I have had the pleasure of observing other instructors and it amazes me how many of them will plow through the material just to get it done. They barely look around or ask questions to see if their students have absorbed any of the information! Pay attention to the world around you…

One thing I have tried is when I see a “younger” or less mature student in the class having issues I will try and get an “older” or mature student to almost mentor or help them. I try to link ethnicity and gender if possible – this has worked very well especially with some behavioral issues.

Is there a way to motivate students that are always negative?

As a librarian, I find that age is a factor for students who are doing library research. I'll have to generalize. This isn't the case for all students. I find that older students are usually more interested in using the library and the online library tools. Younger students are much more likely to go straight to Google and are not interested in the tools that the library has to offer.

Recently, I have had students from all over the country in my courses, and I have enjoyed this thoroughly. Each student brings unique experiences and stories to the classroom, and whenever I talk about specific landforms, weather conditions, etc (I teach Earth Science), a student often has a first-hand experience to share with the class. Very enjoyable!

In my opinion, motivation is a key element to a course's success; I feel it energizes students in different ways and “pushes” them to do better.

A simple fact that in my opinion needs to be kept in mind on daily basis.

It has been my experience that students who have put forth a sincere effort to reach their goals feel more successful when they finally do reach them. Students feel patronized when we instructors praise them for lackluster efforts. They know that in the real world, success is measured by effort. There really are no shortcuts.

Different tactics can be used to try to make the "retention demon" go away but for me what has worked best has been keeping the students involved, in charge, and interdependent to one another.

Over the years I have observed many reactions & behavior styles, especially when the two groups come together. Some assume “parent’s figure” and others “kid’s figure” but sometimes it is surprising to see the role being reversed…

ALL INSTRUCTORS/STUDENTS NEED MOTIVATION FOR CONTINUED LEARNING PROCESSES.

Wines 1 course, I had a variety of ages and my concern for the non traditional students were they would not answer what they were smelling or tasting in the glass for fear of being wrong, lack of confidence, (being out of school for 10 or 18 + years)and/or new situation. My catch phrase was "It is your face, no one is wrong". many factors dictate what you are experiencing: breakfast, lunch, smoker, non smoker, cold etc. The result: more people participated.

When a student hears an instructor make a mistake and the ability to blush, giggle or a hearty laugh it does foster the human side and I think students will respond better and feel more comfortable in approaching that instructor.

As my classes are getting larger, I am having a hard time finding the time to be the one on one chef instructor to everyone for everyone. I traveled last weekend and visited another culinary school and talked with one of the older chefs that has been teaching for a long time. I told him my issue and he gave me two great tools that I plan to utilize this upcoming week with my new class. The first tool is to come into the classroom 30 minutes early and just plan on being there for the students. No admin work or anything. Just be there for them. This will make you much more approachable and open yourself up to making those contacts with each student. Another tool he gave me was to use my daily roster as a tool. He puts check marks by the names of the students he makes personal contacts with every day and his goal is to have a check mark by every students name at the end of the day.

This rotation I found myself teaching at night. These students have jobs & have no time for messing around. They work faster so this can give more time for demo & discussion.

During production I make it a point to teach one new trick to every student, every day.

I have founf that students who are further anlon in life are a little more sensitive to critisizm than most younger students. Sometimes kid gloves are needed for the grown-ups.

It is very difficult to get students motivated particularly with subject matters that may not interest them within their chosen field at his time. Why do I have to know this, they have folks that will take care of that for me... The challenge is to show them how and why this is important; maybe it won't be apparent today, tomorrow or next year, but it will become an issue. Real life experiences and instructor experiences / history will become of interest at this point. Jeff Emmons

From time-to-time, I find myself wanting to help peers refocus. What are some suggestions for helping fellow instructors "refocus" without coming across as condescending, especially when addressing someone with more years of teaching experience?

NOT ONLY STUDENTS NEED TO REFOCUS, BUT INSTRUCTOR DO TOO.