Motivation Through Relevancy and Application
Why is it motivating for students to see the relevancy and application of what they are learning?
Career college and adult students are very goal oriented. They want to learn so they can achieve a very practical goal. If it is important to their future success as a professional, they will be very motivated to learn the material. Conversely, if they perceive the material to be superflous, they will have little patience with it. Relevancy and application motivates these learners.
I think it's because they have very specific career goals, and they need to constantly feel they are moving closer to their goals. If an instructor isn't able to relate a particular course to the students' specific fields of interest, they aren't as motivated to learn the material.
I find it more challenging to motivate students in General Education courses than in their program specific courses for the reasons stated above. One of my current goals is to figure out how to get students' "buy-in" in a first-quarter, non-program-specific, yet required course. I think that will help facilitate the initial connection between my students and me that can serve as a motivator.
I earned my degrees as a non-traditional student. I remember how interesting and exciting it was to be learning something in a class and then go to work the next day and actually apply it. I think this is motivating because when the learning is relevant to what I am doing and I can apply it immediately, it adds value to my education. I feel as though I am "getting my money's worth." I see a reason for learning the concepts. It's like when we are in grade school and we don't understand why we need to learn fractions. Then we grow up and try our hand at cooking and all of a sudden, fractions and measurements are important. We are finally able to apply what we learn. When we can apply what we learn right away as adults, we become motivated to learn even more.
Hi Stephanie,
Well said. Immediate use of newly acquired knowledge is a powerful motivator. This is what drives most adult learners.
Gary
Relevancy and application gives students concrete reasons for learning the information and skills presented. It gives value to the course they are taking,value to listening to the instructor presenting the material and value to giving time to learning the information and practising the skills.
It is sometimes difficult to demonstrate job relevancy of foundation material in a career- focused subject area. When this occurs, I try to relate the material to "life" examples using things like information found in the daily newspaper. Linking educational material to events or aspects of daily life in addition to relating revelancy to the chosen career path will assist in establishing retention and transference.
I went back to college in my late twenties. I was afraid of learning the same info I already knew. I needed the piece of paper saying I was worth more money, so to speak. To my delight I learned much more. Life learners come naturally and can be developed. I was a natural life learner and still am. The students I have that are life learners are easy to motivate. You give them new info the can assimulate into real life applications. Those who are not motivated, I try to build a visual of the future for them personally based on previous knowledge about their desires and goals. I have to continually remind some of them about this dream, even help them plan the abc steps of the dreeam. Give them direction based on their strengths and weaknesses. This is more tiresome than teaching sometimes. The reward of seeing these students change and develope new skills is another pay check. I motivate them and they in turn motivate me to motivate them. it's a wonderful cycle.
Hi Scott,
Great way to explain the learning cycle. This is what helps individuals to become life long learners. You have experienced this and thus can serve as a role model for your students as they move through your course.
Gary
They are career and goal oriented - for the most part they sacrifice a lot to go to school - so it is important to keep them motivated and aware of their progress.
And try to help the student who is getting discouraged before they start thinking about dropping out
Hi Colette,
Good point. Early intervention with a potential dropout really helps to keep them focused and engaged so they don't leave the program.
Gary
Because they have chosen a career- focused education which means that they have a specific goal in mind. It's not like going to a liberal arts college and "finding yourself". The education is very specific and therefore it is even more important for the student to understand why he/she needs to know the information.
Hi Wendy,
Exactly! Many times though students forget their career goal and how through effort they can have a successful and rewarding career. They need to be reminded of this frequently so they can keep the vision they started with.
Gary
Dr. Meers:
The only way the students "lightbulb" goes on is by motivating them to use the information we have taught them.
I love when I have a student say "oh, that's why we use a bill of lading at work" "now I understand" Although they have been using the bill of lading for years, they never quite understood why. After learning in class what they are for and being motivated to learn more about them, the "lightbulb" goes on
Hi Karen,
Right you are. Once that "lightbulb" comes on once it seems students start to look for other opportunities for the bulb to be turned on more often.
Gary
It lets them see the big picture, and know that the information provided in class is helping them achieve their career goals. Once a student sees how helpful a technique is in their own project, it adds fuel to their tank to continue their educational journey with confidence in the "road map" that their teacher is providing.
I am not sure that it actually is in all cases. There are some students who simply should not be in the classroom -- you look at them and their performance, and think, in the words of Billy Joel: "Man, what are you doing here?". Such students don't seem to be motivated by anything, let alone the content of the classroom, and usually are the poor attenders, the disruptors, the net surfers, and the ultimate failures.
For those student who have interest however, the whole point of their learning is career-focussed. They want to do better, so the issue of "relevancy and application" needs to be couched not only in terms of how the 'thing' works, but also what it will do for the student.
In particular, in a classroom situation, the problem is deliverately kept simple, because we want the students to learn processes and methods, not clutter their information pathways with preparatory detail. The down side of this is that it is hard to see a 'toy' problem as particularly engaging, so the instructor has to be able to relate the specific example to more general and complex problems. Showing that the process is scalable can be a big plus in terms of relevancy.
Once the relevancy part is down, the application is not usually so difficult for the students to see. What may be more difficult for them to see is how the application success leads to career success. Those that "get it" -- the substantial majority did so before they stepped through the classroom door -- will be motiviated because they see how they can use this. For the others, making the link between application success and personal success needs some creativity in presentation -- particularly in fostering the idea that having a talent/skill for which you may not have an immediate use may still be very valuable for career development if it enables you to respond effectively to emergency and developing situations.
It seems to motivate them because whe they see what they can do with what they already know, it gives them lots of ideas and allows them to be creative. I know that I am the happiest in a class when I am creative and am allowd to express myself.
Hi Christopher,
Good point about the need to help students to become creative thinkers. By letting them explore options and problem solve they develop expertise that will help them with their careers upon graduation.
Gary
When the instructor applies what the students are learning to a relevant situation it reinforces their learning and they feel motivated to try the technique on their own.
they will also be motivated to practice the technique to gain more knowledge and expertise.
