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TA Talk Highlight
The Mid-Semester Blahs: How to Create a Motivating Classroom
by Joanne Holladay
By now you've probably noticed a change in your students. Many of the bright, shining faces you were used to seeing at the beginning of the semester have now turned into overstressed, frazzled looks of frustration. It's that time of the semester where many students find that they have bitten off more than they can chew, realized that college is tough (and gets tougher each year), and the exams for many classes have started to pile up. So what's a TA to do? Hopefully this article will help you to understand the origin of the overwhelming feelings your students may be experiencing and be able to turn it into a motivating classroom environment.
Let's take a quick look at what theory and research say about motivation:
- Student's motivation to learn usually comes from the value that they place on learning (both in general and in specific topics) as well as their expectancy that investing their time and energy in academic activities will help them to achieve their own goals.
- Student's motivation for academic achievement must come from within themselves. Intrinsic motivation is the strongest influence on learning and can come in the form of curiosity and competence.
- Most students want to be liked by their peers and teachers, but may find conflict there - they don't want to show too much academic achievement, but want to get good grades, and they don't want a teacher who hovers over their every assignment, but they don't want too much freedom on assignments, either. It's tough for a teacher to find a balance.
- Students are more motivated when they feel they can succeed in the class.
So, as you can see, there are a lot of reasons why students are motivated (or aren't, as the case may be), but the good thing for you is that there are several practical things you can do in the classroom to close the gap between theory and practice and actually help motivate your students.
But first, let's talk about grades. Grades are very important to students, no matter what their motivational level. In fact, there is such a thing as the "GPA perspective" (Rabow, Choi, & Purdy, 1998). Basically, this refers to the importance given by students, teachers, administrators, and even employers to the actual grade point average rather than any critical learning, thinking, or understanding of the material taught in class. In fact, you may have begun to hear some comments from your students that come from this perspective such as: "I need an A in this class to help boost up by GPA!" or "What do I have to do to get above a 70 on this exam?" or " I can't afford to get a C in this class." This "obsession" with grades begins long before college and students aren't the only ones who have it. Parents usually ask about their child's grades or they may put conditions on their grades. Grad school and even academic probation depend on grades. So, it's no surprise that most students would sacrifice almost anything, including health, hobbies, and social relationships in order to maintain or work on their GPA (which may be why you are seeing some stressed-out students).
If you want more information about grading, check out October 2002's TA Talk article.
Even with all the emphasis on grades, there are still things you can do to create a motivating classroom.
- Now might be a good time to evaluate the goals and objectives of the course and to communicate these to the class. By linking your course to the motives students may have, you can increase motivation.
- Have your students write specific goals for learning in your class. If the motivation level is really low, you may need to start on a less direct level like, "What do I want to get out of college", "Why did anyone think this course should be required?", "What would I like to get out of this class? (other than a decent grade)"
- After students write their goals, have them record their progress towards their goals. Writing shorter term, intermediate goals helps them see that larger, long-term goals are achievable, and it provides a way of monitoring progress.
- Start asking questions, especially unexpected or thought-provoking ones, rather than just stating facts. This can help increase the curiosity level in the class.
- Try something new. Maybe a field or laboratory experience may change the tone of the course and allow students to try something new, too (like some hands-on experience with the content).
- Link student's successes in the course with their own efforts. If students feel like the effort they have been doing is paying off or if students who haven't been putting in much effort hear how much that effort makes a difference, it could increase motivation. So, the next chance you get, try giving individual feedback. I know it takes more time, but it can really make a difference.
- Try to take some of the competition out of learning. Incorporating a cooperative learning activity may foster both fun and support, which can help motivation levels.
Last, but not least, you as the teacher are a major motivating force in the classroom. Your enthusiasm and communication have a lot to do with the amount of student interest in the subject matter and motivation towards academic tasks. So, now might be a good time to think about yourself as well as your students. Not only is this time of the semester hard on the students, it can be overwhelming for you as a TA, too. The next time you're in the classroom or are interacting with students, take a look at your non-verbal cues. Your facial expressions, animations, and voice intensity, play a big role in your relationship with students. You know the saying, "What you say is as important as how you say it". And if you are feeling overwhelmed, some of the strategies above can work for you, too. Set goals and monitor your progress towards these goals with shorter-term goals or change things up - it may help motivate both you and your students.
And although motivation can be a tough thing to create in the classroom, there are things that you can do to help and I know you can do it!
REFERENCES
McKeachie, W. J. (1994). Motivating students for your course and for lifelong learning. Teaching Tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers. (Chap 31). Lexington, Massachusetts: D. C. Heath and Company.
Rabow, J., Choi, H., & Purdy, D. (1998). The GPA perspective. Youth & Society, 29(4), 451- 467.