Fostering Student Interest and Motivation in the Classroom

Wednesday 1:30pm-4:00pm Gordon: Overture Meeting Room
Afternoon Mini Workshop

Leader

Jane Russell, University of Iowa

Do you want students to participate actively in discussion, prepare for class, and become responsible learners? Student interest and motivation are critical to initiate and sustain engagement. Session participants will learn effective strategies to foster student motivation and engage in exercises how to apply them in the classroom.

Goals

  • Explore and identify the key motivational constructs that impact students' engagement and positive course performance.
  • Understand the empirical relations between teaching strategies and motivational constructs from the research study conducted in two STEM courses.
  • Discuss pedagogical methods and technology that could either positively or negatively impact student motivation.
  • Develop effective instructional strategies that contribute to student motivation.

Program

1:30 Welcome & Introduction

  • Overview of the motivational constructs.
  • Overview of course design elements and teaching strategies to contribute to them.
  • Participants, in small groups, will discuss the effective course design, teaching strategies, supported technology, and the challenges of those implementations.
  • Participants will develop instructional strategies that nurture students' motivation and engagement.

3:55 Workshop evaluation

4:00 Adjourn