Motivating Learners
What are some ways you can help your students to become motivated and excited about your course?
One of the things we do is, bring back former students who are successful, in the field they were trained. We find they are great motivators, because our current students can see themselves going through the same process.
Another thing we do is try to create competition by spliting the the class into small groups and play a game simular to jeopardy. Of course the subject matter is within the realm of what we are teaching.
I'm not sure if creating competition in the class room is good? I'm sure many people will say no, but I personally believe it helps attendance and class participation.
Stephen,
I like and use both of your strategies for engaging students. Bringing in successful graduates is powerful as you know because they are living what the students are going to school to do. As for competition we face competition in everything we do so I work with my students to help them to see how they can "brand" themselves to be more employable. I use a lot of games for review like Family Feud and Jeopardy and the students enjoy playing the games, learning occurs and you are right about attendance and class participation increasing. This is a win win for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I'm a firm believer that enthusiasm is contagious. We as instructors must be excited and passionate about our subject, our students, and their progress. It also must be genuine. If not your students will see right through it and loose out in their educational experience. If you apply yourself in this manner the sky is the limit. I often draw a shooting rocket and a cresent moon on my board; and say to the students- "Lets shoot for the stars but if we hit the moon we still accomplished a great deal."
Marshall,
I agree about enthusiasm. If we don't bring it it won't be there. We need to bring passion for our field as well. Both of these elements need to be present for learning to progress.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am a firm believer in bring guest speakers to the classroom. Occasionally, I think it is helpful to have open forum discussions or round table discussions with guest speakers so that they can address students concerns about the workplace.
I could not agree more. Passion is a great glue for holding the students focus and attention.
Sandra,
I am a big fan of using guest speakers as well. They help to make the content become real and increases the motivation of students as they see how they will be using what they are learning in their careers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe that being involved in your field while you are also teaching is the best way to keep the students motivated because you can come to the classroom with the knowledge of interesting cases and anecdotes to share; it shows your students that not only their future career is interesting but also fun and gives them an insight on wheteher they will love it or not
I am trying to find ways to teach that will show the students what they learn has an actual place in the real world. If they can see a use for it, then they have a better understanding of why they need to learn it. Also it will show them how to apply it in the future.
Milay,
Good point because you are bringing to the classroom the latest information and best practices. Thus, the content you are offering is real and gives students information about application of such content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Linda,
Good for you. This is what connecting the "educational" dots for students should be about you are helping them to see the value of what they are learning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Pull as many real life situations as you can into lecture..to help paint an exciting picture of their chosen career path. Keep enthusiasm and humor alive as well. Keep them engaged! Try classroom games where they can win a small prize..no homework for one day, a piece of candy..etc. Many to choose from on the internet.
Joyce,
Students really like hearing stories from the field. The stories reinforce the content that is being taught. This is good advice you are offering to instructors as they do their instructional planning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Hello Gary,
I am a new instructor. Therefore, I am still trying to find my teaching style. From what I have seen myself and from what I have gathered from this online course I would agree that field trips, guest speakers, games, and field-related stories can excite and motivate students. Gary, what are some other ways to motivate and excite students? Thank you for your time.
Melissa,
Welcome to teaching. I wish you much success as you get settled into your new professional role. As to ideas about how to motivate and engage students I wish suggest that you use case studies and role playing in addition to what you are already doing. Both of these strategies get students involved and sharing during class. I use a lot of small group activities and so those students that are shy can feel comfortable in contributing to class discussions. Use graphics, videos and other media to illustrate your content points. Students like variety and change of pace in learning so program both into your instructional planning. With the average adult attention span being 15-18 minutes use mini-lectures to share content and then do an activity to reinforce what has just been taught. All of these methods will serve to strengthen your delivery and instructional style development. Good luck!
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe it is important to be relatable. I know from personal experience that the instructors that I learned best from were the ones that I felt comfortable talking to. If I felt like they had a good understanding of who I was as a student, I was more likely to listen. For me, I want to be an instructor that is approachable and relatable, that way I leave the door open for my students to ask me questions.
- Geminelle Rollins
Geminelle,
I agree that we instructors need to display a human side as we work with students. By earning their respect and developing rapport with them we can provide support when needed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Excitement of subject matter is key. If you don't care for a particular subject, you still have to enter the classroom and "fake it". Show the importance of how it fits into the big picture.
Diane,
So important. Instructors need to have passion for their content and enthusiasm for sharing. As you say even if some of the content does not excite us we need to "sell" it to our students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
