Motives CAN eat!

Next week Impromptus speeches start and for the very first time my students are... not freaking out. Last semester my students experienced multiple panic attacks, within themselves and then with each other. It was extremely difficult for me to calm the students last semester, for I didn't even know how to properly prepare them. I mean we received some training on how students should organize their impromptu speeches and how to grade them, but not really on how we can prepare students for them. The only experience I have had with impromptu speeches is when I attended community college; I would sit there and watch the debaters go head-to-head, but never partook in the activity. I personally feel that impromptu speeches are the worst! So how do I sit there and tell my students what is required of them if I wouldn't ever do the assignment myself. Worse, how do I tell my students how to do an assignment if I personally do not know how I'd mentally prepare myself. So my students last semester had no motivation to do the assignment and no interest to see the value of it. I fed them panic instead of motive.

Not this Semester! I am happy to say that I have prepped my students to do the impossible just by providing my students with material, instruction, and positivity so that they have a sense of competence through the experiences and learning situations last week(Barkley, 2010). I was motivated to get my students motivated and in a state of confidence. How you ask? First, I stressed the purpose of the assignment, gave them a valid reason to engage in such activity (Barkley, 2010). This added interest value, making students a lot more engaged and motivated. I then, gave them examples of what an impromptu speech should look like by doing two of them myself(different topics), I let them even pick the topics. Students are more likely to enjoy something if you enjoy it. I'm not saying that I enjoy impromptu but I made it look enjoyable, and my students loved it! Third, I told them how I felt in the moment of doing the example speeches. I told them that I too have speech anxiety and how nervous I was but when I have fun with it nerves went away. Letting students know how human you are is one of the most effective teaching strategies I know. Telling them how you feel and doing the activity yourself reassures students that it is doable and everything will be okay. It shows that you care. It shows that you support them. It shows them that they CAN. After showing my students how human I am, I show students how to meticulously break the assignment down so that they know exactly what is expected. In this process students are broken up into groups and they workshop and practice example speeches. After student workshops I ask for volunteers to show examples in front of the class. After example speeches have been given I open the floor to respectful and constructive feedback from their peers and myself.  The final step is complimenting and giving them words of encouragement and wisdom. This creates a safe and fun learning environment where the students feel confident to tackle one of the hardest speeches known to mankind. Now, students are excited for speeches and so am I! And all it took was for me to feed them motive, and they ate. (Motive-ate)

#Thosewhocan