Wednesday 16 October 2013

Professional artifact - another possibility

http://www.brightknowledge.org/knowledge-bank/study-support/motivation-and-time-management/learn-to-motivate-yourself

The link above shows a page from the Bright Knowledge website, which is powered by Brightside.com. It gives 5 tips for students to help finding their own motivation to study.

I like the 'friendly' look of the page and the non-technical language used, which makes it feel more accessible to all. The little pictures create a more easy-on-the-eye format, rather than just text, text, text, and I thought the way the information was broken down and kept to-the-point made it quick and easy to browse and I wasn't put off by the amount of reading I was expected to do.
The related links at the end also seemed to be a really good way to find out more without cramming too much on the page.

After my initial reading of the page, I did the following:
  1. Changed the title, in my mind, to 'Learn to motivate your students,'
  2. Started to re-word the opening statement - So, you're looking at your class of teenagers, but no matter how hard you try you just can't seem to find a way to get them motivated...,
  3. then carried on - so you find some students can be motivated more readily than others, whilst some students seem permanently disengaged. If this is you, then you need to find out what motivates them...,
  4. I then began to see how tips for teachers could be listed as suggestions under, perhaps, motivational concepts or theory.
  5. Finally, I thought of including as a final tip 'Talk to your students, after all they are the best informed when it comes to what they need in order to feel more motivated.'
Again, early days yet but ideas for my professional artifact seems to be popping up at me from all different directions at the moment.

Any thoughts? They'd be helpful, particularly if you are teaching dance to adolescents, as your opinion will really help me shape my artifact to fit my potential audience.

S

2 comments:

  1. Sarah like the idea - your webs tie model is one that speaks to your - how will you make this appeal to dance teachers visually - motivation is a goal - tips are good - will this be a one time thing? or linked to other teaching sites you have?

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    Replies
    1. Paula,
      Since my post I've realised that although I want to produce 'a thing' I also want that 'thing' to be ongoing so have been thinking about creating a website that also has a forum so that teachers can look at the information on the website, if they wish, but also start discussions on the forum and share tips/ problems.
      I don't like the idea of a 'here's what I think, that's it' artifact as there is so much to be gained from sharing and discussing with other professionals - I know from experience how isolated you can feel as a dance teacher, even when surrounded by other people!

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