Open individual class or learning sessions (and even readings) by eliciting student emotions: give them something to wonder about, tell them a story, present them with a shocking fact or statistic. Capture their attention and prepare their brains for learning. Consider how practitioners in your field, or the skills you are teaching them, help make a positive difference in the world; remind them continually, from the opening of the course, about the possibility that their learning can do the same. Keep the overarching purpose of any class period or learning activity in view while students are
...more