Motivating Students Who are Ahead of the Class
I have noticed that some students who have all of the work completed and maybe even ahead of the others are sometimes hard to motivate them to participate in a chat or live weblab. They feel that they know enough and don't want to participate. Any ideas?
Donald,
I have a son who is very quiet and not one to raise his hand, but does just fine in school.
Shelly Crider
I have no idea is to motivate the students were ahead of the class. The student sometimes do not wish to engage because I don't wish to dominate the conversation. Actually, this is very considerate on their part. I don't think that an instructor should worry too much about these kinds of students. I think that the best thing instructor to do is get out of their way.
Phyllis, one advantage of the online learning environment is that, in some ways, we can address the individual needs of the students better than in the traditional classroom. This is particularly the case in the discussion forum. For example, I may ask more complex questions to those students who seem to have a solid grasp of the course content than I would for those who are struggling with the material.
John,
Love that idea of a "guest speaker!
Shelly Crider
Sometimes dealing with 'over-achievers' in the classroom can be as challenging as dealing with those that are lagging behind.
As a suggestion, you could ask that student to help lead the chat discussion by presenting some of their ideas or research on the specific subject; more or less billing them as a peer 'guest speaker'. This additional challenge may provide both needed recognition of that person's performance as well as an intellectual challenge.
lance,
Students do love feedback, actually we instructors like feedback as well!
Shelly Crider
I have found, especially in design based classes, that by making contact with those students and providing them with extra feedback to progress their work to the optimum level for them, it helps to keep the student engaged and motivated.
Nelson,
I teach technology as well and I so agree with you. The class has beginners to novice students.
Shelly Crider
Motivating students might vary based on the subject area in which you are instructing. As a technology instructor, I often encounter issues with students that have job experience that is far beyond the level of the class and often their classmates. I attempt to engage them to share their knowledge as 'experts' and I monitor their contributions to ensure that they are providing appropriate content that is accurate and useful to their classmates.
Nelson
Nelson Stewart, PhD
Michael,
I like how you go above and beyond. Students learn more than content from you Michael.
Shelly Crider
In my experience, this problem is most significant in general education courses; at the higher levels, the gap between highest and lowest students' experience/knowledge shrinks.
So, in the general education courses (I often teach English Composition), I naturally give all my students what they need to meet the course outcomes, but I also extend lessons for the eager students. As an example, when working on a research paper at this level, students typically do not need to learn about an elevated research process or even using annotated bibliographies but I include that content in my chats (after informing them that while not required in this course, the information will certainly be relevant as they continue).
I must also say that I agree with the prior comment about the usefulness of posting links to informative (and ideally entertaining) outside resources.
~Michael Slotemaker
Phyllis,
Add somthing to your discussion...either a link to a YouTube video that connects with your class, or something that is happening in society right now.
Shelly Crider
