EDITORIAL
Le sson s in St u de n t M ot iva t ion
Errol Craig Sull, MA
Dell College Teacher of Excellence, 2005 Colum nist , USA Today
Th is – t h is m ot iv a t ion t h in g - - is som e t h in g t h a t w e , a s t e a ch e r s, n ot on ly m u st t r y t o m a in t a in bu t h a v e t h e pow e r t o cr e a t e a n d bu ild on .
The t ools st udent s hav e at t heir ready t o do w ell ar e really am azing: engaging, t horough, and colorful t ext book s; t he I nt ernet , of course; facult y w ho know how t o t each and offer a plet hora of inform at ion; and seem ingly endless possibilit ies for opt im al lear ning envir onm ent s. Yet w it h all t hese im pr ov ed “ m ouset raps” t here is one fact or t hat , if m issing, w ill keep each of t hese silent – and t he st udent w ill learn lit t le or naught : m ot ivat ion. I ndeed, if t he st udent is not m ot ivat ed t o learn, and his or her m ot ivat ion is not k ept up t hroughout a course, t her e is lit t le t he st udent will t ake aw ay
from t he cour se.
This – t his m ot ivat ion t hing - - is som et hing t hat w e, as t eachers, not only m ust t ry t o m aint ain but have t he power t o creat e and build on.
What you are about t o r ead is a collect ion of essays by var ied facult y at Park
Universit y who offer solid, insight ful, and t est ed approaches t o dev eloping and m aint aining st udent m ot ivat ion in t he classroom . I n m any respect s t hese can be seen as one of t hose “ secr et s” t o t eaching t hat all w ho ent er t he pr ofession seek. But rat her t han secret s t hey are approaches t o finding what works when it com es t o st udent m ot ivat ion t hat have been honed, sanded, and polished from m any years of experience – and present ed t o you in a high gloss finish. Read t hem , absorb t hem , im plem ent t hem : your classes, you, and your st udent s w ill only benefit from t hem .
The lessons in effect ing good st udent m ot ivat ion from each facult y m em ber in t his j ournal did not com e overnight , of cour se; m any cour ses and year s of t eaching have allow ed for “ w hat really w orks” in his or her classes wit hin t hat im por t ant realm of st udent m ot ivat ion. The result : each has classes t hat run m uch sm oot her , hav e st udent s who learn easier , and have inv olvem ent from t heir class m em ber s t hat is m or e ent husiast ic t hroughout t he lengt h of each class. How w onderful t o have so m any offering so m uch on t his one subj ect of m ot ivat ion – your “ j ob” as t he classroom m ent or will be t he easier for t heir effort s.
As you t each t his or t hat course, it is im perat ive t hat y ou cont inue w hat t hese facult y are present ing: approaches, angles, t ips, and “ wows! ” of creat ing and m aint aining m ot ivat ion in t he classroom . Teaching is a pr ofession t hat dem ands it m orph w it h new t echnology, ever- changing st udent dem ogr aphics and pr ofiles, and t he fluid nat ur e of course st r uct ure; “ how t o” creat e and m aint ain m ot iv at ion in t he classroom is no differ ent . As you com e across som et hing you believe is a bit different and w orks in t his area, j ot it dow n: for w hat you read in t his collect ion w ill alw ays r em ain as t im e- t est ed and solid appr oaches t o “ t he m ot ivat ion pr oblem ,” but t hey can alw ays use “ buddies” t o bolst er m ot ivat ion. No m at t er w hat form your cont r ibut ion t o t his im por t ant issue of st udent m ot ivat ion t ak es – com m ent t o a colleague, depart m ent al em ail, or a m ore form al present at ion – be sure t o share it . Doing so w ill only st r engt hen us as t eacher s – and only im prove t he st udent learning process.
Could w e ask for any bet t er out com e? No – for being a t eacher w e are inher ent ly m ot ivat ed t o giv e our st udent s t he best possible in each class t hey t ake from us. And w hen w e can do t hat j ust a t ad bet t er, w ell, how nice for all!
8 Volume 2, Student Motivation, 2007
