Students need to learn to be self-motivators
We can spoon-feed content, provide timely feedback, teach with expertise and clarity, evaluate with fair standards, and also share our experiences, but at some point students are responsible for being self-motivators. They come to us with 18+ years of life experience. While I believe a massage certification program can be transformational as it was for me, and is for many students, I'm not sure how to "motivate" those (thankfully few) students who seem to have little idea of why they are in the program and want to skate through with as little effort as possible. My main technique is holding them accountable in the details and in the big picture, but if they have poor attendance to boot, I just feel like I don't have much to work with.
If a student doesn't care. There is nothing you can do to teach him.
Hi Greg,
Non-caring students are a challenge. I teach a required course and many of my students don't see any value in the course I teach. I take their non-caring as a challenge and try to make the course relevant to their lives. This makes it fun for me because I enjoy a challenge and the students gain from learning the content.
Gary
Not everyone is cut out to learn more. Just because it is said you need to, doesn't mean they are going to.
In this respect, education is no different than business. There are students and employees alike who are there to simply occupy space. I find this is especially true amoung the younger crowd who feel they are somehow "owed" by society.
Absolutely true. It goes back to their whole reason for being in the class - their motivation, as the module would say. Are they in this program because THEY want to be there, or simply because someone else (a parent, friend, etc) told them they should, or perhaps because they lost their job or need to be in school to continue to receive benefits, for example? If the student is self-motivated to be in this program, he/she will likely be self-motivated to make the effort to learn. Even this motivation, however, needs to be nurtured by the instructor.
Hi Billie,
This student attitude continues to challenge instructors. The students feel "entitled" to getting a good grade out of the course since they have paid money to be there. They don't factor in the effort aspect of success.
Gary
True enough, I suppose. But there may be outside forces at work to discourage the student from completing the course. I have had students who have been discouraged by their own families from seeking an education. These students must be somewhat self-motivated to be in the class. The question that we have to help them answer is, "What difference will this course make?" If a student cannot see the difference, they probably will not complete the course.
Hi Dan,
You make a very good point about the need for student support and personal motivation. We as instructors can be very supportive but it is up to the student to have the personal vision of their future. They need to see relevancy and value to what they are studying or they will not make as we all know.
Gary
