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Students’ Knowledge of Instructors and its Impact on Student Motivation

Abstract

In trying to connect with students both inside and outside of the classroom, instructors often tell personal stories or share past experiences of their time in industry. This is especially common in the construction technology classroom because instructors are typically required to have significant construction experience. This article describes a research study which examines whether or not this information has any effect on students’ motivation in the classroom as well as what information may be inappropriate for the instructor to share with their students. The study surveyed construction management students and faculty within the construction management department of a Midwestern University. Both faculty and students answered questions based on a 5-point Likert scale to determine whether they agreed or disagreed with different factors that may affect a student’s motivation within the classroom. The faculty survey results were compared to the student survey results to ascertain any difference in perceptions. Overall few significant differences were found between faculty and students. The results were also compared across grade levels to determine differences in motivation depending on a student’s year in school. Here, trends were found that showed upperclassmen were more likely to understand the significance of an instructor’s impact on student motivation and in turn find informal interaction more motivating.

Introduction

Studies have been conducted on student motivation and its relation to instructional practices at the university level and are discussed in the next section. This study focuses on informal interaction between students and faculty both inside and outside of the classroom. An example of informal interaction inside the classroom could be an instructor sharing a personal story about themselves. Outside informal interaction would be any interaction between a student and instructor out of the classroom that does not relate to the course.

Instructors in construction technology typically rely on personal stories or past work experiences to relate to students, get their message across, and hopefully motivate students within the classroom. In addition many instructors socialize with students outside of the classroom either in student organization activities or in other settings unrelated to the classroom. The purpose of this study was to verify that these informal interactions do have a positive impact on student motivation and to see if any of the information shared with the students may be de-motivating or inappropriate for the classroom.

Both faculty and students of an entire construction management department at a Midwestern University were surveyed to ascertain any differences in perception of how much influence an instructor has on student motivation as well as any difference in student perceptions between different grade levels. While studies have been done on student motivation, few if any are done that compare different grade levels or that look at the instructors’ perspectives. By understanding differences between instructors and students as well as between grade levels, instructors should

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Lower, J., & Shaurette, M. (2010, June), Students’ Knowledge Of Instructors And Its Influence On Student Motivation Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16700