INDUCTION FOR PART TIME LECTURERS (11)

CONITINUE FROM PREVIOUS BLOG /////////Example

Thabo is a third-year Engineering student. While he was previously successful in his studies, things have been deteriorating. Upon investigation, it comes to light that:

a) His parents have recently divorced.
b) According to his lecturer, his answers are too vague; important details are omitted.
c) A certain lecturer refuses to talk to him, because he is a “little good-for-nothing”.

Diagnosis

1-2 conflict within self (personal-social)
3-3 personal deficit (educational development)
3-7 environmental deficit (educational development).

Treatment objectives:

 Refer the student to the student councillor at the Regional Learning Centre to work through the conflict surrounding his parents’ divorce.
 Information on the importance of precise and accurate details in certain risk courses.
 An assignment in which a detailed contract must be drawn up.
 Discussing the student’s problems with the negatively minded lecturer.
 Lecturer consults a professional on communication between students and lecturers.

For the purpose of lecturer orientation the following examples of exercises can be discussed:

1.4.1 Exercise 1

Thandiwe was a very successful student, but in her third year her marks declined considerably. One of lecturers called her in, but she refused to talk to him and said that “nobody understands her”.

1.4.2 Exercise 2

For Mafisa, examinations are always a struggle. He becomes so anxious and tense that he literally falls ill and becomes totally confused during exams.

1.4.3 Exercise 3

Thabo would like to do his B. Tech in a particular subject. He is very interested in the subject and reads widely on it. But he has now grown depressed because he no longer feels able to work with the people in the department. Subsequently the lecturer must understand the following:

UNIT TWO: WHAT MOTIVATES DISTANCE STUDENTS TO ATTEND PART TIME LECTURES AND LEARN ?

1. Introduction

Learning theorists agree that motivation is a requirement for learning. The preceding qualification plan can be related to motivation. Motivation can, for instance, be influenced by personal-social, career and educational factors, and covers practically the entire field of human functioning.

2. Measuring instrument

The P.M.T. (performance motivation test) is a standardised psychometric questionnaire that measures a number of motivational aspects, namely (Cf. Human, 2000):

Cognitive structure - wants everything answered in detail
Aggression - tends to be aggressive
Scholastic achievement - strives for good results
Affiliation - enjoys being with friends
Perseverance - does not give up easily
Understanding - is interested in logical thought
Exhibition - likes to make an impression
Order - likes to create order
Achievement - tries to maintain high standards
Play - pursues enjoyable activities
Protection - likes helping others
Dominance - tries to control others
Impulsiveness - acts on the spur of the moment
Social recognition - seeks esteem and recognition
Support - would like to be supported
Avoidance of suffering - seeks to avoid pain
Self-humiliation - subject submissive
Sensory pleasure - enjoys sensory perception
Change - enjoys new experiences
Defence - quick to defend against criticism

It is clear that the motivational aspects – either individually or in combination – can have an influence on students’ learning and development. A student’s motivational problems can be reasonably diagnosed with the P.M.T. A student who, for example, achieves a high score in play, sensory pleasure and change may find academic obligations boring and will not be sufficiently dedicated. A student with high scores in cognitive structure and understanding will be more likely to apply deep-level learning than someone focused on scholastic achievement.


3. Implications for lecturing

3.1 Facilitating motivation

(a) Psychometric testing, counselling and guidance

To ensure retention and throughput, the CUT’s student councillors are conducting Academic Scholastic Apprehension Tests at the Regional Learning Centres. Also for selection to comply with the numbers that the DOE allows. The prospective student as well as the enrolled student must be helped to make a realistic career and course choice that coincides with his abilities, interests, values, needs and personality traits. Through a process of psychometric testing, feedback and results and a decision-making process, the student determines his career, academic and life goals and actions. Career planning guidance and counselling is provided by a registered psychologist, but the lecturer can contribute by providing information.

(b) Eliminating confusion

In the process of personality deployment, the student is often confused and plagued by emotional problems. Many students need personal counselling to help them eliminate confusion so that they are once again able to work according to clear goals and actions.

(c) The lecturer’s role

General hints for lecturers when it comes to motivating students:

 Know the student.

• Determine the student’s learning approach and style and adapt teaching accordingly.
• Determine each student’s faults and learning problems.
• Diagnostic tests can prove very useful.
• Build on students’ existing interests.

 Involve the student in decision making.

• Explain to students why the course is required.
• By means of examples, demonstrate how the course can have value for them and which career possibilities exist.
• Indicate why you yourself find the course interesting.
• Find out from students which topic holds the most
interest for them (but keep in mind that their judgement may be less sound).
• Include optional or alternative sections.
• Make provision for a variety of learning approaches. The learning cycle approach, for instance, may be followed. According to this approach, the discussion method, the lecture method and the self-discovery method can be used alternately.

