In a perfect world, all students would attend college because they have a strong desire to learn. Unfortunately, we don’t live in this perfect world. Students are attending college for a variety of reasons – everything from hoping to move up within the organization where they currently work to simply wanting to receive financial aid. All students have different reasons and motivations for attending college, and unfortunately, love of learning isn’t always one of those reasons.
Within the online classroom, one of the biggest challenges that online instructors face is motivating students. There are some students who want to learn the material and that is motivation enough. However, most students need to be motivated extrinsically. In a traditional classroom, this is usually easy as the instructor is present and attune to the student’s needs. However, in an online classroom, if an assignment or activity does not receive a grade, many students will not complete it, even if they are strongly encouraged to do so in order to grasp the lesson concepts.
While there is much buzz regarding grades and their importance, without grades in an online classroom there would be a whole host of different issues. Within a traditional classroom, instructors can typically assess whether a student is grasping key concepts without having to utilize a grade. However, in the online classroom, this is much more difficult and the graded assignments are what are utilized to assess if students are learning the material.
Therefore, it is quite important for online instructors to be selective regarding the type of assignments they will require and to analyze whether optional assignments are necessary. If an assignment will benefit the student and help them to meet the course outcomes, it should most likely be included in the their overall grade.
Depending on the type of online course one is teaching, there is also room to have students work together and collaborate on assignments. Establishing this working relationship between students can be problematic, and like in a traditional classroom, sometimes the work can fall on the shoulders of one individual. Structuring group work online requires more forethought and planning than it would in a traditional classroom.
Some online schools have discussion boards but do not require posting or grade postings. Honestly, I think this defeats the purpose. Most students involved in online education have very busy lives – jobs, families, etc. If a discussion is not required, they are not going to spend the time completing it, even if it would help them to understand and analyze the material.
The motivational dynamics of the online classroom are quite different than those in a traditional classroom. At this point, online motivation seems to be more driven by grades than a traditional classroom would require – however, as online learning continues to expand and change (which is occurring rapidly) I am sure that new technics and ideas will be implemented to encourage student motivation.
How do you encourage student motivation in your online classroom?
About the Author
Jamie Weitl is a WAHM teaching for several online universities and raising three precocious little ones. In her spare time she enjoys writing, baking, and running. For more info, see my Google Plus Profile.
