Jonathan,
All of these even thought they may not seem like soft skills are vitally important to professionalism. Teaching that and exposing students to all of these opportunities is what will make them successful.
Philip Campbell
Connecting the classroom with the real world ,letting students be the center of your class and showing them a positive attitude by listening and sharing their own experiences always work for me.
Abraham,
Excellent point. This is always something instructors should strive to do. Connections are the best learning tools. Connections with what they will experience in the real world is what will make them successful, keep it up.
Philip Campbell
One way I try to motivate students is to cause the student to see them self doing the very task that you are teaching so then they can see value in the material and study more and or practice more.
Rawn ,
Visualization is a great skill. Teaching that and making that a part of ones life would be great.
Philip Campbell
I verbally focus on a positive demeanor which I mirror emotionally as well as physically (facial expression, smile). Eye contact is crucial to "drawing in" or enticing a student to interact or respond. Acknowledging a student for accomplishing a task successfully is so important. My morning starts with greeting students, as opposed to being absorbed in paper work or grading. I am accessible before class. My afternoon ends with verbal recognition and encouragement to every student before they walk out the door. I am available after class. Instructors may be the very few who give them positive feedback and attention, whether it is a student K-12 or an adult learner at a post-secondary school.
I agree, whenever I am lecturing on a topic and relate to its importance by using examples from the field I see the class get more in tune to the subject.
Craig,
Keep up those activities. Sometimes it is those activities that will give students the vision of what they can be and keep them motivated.
Philip Campbell
I am a supervising dentist for Dental Hygiene students. At the recall visit the students and I will look at the periodontal charts together to see if their patients are improving or not. When there is demonstrable improvement, I tell the students that they've just witnessed their patients healing under the power and skill of hands-on-treatment. Somewhere inside of them a light goes on; they smile and they realize how gratifying it is to be a professional caregiver.
motivate students
Expectations: Teachers should set reasonable objectives for every lesson that allow their students to progress in the classroom. .
Uplifting: Keep the atmosphere in the classroom positive and uplifting. A cheerful and motivating environment will fuel the students’ intrinsic need to succeed in their endeavors.
Praise: Positive reinforcement is a tried and true method of teaching new material.
Variation: Because everyone learns differently, you will need to vary the means by which students earn rewards.
Success: Motivate students by showing them that they can be successful in the classroom.
Relevance: Show students how what they are learning matters in real life.
Engaging Questions: Lead in with questions that will get the students talking.
Problem Solving: Teaching students how to overcome challenges is another important factor in keeping them motivated. If they have the skills to navigate the problems they encounter they will achieve more. One way to do so is to encourage the pupils to ask questions when they are unclear on new material
Robert,
It is great to see that light go on. As teachers, we need to provide those opportunities for them to learn and you are doing that.
Philip Campbell
AN effective way for me has involved informing students at the beginning of class I will be asking for feedback from all students. they are aware they will be called on and I allow a few students to give responses and develop converstions and discussion from the different responses which give my students the desire to participate. They feel they are a part of class and their response is important enough for discussions.
I find this particularly beneficial as I teach Ultrasound Physics! Most students approach Ultrasound Physics with dread, not feeling adequate, yet knowing that they must pass a National Exam in this subject. Therefore, I try to demonstrate the clinical application of what can appear to be pages of equations: how it will make them a better sonographer by understanding what is behind the instrumentation on the system.
Terry,
Great example of applying the real world to the class. Students develop anxiety before they are even aware of what they must do, and they base it on nothing more than reputation. They do the same with instructors. Good examples.
Philip Campbell
*You must try to understand the student's point of view.
*You have to meet them where they are before you can motivate them to move forward.
*You have to change your mind about the people that have the same characteristics as your students.
Neidra,
Knowing yourself and how you react is important. teaching others to do that is the hard part.
Philip Campbell
I find that when I relate my lectures and assignments to how the knowledge will benefit the students in their future careers, they tend to be more positive and more excited to listen and do the work. Also, students tend to be very happy when they learn a new skill, especially when it is something they have been having difficulty with. I also try to add humor into my lectures, and I try to make them as fun as possible. This tends to make the students happier, and they tend to do better.
I have found that allowing the students to share their own experiences works well. I also have former student come into the classroom as speakers to allow the students to get a real world perspective from recent graduates.
I agree and this is an area that I am dedicated to working on. This class has definately help me to step back and take a look at the way that I am doing thing.Using the techniques discussed will help my students achieve their goals and help me be a better teacher. I have been told that I am stern but fair and for years I have worn that badge with honor but with this class I feel that I could have a better description from my students (possible FUN).
Finding out what the student is passionate about and what areas they feel that they are confident in and elaborate on that as a motivation to learn.
