More than 60 faculty turned out, Thursday, for the first Instructional Development Center (IDC) luncheon of the year to find out from nationally-recognized educator and author Dr. Robert Sherfield how to motivate and retain more students.Sherfield began his presentation by telling one student?s story of poor high school grades, college remediation and near failure in college before becoming motivated to succeed. The story, it turned out, was his own.
Sherfield said he was put on the right path by taking a class similar to UCA?s university studies course. ?University studies changed the course of my life,? he said.
After completing a remediation program, similar to UCA?s University College, he enrolled at Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina on a probationary basis.
Sherfield continued to work at a cotton mill full-time and allowed his studies to slack until his academic advisor called him into her office and said he should stop wasting his time and money on college and focus on his work at the cotton mill. ?I?m not sure, to this day, if she meant what she said or if it was some sort of reverse psychology, but what she said lit a fire in me. I had never felt that way before,? he said.
Sherfield found the motivation he needed to succeed and eventually earned five college degrees. Today, he is a professor at the Community College of Southern Nevada, author of 13 books and a recipient of three educator of the year awards.
Sherfield told faculty that they can make a difference in a student?s success. ?We have a different culture at universities then what our students are used to and it?s up to us to explain those differences to them,? he said.
Sherfield also pointed out that today?s students are from a new generation with a different set of needs. ?We must relate our assignments to people?s needs,? he said. ?We must explain to our students why they have to read a chapter of a book or why they must do a certain assignment and relate it to their life.?
One of Sherfield?s books was customized to UCA for use in the University College university studies course. The book is organized so that issues of self-esteem, motivation and goal setting come before lessons on time management and study skills. ?You have to get them ready to learn first,? Sherfield told the audience.
Some tips for motivating students include: acting like class is important; relating class materials to life and work; varying teaching methods; doing class exercises with them; recognizing students? accomplishments; listening to student and showing them gratitude.
?Maybe we don?t have the ability to change the entire world, but you and I and our students have the ability to change the world around us,? he said.
