Promising Practices
Show your enthusiasm; students will get excited about any academic subject if they can see that you are excited about it too. You have made the subject material your life's work, so revel in it; personal investment goes a long way toward engaging the class. Students do have a choice in the classes they take, and enrollment in yours shows that they are preconditioned to be interested in what you present. Realize that, and take every opportunity to make the subject interesting; personalize it by adding your own stories of adventures in the field and in the lab, and how this academic subject became important in your life. Not only will this pique the interest of every type of student, from the eager go-getters to the quiet students in the back, it will also make you more approachable, so those that require extra time in office hours will be more apt to seek out your aid outside of class.