.
Philip Campbell
A better way that I have found is to challenge the students to find there own relevance to the lecture and share that with the rest of the class and this will usually get them involved. You may be suprised by the results that you get.
I think you have to be able to connect to your students on a personal level to be aware of their feelings and recognize their feelings. Also it's important to allow them to relate life experiences to lessons being taught in the classroom. It lets them know that you care about what they think
I concur with this experience. Depending on the term that is being taught, I will sometimes arrange a field trip so that students can see the "real life" practicum to what they are learning. It's been shown to increase student's motivation as well as their knowlegde of subject matter. Role-play is also a good tool to incorporate in your lectures to be a motivator.I feel students stay engaged.
I have alot of students want to give up and when they come to me, they tell me this is not for them, they cant do this!.. I ask them how their day was going and what happened a few days before. when they start to alk they realize, its not school that they are wanting to give up on, its the outside stressors that cause them to feel this way. we talk, come up with some alternatives if possible to handle their situation and it helps relieve their stress, just by talking to someone
Mary,
Relating materials to them will help to make learning more concrete.
Philip Campbell
I also believe in connecting the course material to field experience. I share with my students that I expect to learn from them also trying to get them to understand the one should never stop trying to learn. In the class I like to use open disscussions to attempt to motivate active participation. I'm still new and so far it has been working.
I find that students become motivated when they are able to apply the academics of the subject matter to the 'hands on' procedure. The information learned in class now becomes a reality and they are able to critically think it through and discover the importance of the information that they are learning to their life goals.
Sharon,
Yes not all classes are exciting. It is up to us to make them relevant.
Philip Campbell
Some classes will not be as exciting as others for students; I have to "pump" the students up and get them excited no matter what the topic is. As soon as you show the students how it can relate to a real world situation, someone will have an example of what happened to them and then you can have a great group discussion.
Dawn,
Good example. Real world examples always lend credence to what you are teaching.
Philip Campbell
I always try to tie in real world applications for everything they are learning. It is a great motivation tool. They are usually near the end of the program when they get to my classes and this is an additional motivator for the student.
Scott,
Good methods to include all students. Many will fly under the radar the entire time.
Philip Campbell
What I try and do as we are discussing topics in class is look for student reaction if they perk up as certian topics are discussed I try and get those students to expand on the subject from their own point of view. Then I try to get the students with the questioning looks to join in with their fellow students.
gregory,
Using those examples and bringing them into the class will help with the students.
Philip Campbell
Applying "real world" examples of the effects of positive interaction vs. negative interaction allows the student the opportunity to realize the importance of soft skills.
I teach on line and in the classroom one day a week. To motivate students in the on-line environment, I have found it is important to let the student know you are aware of their efforts and make them feel that you are reaching out to them daily. I use many soft skills to do this. Some students require more than others.