Motivating Students
What would be some ways to increase the appreciation in value of the learning experience? Yhea, students see the need to get an education for a career, but they see course work often times as a "hoop" instead of a foundation.
Hi Timothy,
No easy answer to this one. I have found success in the immediate use of newly acquired knowledge. That is to show students how they can use something they have learned that day in their lives outside of class. It may be a formula, a technique, or a problem solving method. I show them how they can make the application and then follow up the next class meeting to see if they tried it. Granted not all classes lend themselves to this but I think you will be surprised how do.
Gary
Motivating a person is hard enough. But if you convince a student on the greater good of hard work and dedication, you change their life forever. "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish......"
Hi Timothy,
Well said. You are trying to help the students to capture a vision of themselves in the career for which they are training. Sometimes this can be quite a challenge.
What are some motivating methods that you use with your students?
Gary
I try to use real-life experiences to get my students interested.
i think studetns want to know whats really out there what will the job really be like.I feel if we keep it real with our students they learn to trust us that it will be ok when they get out there. Mrs.CoxMa emt ert
I think the best way to motivate students is to excited about the subject you are teaching. It is essential to make the subject relevant and applicable to the new career they have chosen. If the instructor is animated and enthusiastic I have found that the students are interested in finding out what it is that is so exciting about the field. The more an instructor can involve the student and pique their interest in the subject the more motivated the student will be to answer the question, "what is so great about this course/subject?"
Hi Mary,
Right you are about how the instructor sets the tone for the course. By being animated and enthusiastic you are setting the stage for student success. Keep up the good work.
Gary
I think showing students that the course has real world implications is important. I work hard to keep a good set of cases at hand that connect the real world with the textbook. I also draw on my experience in accounting to demonstrate that the student will use what they learn so they should learn it.
But all that said and I still think you hit on the most difficult area.
