What's Your Horse: Motivating College Students

Authors

  • Peter G. Beidler Lehigh University Author
  • Gretchen M. Beidler University of Virginia Author

Abstract

A college professor and his daughter (an undergraduate senior when they worked on this article) discuss what they have learned about motivating young people to learn. After relating their experiences with Gretchen's desire for a horse of her own, they discuss, from the points of view of a professor and an undergraduate student, six concepts that teachers can apply to motivate their students to want to learn their subjects: giving students choices, placing course material in context, arousing students' curiosity, being enthusiastic, giving students a sense of control, and getting to know students personally. A slightly different version was presented as the preconference address at the 12th Annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, on November 20, 1992.

Published

2024-03-22