Following up on the previous post, I wanted to write a bit about how teachers might intervene with those students who don’t believe they can learn something, whether it’s math, writing, French, economics, or whatever it is you teach.
Posts Tagged ‘student motivation’
Finding Motivation
Posted Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 by Maryellen WeimerIt’s that time of the academic year when enthusiasm for teaching and learning are harder to find. Spring semester or term courses are no longer new. Even though the feedback has clearly indicated that this course won’t be an easy A, many students have yet to buckle down and start studying seriously. The winter drags on … especially for those of us who are unaccustomed to major snowstorms and way behind due to cancelled classes.
Concrete Experience: The Foundation of Students’ Value for Learning
Posted Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 by maryannUsed effectively, the concrete experience motivates students to learn and provides a common reference to integrate and reconcile their diverse life experiences and perspectives. It serves as a touchstone to connect new information to past experiences in a meaningful and enriching way that helps students achieve higher cognitive levels of learning. It also promotes longer-term [...]
Student Questions: Quantity and Quality Issues
Posted Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 by Maryellen WeimerIn their review of literature section, the researchers listed below summarize findings from a number of studies regarding student questions. “It is well documented that student questions in the classroom are very infrequent and unsophisticated.” Averages reported in six different studies range from 1.3 questions per hour to 4.0. According to this research, teachers ask [...]
Mastery and Performance Orientations
Posted Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 by Maryellen Weimer“Students with mastery orientation seek to improve their competence. Those with performance orientations seek to prove their competence.” (p. 122)
It’s a quote that succinctly captures how what students believe about themselves as learners affects how they approach learning. A mastery orientation means that students believe that they have some control over factors related to [...]
Factors that Lead to Rapport
Posted Thursday, April 9th, 2009 by Maryellen Weimer“Rapport” is one of those words faculty frequently toss out when I ask them to describe the climate for learning in a classroom. But what is rapport? Consider this list of factors leading to good rapport generated during the course of online interviews with 40 faculty.