ERIC Number: EJ1131742
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Feb-6
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1938-5978
EISSN: N/A
Increase Student Motivation with More Choices
Dennis, Sophie Lampard
New England Journal of Higher Education, Feb 2017
When students are offered choices within assignments it increases buy-in and, therefore, motivation toward the task--and ultimately for the class itself. As a professor in an academic setting in which many millennials seem to be suffering from a persistent lack of motivation, it was a no-brainer for the author to consider creating a way to offer students some degree of choice within her curriculum to support a more positive attitude toward assigned work. As one who teaches primarily first-year-seminar classes at Landmark College where all students have a diagnosed learning disability (LD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or other learning difference, and who are therefore considered at-risk as new college students, "motivation"--especially among the ADHD population--can practically be considered a dirty word. This article discusses how the author redesigned her course and reading assignments in a way that led students to embrace the idea of choice and increased class engagement and assignment completion.
Descriptors: Student Motivation, Selection, College Students, Learner Engagement, Reading Assignments, College Instruction, Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders
New England Board of Higher Education. 45 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111. Tel: 617-357-9620; Fax: 617-338-1577; e-mail: info@nebhe.org; Web site: http://www.nebhe.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Vermont
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A