Motivating Students
It's so easy to become discouraged as a student who just wants to began his/her career! If you encourage them to become experts at what they are doing then they will want to constantly be learning new ways to improve theirselves! If a student is struggling, it's important to comment on the progress that the student has made! A little bit goes a long way and can ultimately change a students entire learning experience.
If a student is discouraged it is better to focus on their positive instead of their negative.
Not necessarily...
I think this really depends upon the student. Some college students are acutely aware of how important retention can be to a school. Words of encouragement, especially is used in abundance, can seem as a ploy to simply keep them in class.
Also, over-encouragement can actually allow the student to doubt the quality of the education and the instructor. "Well Mrs. says I've achieved and that's what is what I wanted to do or is required by class... So I'm failing because the syllabus is faulty, grading is unfair, or the professor actually hates me.
How would you avoid these pitfalls?
Christina,
Make the encouragement real and timely so the students can connect the praise to specially what they have accomplished. This will help them connect the dots between encouragement and growth.
Gary
