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Article Excerpt
MOTIVATING STUDENTS to see the value in our assignments is a continuing problem for business communication instructors. In spite of our best efforts, many students simply go through the motions of completing the assignments for a grade, with no real enthusiasm for the work they are asked to carry out.
When student commitment differs from what we expect, we often attribute it to factors beyond our control. For example, we reason that college students take a number of other courses and have personal concerns that often influence their behavior. Many of today's students work and have families; therefore, college is only one of the many aspects of their lives. Despite these factors, students must still combine aptitude and motivation to be successful in their college work. After briefly reviewing some literature on motivating students, this article describes a career-interest assignment that has accomplished that goal.
Engaging Students in their Coursework
Studies of students' academic engagement and achievement in college have shown that students' learning and personal development are directly related to the quantity and quality of their physical and psychological involvement in their work (Tuckman, 1990; Tuckman & Sexton, 1990, 1991, 1992; Astin, 1999). Tuckman (1998) found that low achieving college students spent too little time and effort committing the information they were learning to long-term memory. What he also discovered was that the students lacked drive and motivation but not intellect or skill (Tuckman, 1998).
Pintrich and Schrauben (1992) reviewed a significant body of research that suggests that (1) the value of an outcome to the student affects that student's motivation, and (2) motivation leads to cognitive engagement, such engagement manifesting itself in the use or application of various learning strategies.
Other studies (e.g., Rotter, 1954; Rotter, Phares & Chance, 1972; Overmier &...
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