Motivation tricks
Are there any "good for all" motivation "tricks" you can recommend?
Hi Franklin,
There are many activities that you can use to motivate students. I have found that any sort of game really gets to students involved. You can create games that use the content of your field to get the students going. I like to use the games at the beginning of classes and then again when the students start to get tired. My classes like many run from 3 to 6 hours in length so I have to have a host of activities that I can use.
Another big motivation thing is change of pace. 5 to 15 minutes of content delivery and then a change of pace, work activities, role playing, games, etc. help the students to use the newly introduced content.
Gary
What topic are you teaching?
I teach the overview of the music business.
Hi Michael,
I teach a variety of courses dealing with human resource development. Examples are Career Planning, Transition to Employment, Methods of Working with Business and Industry, Working With Non-Traditional Learners, and Creating Employment Opportunties for Persons with Disabilities.
Gary
I tend to think that there really aren't ANY "good for all" motivation "tricks." Instead, I like to indetify types of students in my group and find ways to motivate them based on their needs. Given the variety of students that one encounters in today's world, it is very important to taylor the motivational tools to fit the uniqueness of the group.
Hi Roxanne,
Thank you for all of your input in the different forums. You have offered a number of very good suggestions and helpful hints for other educators. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Yesterday I felt like the class was losing interest in my review. I teach the labs at a school for audio recording. So I challenged them to set up a microphone as fast as they could as a team. They seemed to enjoy that and it gives us an objective that we can see if we can beat it the next.
Hi Sam,
Good job with your class. As you can see everyone likes a challenge. Also, now your class has a mark set for them that engage them at some future point in terms of beating that time. Observant instructors have these types of activities stored in their "bag of tricks" that they can pull out anytime when needed and reconnect with the class.
Keep looking for other activities like this that you can "spring" on your students when needed. I know I am always on the lookout for such things for use in my classes.
Gary
Just a short reply to Jacob's statement. "Money" is a motivator in today's economy. I am a nursing instructor to adults in an evening program. The vast majority of students that are in my class are there because they are in the medical field and either have been laid off or not making enough money. They have been talking with other nursing students that have trained in their facility or nurses who work with them. They see the pay scale and want to change their profession. There is a nursing shortage and nurses can work as much overtime or take on a second job and work until they drop. Most hospital jobs require that you work some overtime every month because of the nursing shortage.
Games are motivational tricks but they are short term. I use games when I have to deliver educational information to adults at my church. Sometimes its boring info for some of them. To make it enjoyable or to make sure they are listening I have utilized games. I have used Jeopardy and Tic-Tac-Toe. I at first give the information by short lecture using power point. Then I ask questions and those who answer correctly get a small gift. Sometimes the prize may be an unhealthy item such as candy or items that have been given to me to give to clients anyway. You will be surprised how quickly people perk up when they realize they may win something. Something as inexpensive as a bar of candy.
Franklin:
I motivate students in two very basic ways.
I encourage them to earn their participation points by telling them that I will take every opportunity to call on them when they raise their hands for class discussions. If they do not raise their hands and get "credit" for a valuable and significant comment through volunteering, then I will call on them to give them the opportunity to earn those points. Often a student realizes that he/she can contribute information on something that he/she is knowledgeable about rather than taking a risk with something that may not be as familiar to them.
Additionally, I encourage participation with a positive comment or two. Even though a student may not provide the response I was expecting, I still make a positive comment. If more information is needed, I add to the comment with clarification or with a response that is close to "Great! I had not considered that, however, I was looking for ........because this is closer to meeting the course concept or closer to an application that is ........"
Sometimes I ask other class members to add more information to a peer's response. Howewver, based on previous expectations for class conduct, I insist that no negative comment is made about the previous response. This elevates the discusstion to a higher level of collaboration and encourages participation because students feel they are in a "safe" environment.
Suzanne
