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Return to Table of Contents for More Strategies INTRODUCTION: I teach an online
section of our student success course and am always on the look out for ideas
that will make good discussion board topics. I use the discussion board as
a way to both introduce and also “dive deeper” into the weekly topic.
I look for prompts that will inspire students to exchange ideas and personal
perspectives. Coming up with prompts that will generate interest,
excitement and resulting discussion is a must! A little over a year ago, I read a great
story on the FYE listserv about a football coach who had inspired his team to
victory in a unique way: by using a special word. I immediately
pondered how I could adapt this story for use in my class. Since we were
about to tackle a unit on self-motivation, dreams and goals, it struck me that
this story would be perfect for the weekly discussion board. It seemed
like a fun way to arouse interest and introduce the concept of motivation.
I re-wrote the story and added a few facts I was able to gather on the web. DISCUSSION BOARD TOPIC: Here’s the
(supposedly) true story that I posted for my students’ responses: If you’re a college football trivia buff,
you know that the annual Rose Bowl competition started over 100 years ago, in
1902, when the In the year 1900, the As soon as the new coach arrived on campus,
he granted an interview to the local newspaper. During the interview, he
boldly claimed that his team would be undefeated the next season and the
combined scores of the opposing teams for the entire season would be 49
points or fewer. When they heard about his interview, the Then he marched to the blackboard and wrote
one word. He instructed the team that they could retrieve their uniforms
and play football only when they understood the meaning of that word. That year What was the word the coach wrote on the
blackboard? Please explain the reasons you think he chose this word to motivate
his players. To encourage creativity and originality, do not guess the same word
as another classmate who has already posted. EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES As a tool for introducing the concept of
motivation, I found this story very useful. The students were quick to respond
and were eagerly engaged in trying to guess the word Yost had used. They
supported and expanded on each other’s choice. After everyone had
posted, as a follow-up, I next asked them to post their personal dreams and talk
about what motivated them. This resulted in further discussion and a great deal
of support for each other’s goals. Here’s an example of the word one student
guessed: “I think the word is BELIEVE. By believing in yourself, you
have already won half the battle. In order to win, you need to believe. By
believing in yourself, others will believe in you also.” Later, in response to identifying dreams and goals, this same student wrote, “I have different levels of dreams. I dream of doing something meaningful with my life. Going on, day to day, at a 'job' that takes up the majority of your life is no way to live. I had a career I just absolutely loved, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to switch gears. But sometimes bad things happen for good reasons. Now I have the chance to follow another set of dreams. I have the opportunity to go to college and get my degree. I want this degree for me, not for anyone else. With my schooling I'll be able to have a meaningful career in nursing and I'll be able to help others in a way I wasn't able to do in my other career. With this career, I'll also be able to help my family. It is also my dream that my family will grow up close and full of love--not fall apart like so many others I've been seeing all too frequently. I try not to show my frustration with all the homework I have to do. I want my children to see school as a good thing, not something that gets in their way of having fun. I tell them everyday how much I like going to college and that someday they will get to go, too.” In this exercise, after all of my students
had an opportunity to post a word and their explanation, I posted the actual
word that Fielding Yost used to motivate his players. Did YOU guess it
yet? Take a minute and come up with a word! If you’re “at a loss
for words,” as I tell my students when they’re concerned about choosing the
“right” word, put yourself in the coach’s shoes and think of a word you
might use with your team. Or if you’ve been on any kind of team, what
keeps you engaged and motivated? Now do you have your word? Okay. Well, as the story goes, the
coach wrote the word “love” on the blackboard. Legend has it that, as
he explained it, you have to love the game, love your opponent (they challenge
you and make you better), love the hard work it takes to be successful and get
to your dreams, and love what you do. In the same vein, I encourage students to
love their studies, love the opportunity they have of going to college, and most
of all, love the challenging situations they are bound to find at college.
I tell them they are more likely to grow through experiences when they are
loving the challenge and looking for good outcomes. Furthermore, I suggest that even though
there’s one “right” answer regarding the word that Fielding Yost used with
his team, indeed there are no wrong answers in this exercise. I invite
them to reflect on the word they each chose in terms of what it says about them
and their own motivation. From my experience, people will usually choose a word
that is personally meaningful – one that is perhaps one of their own personal
goals or a means to their goal, or a key to their success. I remind my
students to hang onto their word when the going gets tough, and use their word
to inspire themselves to keep up the hard work and get to their dreams. As a way of introducing the topic of
motivation, generating discussion and engaging students, this approach worked
well! Their participation in the follow-up questions on dreams and goals
was more enthusiastic than I had seen previously, and the level of
self-reflection seemed enhanced. I believe you could also use this story
to generate discussion on commitment, collective vision, supportive
relationships (success teams), visualization, goal-setting and the use of
affirmations. My colleagues in face-to-face classes have
also adapted this exercise for use in their classes. One even made a list
of all the words her students guessed, to hand out at the end of the class as an
inspirational memento that they could post in a prominent place at home. As I mentioned above, the students
“loved” this activity! They chose such words as pride, integrity,
determination, dedication, loyalty, respect, believe, hope, faith, trust,
discipline, etc. By the way, not one of them has ever guessed love, but,
of course, it doesn’t matter – there’s really not just one right answer!
--Laurie Grimes, Counselor, Coordinator of College 101, Lorain County Community College (OH) lgrimes@lorainccc.edu * * * * * The ON COURSE NEWSLETTER publishes innovative strategies for helping students become active, responsible learners. To subscribe to this bi-weekly (monthly in the summer) e-newsletter, click here and send the resulting e-mail. No need to type anything. Our computer will automatically add your return address to the list of subscribers. You're always in charge of your subscription, with a subscribe/unsubscribe link in every newsletter. Have a best practice to share? Click here and request our publication guidelines.
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