Ideas for Motivating Students

with comments by Carl J. Wenning and Ken Wester

As teachers we must never forget that motivation is essential to learning. Motivation should never be confused with coercion. Motivation arises naturally from the internal forum; coercion is imposed by an external forum. Highly motivated students learn well; coerced students hardly at all. Russell Quaglia, Ed.D., of the University of Maine's National Center for Student Aspirations appeared on the Today show (8/17/98) suggesting a number of psychologically sound strategies that can help build motivation in students. His eight ideas are given below; my comments follow:

1) Provide a sense of belonging. Being a member of the "gang" can be both an exhilarating and motivating experience. Arrange your teaching so that everyone is included -- both needed and wanted. Cooperative learning comes to mind as a good way of achieving this goal. Also showing students that you care by taking interest in some of their outside activities goes a long way and helps to provide a sense of belonging.

2) Familiarize students with heroes. There are a number of heroes in the study of physics that can really help jazz up a class. Knowing about physicists and their success over trials and tribulations (such as Galileo Galilei contending with the Church, Steven Hawking dealing with physical disability, Michael Faraday as a man without an education, Marie Curie as a woman in a man's word, and so forth) can only make the study of physics more interesting. Taking a historical approach also puts a human face on physics which many find most appealing. Additionally, the processes of science are made clearly elucidated from a historical perspective. In addition this will address those students in the class who have a true interest in history

3) Provide students with a sense of achievement. Nothing motivates student more than a sense of success. Build success into students' earliest efforts, and continue teaching in such a way that students can continue to be successful. Provide for a variety of effective teaching techniques so that you can "reach" all the students. Do the same with assessment practices.

4) Make learning fun and exciting. Consider putting a real flair into your teaching. Don't be humdrum and ordinary. Break the mold that holds teachers to be dull, lifeless authority figures. Consider adding "magic tricks" to your teaching; do some role playing of historical figures; use contests and games if your class has a competitive spirit. Do not do the same thing day in and day out!

5) Build on students' natural curiosity and creativity. Perform a silent demonstration. Attempt to befuddle and amuse your students with activities and objects that pique interest. Don't forget as a teacher the curiosity you had as a child about natural science. Teach science in the same way as you learned to enjoy it.

6) Provide a spirit of adventure. Science by its very nature is exciting. When presented in a cut and dried fashion, science looses its sense of adventure. Instead of telling students what to expect every time, let them find out. Avoid "verification" labs where the end result is always know. Ask "what if" questions, and allow students to work out the answers.

7) Encourage leadership and responsibility. Students can control the choices they make; unfortunately, they cannot control the consequences of theses actions. Students should come to know that there is a relationship between actions and consequences, both for good and for ill. Encourage students to make appropriate choices. Model appropriate decision-making procedures. Provide opportunities for students to take a lead; support them in their efforts. Be a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage.

8) Build confidence to take action. Classroom atmospheres are very important to helping students to take action. Each and every student should feel free to contribute to any class discussion. Can students make suggestions without criticism? Are students thanked for their contributions even if they are wrong? If a student has provided a wrong answer, have you continued the discussion with the student providing follow-up questions and allowing the student to "redeem" himself in the eyes of peers? Have you provided ground rules to your students for questioning and answering in class?

In addition to these eight points, the PHY 312 students of spring 2008 also came up with the following ideas:

• incorporate real-word subject matter - like #5 above, draw on student experiences and community themes and resources
• incorporate student ideas in instruction - like #5 above, solicit and use student ideas for subject matter
• listen to your students - show respect and concern for student complaints - they are not always wrong.
• teacher enthusiasm - like #4 above, enthusiasm is catching; if a teacher appears bored with the subject matter, why should students exhibit any interest and enthusiasm?
• encourage student creativity - alternative assessments can be a powerful motivator; kids who are not good at paper-and-pencil tasks might bloom under other assessment approaches.
• maintain a positive classroom environment - keep it student centered (hands-on, minds-on, engaged learning), knowledge centered (use inquiry at many different levels to challenge students and build understanding), assessment centered (keep kids on their toes with constant and varied forms of formative assessment), community centered (use cooperative learning)
• maintain a positive classroom atmosphere - organized chaos is probably the best way to describe a classroom in which students are actively engaged and therefore novitiate.
• make use of the power of success - like #3 above, success can be a positive motivator; if students are successful in small things, they are motivated to be successful in more challenging things.
• include out-of-class, out-of-school activities - these can be seen as rewards (trebuchet competition, amusement park physics, etc.) and prove to be somewhat motivational
• good teacher disposition toward students - teachers who positively like students often seem to get students "on their side"
• providing for extra credit - this can help build success and get students out of doldrums if necessary
• provide rationales - why are we studying this subject matter? what good is it to me, society, and the professions?
• integrated subject matter - it would be nice to see how the subject matter threads its way through mathematics and social science for instance; work with other teachers for achieve this.
• use a variety of pedagogical approaches - this will keep your teaching fresh and exciting to students.
• pacing - avoid moving too slowly and boring students, but don't go too quickly as to leave students hopelessly behind either.
• incorporate discovery learning - focus on conceptual understanding on the basis of first-hand experiences; but "play time" into the curriculum so students can familiarize themselves with the subject matter, some of which is quite abstract.
• set high expectations - remember the Pygmalion effect; it really can make a difference with some students.
• include historical content - liven up your teaching with historical vignettes; use historical (inquiry-oriented) teaching approaches.
• keep focused - don't waste students' time; see classroom management section of PHY 311.