Motivating Today's College Students
On February 3, 2009, Dr. Steve Axley from the Department of Management moderated a C.H.A.T. session on the challenges of motivating today's college students. The discussion included what is meant by "motivated" students, what works in educational environments, and some of the issues and challenges educators face in the classroom.
Highlights and Points of Discussion I. What do we mean by "motivated" students?
Students who are attentive and engaged in the learning process.
Students who show self-direction and accountability for their own learning.
Students who are "driven" and pursue more than the minimum requirements.
Sometimes the first step is just overcoming the "I don't want to be here" syndrome.
II. What are some strategies that seem to work for faculty?
Involve students in real-world activities and service learning projects.
Engage students in social networks, teams and group discussions. This creates social incentives and peer relationships that hold students accountable to each other. Use a "team charter" to support the ground rules and agreements of team members.
Create less dependence on the instructor and more accountability for the student. For example, one strategy is to hold unit exams at the beginning of a unit instead of at the end. In this way, students are more accountable to the advanced reading and learning, and more time can be spent on application and discussion of the basic concepts.
III. Motivation Issues and Particular Challenges
Motivation in Larger Courses - Engaging students in large sections is a challenge. Integrating "learning teams" and peer activities might help.
Going Beyond the Minimum - Allowing students to build career and social networks within and outside the classroom helps. Public posting and sharing of ideas, case studies, and papers tend to help higher order thinking.
What's In It For Me? - Students often need to see the relevancy of their learning to their own goals and interests. Help students see what is at stake for them. Is it a portfolio? Future job? Self-esteem? Preparation for state exams?
Confidence - Many motivation issues come down to students not feeling confident in their own knowledge, skills or abilities. There are many strategies that can be used to raise confidence. For example, requiring students to bring in a note card with key ideas from the reading to prompt discussion. Or asking students to prepare for and lead a discussion. Or providing practice quizzes or jeopardy-type games before an exam. Another strategy is to start with more structure and then loosen the structure as you go, leveraging additional expectations and responsibilities on students as the course progresses.
Accountability and Responsibility - Holding students accountable starts with students understanding what is expected of them. Teams help in this regard also, by setting up responsibilities within the learning community that go beyond just the instructor alone.
Grades - Many faculty are not convinced that grades work as a motivating threat or incentive. Students who are already convinced they will fail will not be motivated by grades. Strategies that can work include asking students to set personal learning goals at the start of a course. Providing some lattitude in assignments (e.g., choices for paper topics or type of project to be completed) can be a strong motivator and better match student learning styles.
Feedback - Timely and productive feedback can serve as a positive motivator. Feedback can come from peers as well as from the instructor. Feedback from field experts (real-world projects) can be an even stronger motivator. Allow students to defend or respond to peer reviews and feedback. It also helps to keep peer reviews anonymous, so students are more honest and constructive in their feedback.
IV. Final Thoughts
There is not ONE correct approach to motivating today's college students. Motivation has many facets...including Attention, Confidence, Relevance, and Satisfaction. Creating learning experiences that provide a safe, community atmosphere...while still providing students with challenging and relevant tasks...can lead to (but not guarantee) higher levels of motivation....and that is about the best we can do as college educators.
Handouts and Resources
