Authors - WGs - WG 1: Motivating All Our Students?

Working Group 1: Motivating All Our Students?

Working Group Leader

This Working Group is led by Janet Carter from the University of Kent at Canterbury (UK). The full contact information for her is included in the Working Group proposal attached below.

Brief Summary

The working group proposal outlined here is a research study which addresses the course related area of classroom management.

The aim of this working group is to continue previous work which explores the ways in which academics around the world enthuse their high achieving students, and to create a repository of effective ideas. This includes determining the scope and usage of differentiated teaching techniques in educational institutions worldwide; the educational soundness of the techniques used, and the impact of these techniques on areas including student achievement, plagiarism, and staff workloads.

The major stages involved in addressing the aims of the proposal are outlined here. We need to detail what is actually current practice, locate it within educational theory, and create a dissemination mechanism. We will base our work around the themes that emerged from the 2010 survey:

  • Streamed teaching
  • Meeting student expectations
  • Research experiences
  • Maximizing individual potential
  • Interdisciplinary connections

It is important to be conscious of the fact that the evidence we will gather is the product of individual or institutional compromises which must balance workload represented by staff student ratios and individual teaching commitments.

The major output will be a repository of, and guidelines for the use of, materials to stretch and motivate the students who find the work easy, whilst not demotivating those who struggle with basic concepts.

Appropriate links to currently available materials and sources will be provided. Visitors to the website will be encouraged to suggest examples of good or bad practice that they have encountered within the classroom to add to the current body of knowledge. It is envisaged that the website will eventually become a first port of call for any CS academic wishing to improve, alter or adopt practices aimed at motivating the top students.

The analysis of the interview data, along with the principles suggested for good practice, and a rationale for the repository and its particular format will be presented within the working group report that will be produced at the conference. The report will also contain discussion of the emergent issues to consider, such as verification of student ability levels..

Please also see the full Working Group proposal that describes the activities to be done before and during the conference, attached below!

How to join this Working Group

This Working group is led by Janet Carter. To apply for membership - possible until April 2, 2011 -, please send an email to Janet Carter no later than April 2, 2011. Early application is encouraged.

Your email message should include the following information:

  • Your name, email address, telephone number and postal address
  • Any special requirements you have, for example accessibility, mobility, dietary etc, which we need to know about before and/or during the conference
  • In a few sentences, state why you are interested in participating in the particular working group
  • In a few sentences, describe the specific expertise in the area you bring to the working group. This should include background and prior contributions to the topic of the group
  • If possible, include a short bibliography of your prior work in the area

The working group leader will select, in consultation with the working group coordinators, group members based the perceived level of potential contribution they can make to the success of the working group.

© Dr. Guido Roessling 2018