Timothy M Dowd- Views on Teaching

Views on Teaching

I want my students to walk out of my class feeling that the material they are learning is essential to them and something worth spending time on. When it is possible, I will teach the content through how these students might actually be able to use it, as is done in a context-based couse like Chemistry in the Community or Salters Advanced Chemistry (please see my links page.)
In order to motivate my students to learn all concepts, I plan to show that I care about the content and that I think knowing it will help them meet other goals that they have. In other words, I will try and create the kind of "identified" extrinsic motivation that the motivation researchers Deci and Ryan have observed, and to focus students on goals that Martin Maehr (as explained by Professor Raymond Miller) would call "future utility" goals.