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Capitalize on students' existing needs.
Students learn best when incentives for learning in a classroom satisfy
their own motives for enrolling in the course. Some of the needs your
students may bring to the classroom are the need to learn something in
order to complete a particular task or activity, the need to seek new
experiences, the need to perfect skills, the need to overcome
challenges, the need to become competent, the need to succeed and do
well, the need to feel involved and to interact with other people.
Satisfying such needs is rewarding in itself, and such rewards sustain
learning more effectively than do grades. Design assignments, in-class
activities, and discussion questions to address these kinds of needs.
(Source: McMillan and Forsyth, 1991)
Make students active participants in learning. Students learn by
doing, making, writing, designing, creating, solving. Passivity dampens
students' motivation and curiosity. Pose questions. Don't tell students
something when you can ask them. Encourage students to suggest
approaches to a problem or to guess the results of an experiment. Use
small group work. See "Leading a Discussion," "Supplements and
Alternatives to Lecturing," and "Collaborative Learning" for methods
that stress active participation. (Source: Lucas, 1990)
Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less
"motivating." Sass (1989) asks his classes to recall two recent
class periods, one in which they were highly motivated and one in which
their motivation was low. Each student makes a list of specific aspects
of the two classes that influenced his or her level of motivation, and
students then meet in small groups to reach consensus on characteristics
that contribute to high and low motivation. In over twenty courses, Sass
reports, the same eight characteristics emerge as major contributors to
student motivation: |
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Instructor's enthusiasm
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Relevance of the material
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Organization of the course
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Appropriate difficulty level of the material
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Active involvement of students
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Variety
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Rapport between teacher and students
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Use of appropriate, concrete, and understandable
examples
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Work from students' strengths and interests.
Find out why students are enrolled in your course, how they feel about
the subject matter, and what their expectations are. Then try to devise
examples, case studies, or assignments that relate the course content to
students' interests and experiences. For instance, a chemistry professor
might devote some lecture time to examining the contributions of
chemistry to resolving environmental problems. Explain how the content
and objectives of your course will help students achieve their
educational, professional, or personal goals. (Sources: Brock, 1976;
Cashin, 1979; Lucas, 1990)
When possible, let students have some say in choosing what will be
studied. Give students options on term papers or other assignments
(but not on tests). Let students decide between two locations for the
field trip, or have them select which topics to explore in greater
depth. If possible, include optional or alternative units in the course.
(Sources: Ames and Ames, 1990; Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991;
Lowman, 1984)
Increase the difficulty of the material as the semester progresses.
Give students opportunities to succeed at the beginning of the semester.
Once students feel they can succeed, you can gradually increase the
difficulty level. If assignments and exams include easier and harder
questions, every student will have a chance to experience success as
well as challenge. (Source: Cashin, 1979)
Vary your teaching methods. Variety reawakens students'
involvement in the course and their motivation. Break the routine by
incorporating a variety of teaching activities and methods in your
course: role playing, debates, brainstorming, discussion,
demonstrations, case studies, audiovisual presentations, guest speakers,
or small group work. (Source: Forsyth and McMillan, 1991)
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Assign the reading at least two sessions before
it will be discussed. Give students ample time to prepare and try to
pique their curiosity about the reading: "This article is one of my
favorites, and I'll be interested to see what you think about it."
(Sources: Lowman, 1984; "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)
Assign study questions. Hand out study questions that alert students
to the key points of the reading assignment. To provide extra incentive
for students, tell them you will base exam questions on the study
questions. (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)
If your class is small, have students turn in brief notes on the
day's reading that they can use during exams. At the start of
each class, a professor in the physical sciences asks students to submit
a 3" x 5" card with an outline, definitions, key ideas, or other
material from the day's assigned reading. After class, he checks the
cards and stamps them with his name. He returns the cards to students at
a class session prior to the midterm. Students can then add any material
they would like to the cards but cannot submit additional cards. The
cards are again returned to the faculty member who distributes them to
students during the test. This faculty member reports that the number of
students completing the reading jumped from 10 percent to 90 percent and
that students especially valued these "survival cards." (Source: Daniel,
1988)
Ask students to write a one-word journal or one-word sentence.
Angelo (1991) describes the one-word journal as follows: students are
asked to choose a single word that best summarizes the reading and then
write a page or less explaining or justifying their word choice. This
assignment can then be used as a basis for class discussion. A variation
reported by Erickson and Strommer (199 1) is to ask students to write
one complex sentence in answer to a question you pose about the readings
and provide three sources of supporting evidence: "In one sentence,
identify the type of ethical reasoning Singer uses in his article
'Famine, Affluence, and Morality.' Quote three passages that reveal this
type of ethical reasoning" (p. 125).
Ask nonthreatening questions about the reading. Initially pose
general questions that do not create tension or feelings of resistance:
"Can you give me one or two items from the chapter that seem important?"
"What section of the reading do you think we should review?" "What item
in the reading surprised you?" "What topics in the chapter can you apply
to your own experience?" (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading,"
1989)
Use class time as a reading period. If you are trying to lead a
discussion and find that few students have completed the reading
assignment, consider asking students to read the material for the
remainder of class time. Have them read silently or call on students to
read aloud and discuss the key points. Make it clear to students that
you are reluctantly taking this unusual step because they have not
completed the assignment.
Prepare an exam question on undiscussed readings. One faculty
member asks her class whether they have done the reading. If the answer
is no, she says, "You'll have to read the material on your own. Expect a
question on the next exam covering the reading." The next time she
assigns reading, she reminds the class of what happened the last time,
and the students come to class prepared. (Source: "When They Don't Do
the Reading," 1989)
Give a written assignment to those students who have not done the
reading. Some faculty ask at the beginning of the class who has
completed the reading. Students who have not read the material are given
a written assignment and dismissed. Those who have read the material
stay and participate in class discussion. The written assignment is not
graded but merely acknowledged. This technique should not be used more
than once a term. (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)
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Source:
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html |
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