Are your students doing their best in class and completing all learning activities on time? Do they always want to participate in class discussions, eager to be a part of the conversations, while demonstrating what they have learned from the assigned reading? Or do you have a typical mix of students, with some who excel and others who struggle to stay motivated and engaged in class?
For a traditional class, you can observe the motivation of the students. Rather, online instructors must watch for a different set of signals and develop conditions within a learning management system that are conducive to learning. Some educators believe that it is not possible to help students who cannot see, especially with a quality such as motivation that cannot be visually assessed in a virtual environment. But a student’s level of motivation will influence all aspects of her engagement, from her participation in class to her participation in discussions to the completion of learning activities such as written assignments.
With the many demands placed on an online instructor, classroom management may become the primary focus, consisting of tasks such as participation, feedback, acquiring class materials, and developing lectures or class posts. Then it can become quite easy to miss a student who gradually disconnects from class until it’s too late. This includes detecting a student who lacks a sense of self-motivation or does not know how to maintain it when feeling discouraged, frustrated, or challenged.
While students are expected to be naturally self-directed as adults, that does not mean they are equipped to meet the many demands expected of them as students. This is why an instructor must be prepared to identify their needs and have motivational strategies ready to help them.
Motivational Indicators
An instructor may gauge their students’ level of engagement in a class by the number of times they have posted responses to discussion threads and the amount of perceived effort put into their written assignments. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s possible to accurately measure how motivated students are when an attempt of some kind is made to complete their work.
The reason is that motivation is an internalized state and challenges are acknowledged through statements like “I’m not sure I can do this” or “This is too hard” or “This is not what I expected I would have to do.” “- anything that results in a student deciding to give up, resign, or eventually withdraw from the class or their degree program. An instructor will know this is happening if they have developed open communication with their students and, as a result, you are willing to share your frustrations and concerns.
students who are struggling
When students are struggling in your class, it can be easy to first assume that they are not trying hard enough, are not using the feedback provided, have not read the assigned materials, or for any other possible reason, without being able to identify exactly what is wrong. that they are experiencing. At the start of class, most students have the highest level of enthusiasm and a sense of hope about a fresh start, even if there is some anxiety or apprehension mixed in.
It is when a student tries to participate in class that determines how long their enthusiasm is sustained and there are many factors that can have a negative impact, including lack of academic skills, feedback they do not accept or understand, a subject that is too difficult to understand or it doesn’t seem relevant to their lives, or getting a grade they don’t think they should have gotten. This causes an eventual decline in performance and one that may not be intentional or even consciously acknowledged until addressed by an instructor.
5 Methods to Energize and Motivate Your Students
Instructors may not always know for sure why students are struggling, but at the heart of most problems is a willingness to keep trying and work on ongoing personal development, even when it requires them to acquire new knowledge or abilities. What instructors can do is develop a set of proactive instructional strategies that are encouraging in nature and support student attempts and progress.
The following five methods have been implemented in my own teaching practice and have helped train teachers online through my work with teacher development.
#1. Build productive relationships. While this should go without saying for any class, whether it’s a traditional class or online, student relationships are always important. It can have a direct impact on your ability to feel comfortable asking for help when needed and that can alert the instructor to potential problems. But developing this kind of relationship in a virtual environment is not easy, and a class that lasts only a few weeks can make it even more difficult.
The way a relationship begins is with the attitude of an instructor and continues with the constant intent to be helpful and approachable. Students need to know that their instructors care about them.
#2. Carefully manage your communication. All forms of communication that instructors have with their students are important and must be carefully cultivated so that the intent of the message is clear and the tone is not likely to be perceived negatively.
When responding to a student, whether by email or a classroom post, you should not do so in a rush or when you are feeling an emotional reaction. The reason this is so important is that one negative interaction can demotivate a student and a series of these types of interactions can cause a student to become disconnected from the class.
#3. Be present, available and accessible. In order for students to stay engaged in class and perform to the best of their abilities, they need to know that their instructor is available to help them when they need it. This doesn’t mean that an instructor needs to be available at all times or answer questions as soon as they’re posted; however, there must be an established pattern that students can rely on.
I have found it helpful to have multiple methods of contact including email, IM, weekly office hours, sharing my phone number for times when students need immediate assistance, and posting a classroom question thread. This allows me to develop connections with students and it can be very motivating for them to know that I am accessible.
#4. Help make sure students are adequately prepared. I have found that a lack of academic preparation can be extremely detrimental to the mindset new students have as they try to navigate the course and the requirements they are expected to complete. Even as established students progress through their degree program, they may still struggle with areas of development that can create a mental barrier and ultimately lead to a sense of defeat if left unaided.
What I have done is share resources that address the specific developmental needs of students in the comments provided and if I find sources that can benefit the whole class I will share them in a separate class post. I have found that the more students feel equipped to complete their assignments, the more confident they will be trying to do it.
#5. Develop and use proactive outreach strategies. It is imperative that an instructor is always aware of the conditions in the classroom and, more importantly, that they are aware of students who are not actively involved or present in the class. It can be helpful to establish a mental baseline for expected performance, and over time, an experienced instructor develops an instinct for student participation.
A discussion thread is a way to measure if students are disconnecting from the class. When I discover a student who is not posting or continues to have problems with her written assignments, I will make disclosure attempts. I’ll first email and try to get them involved and if that’s unsuccessful I’ll make a phone call so the student isn’t cut off from class completely. I have learned that a personalized approach will go a long way in helping students maintain their self-motivation.
sources of motivation
Most of the research on motivation points to the sources of motivation, both internal and external. This means that students can be motivated by a sense of achievement (internalized) or a grade (externalized). With a limited amount of time available to get to know students for a typical online class, instructors may never know exactly what the source of motivation is for each student or be able to develop techniques to meet their individual needs, especially when deals with classroom management and instruction. functions require a significant investment of time.
What instructors can do is address self-motivation as a driver of student success and use the methods provided above to help students feel confident in themselves, rather than easily discouraged and willing to give up. When instructors go the distance and connect with their students, they will see the results in the effort they put in and the level of performance they maintain throughout the class. When students believe that someone cares about their progress and is willing to support them as they attempt to complete class requirements, an increase in self-motivation is likely to occur. You have the opportunity to be that someone for your students and what it takes is to show interest in your students and be aware of their participation in the class. Your interest in students can not only energize their participation in the class, but it can also transform and energize their participation.