Check out our crossover podcast episode with Queer Meducation! Queer Meducation is a platform to educate medical professionals and the public on LGTBQI and nonbinary healthcare. On our episode, KB and I discuss HIV meds then and now! Thanks to the host KB for such a fun episode!
How do I motivate students to come to class prepared??
Resources:
https://www.bellarmine.edu/docs/default-source/faculty-development-docs/10-motivating-students-to-come-prepared-to-class.pdf?sfvrsn=62a09081_2
Dirksen, J. (2012). Design for how people learn. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.
http://otl.du.edu/teaching-resources/motivating-students-to-do-the-readings/
https://teach.its.uiowa.edu/sites/teach.its.uiowa.edu/files/docs/docs/Motivating_Students_to_Prepare_for_Class_ed.pdf
Up to 70% of learners do not come to class prepared
-Often begin semester prepared due to concerns of being called on or out of respect for instructor, but often gradually drops off throughout the course
-Influencing human behavior, which is complex and challenging
-Many factors we cannot control, so let’s focus on those that we can
-Have to overcome habits that have “worked” for them in the past
No prep assigned?
-Instructor reviewed in class
-Instructor did not plan class activities that depended on them being prepared
Reasons that they do not come prepared:
-Didn’t have time or had other priorities
-Didn’t find the readings of interest
-See a weak connection between doing course readings and doing well in the class
-No justification given for why they should read, or the reading selections chosen
-Believe important course content will be covered in class anyway
-Do not see connection between readings and class material
-Found the readings too hard
What’s in it for them?
-Using stats, a story/case study/testimonial or learning outcomes that they care about, present the learning experience as something they will want to do instead of something you want them to do
-Enlighten them about why they may care and why they should buy in
-Make it compatible with their values & current needs
-If during a busy exam week, probably won’t happen
- Invite testimonials from other students/peers about how coming prepared improved their learning, performance in class, learning beyond the course or development of needed skills.
Make it doable
I do not assign full chapters in Dipiro or other textbooks. The students will not read it. Make your readings applicable and doable.
-Make your readings relevant-sections of a guideline or a resource that they are also able to use on rotations
-I have assigned guidelines such as IDSA and then I take a few minutes in class to show students how to find that guideline in the future (since it will likely change within just a few years)
-Choose your objectives wisely
-Preparation should be about recognition, practice, or content exposure
-Know what you want your students to get out of each reading that you assign
-Not typically aiming for higher levels of Blooms since students are learning independently
Provide immediate consequence if do/do not prepare
Preparing for some delayed consequence, such as a midterm exam, is not sufficient for most students. That's why it is also difficult to not text while driving, stop smoking, maintain weight loss or save for retirement – the positive
consequences are too delayed!
Examples
“Just in Time Teaching”: short online quiz before class, a small group activity when they arrive in which they must be prepared to share the load with their peers, an in-class problem/scenario that depends on class prep to solve
-Use specific prompts such as RDQ (Resonate, Disagree, Question) or RSQC2 (Recall, Summarize, Question, Connect and Comment) or a 3-2-1 assignment (list 3 important aspects from the reading, 2 areas where they had confusion, and 1 question they would like to pose to the author)
-Muddiest point/minute paper
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