All of us have felt the excitement of teaching courses in our major field to students who know why they are there and who want to learn that subject. That’s the part of teaching that reminds us why we chose this profession in the first place (certainly it wasn’t for the pay…) But what about when we teach gen ed or other courses to students who have to be there but don’t necessarily want to be there?
Julianne Hazen,
in an interesting Faculty Focus article on this topic, suggests that our goals
in such situations must include
establishing value, building on previous knowledge, addressing
expectations, and giving the students freedom of choice within the
assignments. She offers three guidelines
to consider:
- Use active learning techniques rather than overwhelming students with long reading assignments; students get a deeper and more engaged learning experience if they read a short article and then explore some topic in it in a short reflection paper.
- Invite guest speakers so that students can see and interact with people who can bring the subject to life because it is part of their lives.
- Go on field trips. Setting foot in a museum, a science laboratory, a social service agency, a church, gets students’ emotions involved, and deep learning involves emotion.
I’d be interested
in hearing from those of you who teach required courses. Have you tried any of the three
suggestions? What else do you do that
helps make your topic come alive?
Julianne Hazen's suggestions are very good ones and for all courses, whether gen ed or other courses. I think it depends on what kinds of students we have, in general, at the college or university. Most of my students (in all of my classes) tend to be the type "who have to be there but don’t necessarily want to be there." Most of them, whether gen ed or not, are more interested in a good grade than anything else; so I make getting a good grade contingent on doing the things they have to do as good students (who are, otherwise, interested in just a good education).
ReplyDeleteSafro Kwame
Good idea: helping students develop useful and transferable habits working towards a goal they are interested in. That's certainly an important step. What about the next step? Do you have any suggestions for helping students develop intrinsic motivation to go along with this extrinsic motivation?
ReplyDeleteI don't know what "intrinsic motivation" or "extrinsic motivation" means, unless you mean "internal" or "external" motivation. Teachers can provide (students with only) external motivation; internal motivation has to come from the students.
DeleteSafro Kwame
But aren't there things teachers can do to help students develop their internal motivation?
ReplyDeleteJulianne Hazen has suggested some, such as guest speakers and field trips. You may add to the list of things teachers can do to help students develop their internal motivation. Much of what teachers do can indirectly help students develop their internal motivation; but not all teachers are psychologists or motivational speakers or even role models. They should not be expected to be a Jack of all trades or go beyond their areas of competence..
ReplyDeleteSafro Kwame