 Exhibit a positive attitude towards students by doing the following:

 Be enthusiastic about your subject.
 Make it clear that you want to help your students to learn.
 Use humour.
 Try to improve students’ self-confidence and self-expectations.
 Be generous with praise, but not excessively so.
 Try not to use fear and threats about failure.
 Create curiosity and creativity by creating the opportunity for discovery and self-expression.

 Outcomes:

 Set clear learning outcomes in a concrete and behavioural format.
 Help students to set realistic goals.
 Failure to achieve unrealistic goals can result in disappointment and frustration.
 Speak to students about what is expected of them, and negotiate on this.

 Communicate effectively: Explain things clearly and to the point.
 Be available to help students individually.
 Create open communication channels. Try to understand what students are saying and check to make sure that you understood them correctly.
 Utilise students’ curiosity by asking them questions or allowing them to guess the outcome of an experiment.
 Make the lecture enjoyable, but do not turn it into a sideshow.

 Utilise your knowledge about motivation in the learning situation:

 Combine extrinsic and intrinsic motivational techniques.
 Give each student the opportunity to experience success.
 Use both competition and co-operation.
 Encourage students to give their personal best, without comparing them self with others.
 Try to improve students’ performance motivation by allowing them to determine their own goals, needs and motives. Provide information on performance motivation.
 Give public recognition to achievers, but don’t publicly identify underachievers.
 Encourage self-competitiveness: Emphasise progress and not the achievement of marks or results.
 Motivation should not be too intense, since this would be detrimental to performance. Use support rather than threats. Give specific, pointed, quick and direct feedback:

 Give informative feedback by keeping students informed about their progress.
 Give constructive criticism by, for example, writing appropriate comments on assignments.
 Use tests and grading continually and test what students have learned and not simply ready knowledge.
 Both positive and negative comments can stimulate, but positive comment is more effective.
 Negative feedback should never be given on its own. Positive feedback improves a student’s self-confidence.
 Give the rationale behind decisions that have been taken in respect of the allocation of marks. Never direct feedback to the individual personally – rather to the work assignment.
 Give recognition to honest attempts, even if the results are not very good.
 Help students to evaluate their own progress, criticise their own work and determine their own strong and weak points.
 Give feedback as soon as possible - return tests and assignments as soon as possible.

 Utilise lecturer-student interaction:

 Maintain sound relations with students so that they can have positive feelings towards you.
 Be active and lively in your class presentations.
 Encourage discussion hours and display understanding and encouragement.
 Vary your techniques: try different methods.
 Vary roles according to the learning cycle by, for instance, providing active guidance and sometimes reflective support.
 See to it that communication channels between you and each student remain open.
 Maintain a balance between too much guidance, which leads to opposition or blind adherence, and too little guidance and structure, which leads to frustration.
 Create a pleasant atmosphere free from factors that cause anxiety and stress.
 Be consistent in your behaviour towards students.
 Develop the ability to convince because your opinions are respected. Be a model of integrity, hard work, insight and originality for your students.
 Be fair but flexible, adaptable and tolerant.

 Utilise the benefits of self-discovery:

 Set penetrating and “open” questions.
 Apply the Gibbons principle: try to get the students themselves to first debate and consider the issue before offering them the learning material (Gibbons, 2000).
 Emphasise understanding and insight before facts.
 Create opportunities for the application of lateral thought in the classroom and during individual learning: this encourages new ideas (a one-hour session per week is sufficient).
(d) The part time lecturer’s personality.

The lecturer’s personality and conduct can be a powerful means of motivating students. In the student counselling profession, students often tell of how they are academically motivated by the personality dynamics of certain lecturers. Lecture orientation materials of the University Free State, (1999) emphasize that teaching is a communication process during which interpersonal communication takes place continuously.

The following aspects of communication are highlighted:

Listening - listen effectively to what the student is really
saying;
feedback - respond in depth to what the student is saying;
reflection - help students to understand what, why and
how;
paraphrasing - repeat to the student what has been said and
meant;
clarification - help students to understand more clearly;
decision making - lead students through the decision-making
process;
empathy - reflect an attitude of understanding;
confrontation - investigate circumstances openly and
honestly;
directivity - be direct without creating an impression of
domination;
tolerance - learn to handle stress and remain positive
despite pressure and circumstances and
trust - create an atmosphere of open communication
by means of a mutual sense of trust.

To be able to play the motivational role described above, and to be
capable of healthy interpersonal relations and communication, the lecturer
must herself/himself have a mature personality structure.

This involves the following:

Tolerance:

Self-awareness and self-knowledge: The lecturer is aware of his own personality development and the influence that this can have.

Responsibility:

The part time lecturer is as accountable to quality lecturing as a full time lecturer.

Emotional control:

Personal behaviour in conflicts and personality clashes.


Distance:

The lecturer is not over-involved in students’ problems.

Patience:

Accepting that mistakes will be made and setbacks will occur.

Flexibility:

Lecturers must be as open-hearted and flexible as possible.

Leadership:

The lecturer has effective leadership skills.

Role models:

The lecturer is a role model of creativity, enthusiasm and maturity.