Dr. Meers,
One strategy i enjoy employing in my field is to immerse the students in the subject. Let my passion and energy for the subject motivate them to do the same. I have my students not only pick up the different ingredients, but taste and smell them as well, engage all their senses. In my experience even the most nervous of students feel comfortable and motivated. I also try to limit the students self-defeating attitude by explaining to them that i will not give up on the student.
I use asking students to explain in detail their plans following graduation. I frequently ask this question during the course.
@mskala03d :Miriam, I really like this idea of having students contribute to the list of rude behavior. They are less likely to exhibit a behavior if they had a role in devloping the list.
@gmeers :
I've learned that surprise quizzes and tests help motivate students to retain information and pay better attention! I mostly teach cerfitication courses as it relates to IT, so I'm very adamant about students paying attention and every class practically dictate that employers will be looking at their resume to see what industry-standard certifications they have that will most likely determine whether or not they get hired. I also tell them every class to not let the learning stop when you leave the classroom at the end of the night and to not just use one book for reference when it comes to knowledge. I give tons of practice tests and walk through things slowly so they understand things, and always take time to ask every so often if anyone has any questions. It's when nobody raises their hands that I start asking questions about the things we just went over and when nobody raises their hands, I put them on the spot and make them think through and give an answer to make sure I know they understand the topics we just discussed.
Jennifer,
Very good idea! Being a motivating instructor can only have positive impact on the students!
@gmeers I see my students are motivated when I am excited about what I am teaching. They know I will have discussions about the material and they seem to want to be prepared for the discussion. It is a lot of fun! Carole Ray
@gmeers We have a really good dean of education here and one of his inservices was on breaking up the lecture with a kinetic learning acvtivity. It wakes the students up creates excitement in th classroom as well as stimulating another learning center in th brain making them all better learners.
@nazzifazeli
Where do you find your case studies? I am about to teach a class on the integumentry system and it is not my area of expertise and I would love to find some relevant case studies.
@otterdoc
I have been trtying to find a dermatoligist to come speak to my class but have been unsucessful so far, the class is only 7 days so taking a field trip wouldn't go over well with administration unless I could get them into the burn unit but they, the hospital, are highly unlikely to approve 20 students trapsing through their unit - I know I wouldn't be happy about that happening if I were working there. Sorry if I sound negative I'm just a little frustrated that all of these wonderful ideas seem out of reach. I'm teaching skin - its function, it's parts, its diseases, issues, and treatments there's a ton of stuff that could be taught and I wish I knew someone with an expertise in this area to help me bring it to life. I have found some great pictures but nothing beats war stories from the trenches or really exciting hands on activities to liven things up only I can't think of any activities to have them do.
@gmeers Crucial to success to class pass rate. Student engagment is linked directly to motivation.
It is important to keep students engaged in the classroom. Criminal Justice students enjoy hearing of my personal experiences during my career. Student tend to relate to the course topic of discussion while assimilating their thoughts about their goals. Explicit expectations are outlined at the beginning of the course and with emphasis on classroom etiquette. Students will usually reflect upon their personal experiences with others who were non-compliant and acknowledge the expected culture of the classroom environment.
