Ten Principles of Effective Teaching and Practical Examples for the Classroom and Blackboard

"Enhance Motivation to Learn"

"Motivation to learn is alterable; it can be positively or negatively affected by the task, the environment, the teacher, and the learner" (Angelo, 1993, p. 8).

Examples of Blackboard use
1. Post intriguing questions on the Discussion Board.
2. Consider creating a scavenger hunt within the Assignments area.
3. Have students share news articles related to the course topics.
4. Have students develop materials specific to their major.
5. Include students in the decision of what Discussion Board forums to create. Consider establishing a Discussion Board policy.
6. Use realistic cases.
7. Use pre-tests to demonstrate to students any gap of knowledge.

General best practices of enhancing motivation to learn from current educational models
1. Engage students by having them diagnose their learning needs, formulate their learning goals, identify resources for learning, choose learning strategies and evaluate outcomes (Drummond, 2002, p. 8). "People tend to feel committed to any decision in proportion to the extent to which they have participated in making it….Leaders can optimize learner's readiness and willingness by offering an invitation to step into the learning process and take responsibility for their own learning" (p. 8).
2. Motivate your students by conveying the value of what you're teaching; make them believe that learning it will help them achieve other important goals; help them believe that they are capable of learning it; and show them that you expect that they will succeed (Angelo, 1993, p. 8).
3. "Give students lots of specific examples of the value and usefulness of what they're learning and help them make connections between short-term course goals and their own long-term goals. Use simple, anonymous surveys to gauge students' expectations, beliefs, and self-confidence levels, then respond to that information with specific examples, suggestions and whenever possible, realistic encouragement" (Angelo, 1993, p. 8).