Mentioned in a section of this module are some key “low risk” engagement strategies for involving students:
- provide relevance to the students’ lives in your active learning assignments.
- use inspirational notes throughout the term.
- give student clear boundaries but let them use their creativity.
- give students parameters and good examples of exemplary work to follow.
- use vivid examples.
- set high standards and expectations for the students from the beginning.
- provide targeted feedback; and
- explain how to use knowledge not just memorize it.
The second bullet above specifies the activity of the instructor sending “inspirational notes” throughout the term. I think one way to make this happen is for the instructor to create or find a list of creative, encouraging statements. In advance, the instructor would schedule the weekly emails with an inspirational quote or remark to be sent to the student cohort. For example, each Friday at 6:00 p.m., the student cohort would receive a scheduled email. This might give the student cohort extra encouragement if they have a scheduled exam early in the week. I did some online research and found a few inspirational quotes. They follow:
- "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." — Mark Twain.
- "Procrastination is the thief of time." — Charles Dickens.
- "You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." — Zig Ziglar.
- "Success is the sum of small efforts..." — Robert Collier.
- "Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going." — Sam Levenson.
- "There is no substitute for hard work." — Thomas Edison.
