Motivation...

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Permalink Reply by Lucy Curle on January 15, 2013 at 8:23am

I find that tasks which encourage the students to relate the topic to their own experiences tend to be quite motivational because it demonstrates to the student why the subject is relevant to theirs and their friends lives and therefore worthy of their consideration. So, in my department (sociology) we often ask students to interview each other about their experiences or encourage them to interview family members about whatever social issue or theory we're learning which immediately encourages them to take the subject out of the classroom and into their everyday life. Admittedly this is relatively easy with sociology as interviews as a research method and everyday social issues are part of the subject content, but in your department (beauty) you could perhaps ask them to talk to each other/friends/family about their positive and negative treatments etc. Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by Lucy Curle on January 15, 2013 at 8:27am

Also, although I'm yet to test it on my group, I know that a lot of people have success when they introduce a competitive element to tasks. Although its effectiveness might depend on the competitiveness of your group and whether they could cope with potentially not 'winning'.

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Permalink Reply by Tracy brookes on January 15, 2013 at 8:35am

That's fantastic suggestion Lucy thank you. Most of my learners are motivated whilst some just clearly don't want to know, I used to be believe that it was passion that gave you the motivation and whilst in some cases it may just do that, with others it simply doesn't!
In my lesson this week I am going to try a reward system to see how that goes. Again thank you for the suggestion x

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Permalink Reply by Keeley Knowles on January 15, 2013 at 3:17pm

I agree with Lucy - making links to the students' own lives and to what is currently going on in the world really stirs the discussion in our class (sociology).

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Permalink Reply by Laura Withers on January 15, 2013 at 4:10pm

I find with my learners anything other than a traditional lecture styled lesson that engages their attention and ultimately motivates them. I do this using different types of games such as "blockbusters", "who wants to be a millionaire" styled quiz, crosswords, word searches etc. My students learn through these fun activities and are often not really aware they are learning. Competitive elements always adds to motivation, especially if there is a reward at the end! My students do however, understand there is still a need for lecture styled lessons and in such lessons my activities may incorporate brochures, posters, presentations and picture boards instead.

Laura x

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Permalink Reply by Tracy brookes on January 19, 2013 at 5:52am

Thank you, laura, I tried a who wants to be a millionaire quiz and within the same lesson I also made cards (like a pack of cards) with questions on for a quick fire re-cap, all learners had to answer a question before leaving, therefore promoting inclusivity too, and worked so well that we went nearly over by 10 minutes and the learners didn't even notice! So I think you could say it kept them motivated!!

T x

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Permalink Reply by Samuel Kidby on January 17, 2013 at 9:36am

Hi Tracy

Iv always found that in large groups a good activity to do is set research tasks in groups with a fun sort of quiz at the end, where prizes may be in place as a form of operant conditioning perhaps, especially with sport students where it can get quite competitive.

However area's to keep an eye could be social loafing in the groups and learners only interested in the prize and not the actuall reason behind why they are learning a certain lesson. What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Tracy brookes on January 19, 2013 at 5:57am

Hi Sam,
Many thanks for your suggestions, my learners don't tend to be competitive, as they are geared to team working however I do think that is a great idea, I will try that on my next theory lesson, along with some kind of reward like chocolate maybe?? I've heard that bribery works really well too.
T x

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Permalink Reply by Theresa Young on January 17, 2013 at 3:00pm

Hi Tracy,

I find my students enjoy tasks that they can relate to - what's in it for me? approach! Also, if the students know each other well, competition can be a very successful tool. I use quizzes related to well known events - I made up a quiz around the 12 days of Christmas. And 'rewards' seem to go down well with my learners too.

Have you tried using tarsia to generate puzzles? You can download a free pieces of software which allows you to create your own puzzles. It is real simple to use - you can imbed some literacy and numeracy skills too. I will find you the link!

Theresa

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Permalink Reply by Tracy brookes on January 19, 2013 at 6:01am

Hi Teresa,
Arr yes that was something I had not thought about...what's in it for them!! I shall now make a point of making a clear explanation of what is in it for them!! That's is a great suggestion many thanks.
Tarsia I haven't heard of but will now look into it.
Rewards definitely seem to be the way forward as just about everyone has mentioned some kind of rewards system, it would be great to hear about what other kinds of rewards I could give other than chocolate!
Again thank you for your suggestion and I will definitely take everything on board.
Tx

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Permalink Reply by Lissa on January 19, 2013 at 10:14am

Hi Tracy

I'm having the same problem, I had a music performance group last week and this happened to be when I was being observed. Some learners lacked motivation and I found it very difficult to get them indulged in the task. Considering the lesson was self directed and the learners were practising for their final performances,they took this time to think of the lesson as an 'doss lesson', just because I was making my way round to the other practise booths to listen to the other bands.

In this particular lesson it is very hard to keep an eye on all bands as they are practising in other rooms, however I need to come up with a solution for this as it is just not working and I don't feel the learners are taking me seriously.

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