Ms. Patricia,
Among the strategies I use to help get course buy-in from your students include role playing, greeting and welcoming them, displaying my passion for teaching.
I am also a proponent of the WIIFM model (What’s IN It For Me?) discussed in this module. I have used it successfully at the start of my class. For instance, in my economics class, I employed the WIIFM model by asking the students: why is there a need to compare prices when they shop? If we like shoes, why can’t we just buy all of the shoes that we want? Since these questions are non-threatening, the students feel very comfortable participating and answering them. The discussion would then lead into my lecture on the concept of scarcity of resources. We compare prices and can not buy all of the shoes that we want because our resources, in this case monetary resources are limited. Thus, scarcity is at the forefront of almost every decision we make. Since we all want to make the most out of our scarce resources, managing them is very important. And, economics is the study of how people like us manage our scarce resources. They can in turn see how the economics course is relevant to them because they also face scarcity just like evryone else and need to manage their resources very efficiently.
With regards to the role playing strategy, I would ask a group of students to play the role of buyers in a market, and discuss how they would behave if the price of their favored product rises. Would they buy more or less? Then, I would ask another group to play the role of suppliers, and discuss how they would behave as suppliers if the price of the above product rises. They would discuss the differences in behaviors in that the buyers want to buy less when the price goes up, whereas the suppliers want to supply more. After this role playing, they should have a rich understanding of how the demand and supply forces help keep the market in balance.
I think an equally important strategy is to set the foundation for a positive learning environment on day one by greeting them at the door and make them feel welcomed. This also helps to get their buy-in. Displaying my enthusiasm for teaching and learning helps to get their buy-in for the course by inspiring them to be passionate about learning also.
Have a great evening.
Gerald Elysee
When I teach my college prep keyboarding classes I always remember to emphasize the "prep" element for my students. In many instances my students are brand new to the college experience. To help them with their adjustment I have created a short survey for them to fill out the very first day asking what they expect from me as the instructor. This creates "buy in" on mamy levels because they understand the value of a good education from the day they first step into my classroom. They know that they are buying a "lifestyle change of sorts" that will create a sense of wealth and independence that no one will ever be able to take away.
I’m lucky in the way that I’m teaching in the field that I’ve got 10 years of experience. It’s very easy for me to connect points or objectives of my lecture to something my students will use in their career.
I relate it to employment statistics in the medical billing and coding health field and what the projections are for job growth in allied health in the next 10 years.
class participation by asking questions;and allowing them to ask me questions this help them to engage in class and therefore help them with their learning process.
class participation by asking questions;and allowing them to ask me questions this help them to engage in class and therefore help them with their learning process.
students do seem to be more attentively when they are engage in practicals, their motivation seem to be more to the forefront and this helps them to stay focus.
Hi Juanita,
Anytime you can bring in practicalities to a lesson you should. Students get it when we make it real. They understand the purpose.
Patricia
Hi Marcia,
Super way to get your students excited about the course and see the relevance. The ultimate goal of the student is to find employment in their chosen field of study.
Patricia
I start a class with a discussion about relevancy of the course material to everyday life and; specifically, what impact having the knowledge will have on the student.
Hi Kevin,
Students want to know how they can benefit from the information learned either or both personally/professionally.
Patricia
Being an information literacy course, students are very skeptical from the beginning- not really knowing what to expect from the course. Once they learn that this course will require real nitty gritty research, they really start to squirm. To ease their minds a bit, I have allowed and encouraged students to choose topics from their everyday life. They should choose something that really interests them - afterall, they will be researching for a full 12 weeks. Designing the course material after everyday life topics has helped students to realize that the information being learned will help them in all areas of their lives and coursework.
Hi Rebecca,
It is great that you allow the students to choose a topic of interest. When a student is interested in something they tend to work harder to reach their goal.
Patricia
Hi Deborah,
Great idea about the survey! Students enter the class knowing the importance of keyboarding in today's society, and they are eager to learn it the right way so that they can become better typist, thus making them a more valuable employee.
Patricia
I find that many of my students are eager to learn primarily because all the skills that they are taught in class they will be using in their careers down the line. When I introduce a new course topic I make sure to emphasize its importance to their future careers and why it is pertinent that they master it. By reinforcing its significance and professional applicability I find that they are more focused and serious about learning it. In addition, I relate each new topic to the old one, so students can see how everything is tied together and builds on one another--this way they become more invested in learning the new topic and consequently in the entire course.
I have used past experiences in the field, power point presentations, and guest speakers to help give students a better picture and see the relevance of the course work in relation to the work the will be doing in their chosen field.
I am a new instructor. I am still trying to figure out what the exact definition of "Getting buy in from students" is. I would greatly appreciate a definition/clarification from you.
Thank you, Sarah
Tough question - first discover some common interest or more importantly an interest common to the students! Next relate the common interest to something in the content of the course, and finally the students need to believe you had nothing to do with it(they discovered it without input from the instructor).
Hi Sarah,
By in is what the student needs to know about the course so that they can determine the usefulness of the course, in other words the course purpose.
Patricia
Hi Gerald,
Great response! You do a super job with getting your students to buy into the course. I especially like the practical questions you ask your students to get them to see how economics is very relevant to our personal lives as well.
Patricia
