Motivating Students in the Classroom: Using MUSIC for Success - Essay Sample

Introduction

Motivation as a verb; is the act of coercing or encouraging someone to carry out a given task. In Academics, motivation is meant to encourage hard work and excellence. Motivation can be either in the intangible or tangible form, e.g., encouraging words, rewards, money, or even in some cases, threats or punishment. The paper aims to describe scenarios in the classroom that entail three examples from the motivation acronym; MUSIC (Empowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, Caring). The focus will be on 3 of the remainder.

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Usefulness

Do the scholars understand the relevance of the studies to their careers?? Do they see it's applicability in the real world?? Picture communication skills lecturer walking into a class of 10 students. Let us call him Dr Smith. He greets them and says, 'Pop Quiz!' then writes some questions on the board. They read, 'Suggest the most valuable skill for an entrepreneur?? Why?? What are the key elements of developing the skill?? 'In 45 minutes, you should be done,' he says then leaves the room quietly.

The lecturer is trying to see what students individually consider to be the most important skill to them. Notice that the question is a kind that would elicit at least 23 or 24 out of 30 different responses. Assuming at least 7 or 6 students will have similar answers. The lecturer has noted three students that are most active in class. Let's name them, Sheila, Elvis, and Ian. Sheila thinks, 'It has to be communication, I mean we are in a communication class??,' then starts writing.

Ian thinks, 'It is time management, time is money, and the lecturer told us to think beyond the four walls of class,' then he starts scribbling down something. Elvis thinks the skill is about staying knowledgeable and informed because he heard a successful entrepreneur say, 'The real risk is in your ignorance.' He immediately starts writing something down. Thirty minutes have passed, and all 30 are busy scribbling something down. Some are scratching their heads while others are confidently writing down their responses.

The mention of entrepreneurs makes the students think of the outside world and what skills will help them become successful professionals. In his office later that day, Dr Smith plans the way forward after marking the quizzes. The plan is to meet the students one by one and discuss personal goals that match their responses. Why they chose one, not another, what field they want to specialize in, and if it matches with their mindsets and talents.

Success

'Success rarely happens on a 9 to 5 schedule' was Dr Smith's favourite quote, which left an impression of going the extra mile. His class of 30 would do well when it came to assignments. Thus the students knew what he expected of them. To keep their minds sharp, he would use pop quizzes, detective puzzles, and all sorts of tools that would make them all-round students. His style of delivery was different. He let the students know of their level of performance, whether it was satisfactory or needed improvement.

'Sheila, Ian, and Elvis! , see me after this,' Dr Smith said one evening after a class. He sat down with them under a tree to chat. 'I have noticed that your participation in class and performance has gone down, what could be the issue?? ,' asked a concerned Dr Smith with searching eyes. They responded, and it turned out, Sheila and Ian found it a hard time concentrating due to school fees issues. Elvis said he felt intimidated by Sheila's wide knowledge of what Dr Smith would ask. He saw her as an academic opponent.

'My door is open to discuss any issues, it does not matter how 'small' you may think it is, Sheila and Ian, fee issues should not affect your academics, the school caters for that through bursaries so that you won't miss an exam,' Dr Smith said with a tinge of hope in his voice. 'As for you, Elvis, see the challenge as an opportunity to learn from Sheila, you have something to learn from everyone.' Elvis shook his head in agreement.

Dr Smith is trying to create rapport with his students by being observant of changes in both personal and academic life. By presenting the students with achievable goals and communicating with them, the students feel less anxious to be open with him. He also gently reminds them that they are not in competition rather on a journey to learn from each other. He also acknowledges learning from his students. By no surprise, a marked improvement would later be seen in the next classes.

Interest

Dr Smith works hard and smart to check on the interest level of his students in the course content. He asks students to do individual presentations to see whether they had a genuine interest. Students with higher scores had a higher interest. He would try to make the class lively, short, and to the point. Anecdotes of how communication has been a determinant of success made the students look forward to Dr Smith's class more than any other.

He would have chats with his students on contemporary issues like; why the two genders communicate differently or how conflict resolution is intertwined with communication skills. Then, suddenly, he would ask the students to write an essay on what they discussed and submit later, a trend that piqued the interest level of the students keeping them excited about what might be assigned next. Of course, not all of them but most learned to have an appreciation for the course and the tutor.