Center for Faculty Development and Innovation

Continuous Improvement Conference Afternoon Session:

Creating "I Don't Want to Miss a Moment of This!" Learning Environments

Sponsored by Faculty Development Council and the Office of the Provost

Dr. Christy Price

In this discouraging climate fraught with student apathy and disinterest, are there courses and professors who inspire students to attend and engage? The answer is YES! Obviously there are some influences beyond the professor’s control, but research in educational psychology suggests there are things professors can do to increase students’ willingness to attend class, their ability to maintain interest, and their desire to learn. As college professors, we are all experts in our content area. However, we may not be aware of the body of research within educational psychology that provides insights into motivating our students. During this presentation we will briefly review the literature regarding student motivation and share the findings of Dr. Price’s own research on this topic. Throughout the presentation, participants will be encouraged to reflect on their methods and the learning environments they create. Digitized video clips of student interviews will be utilized in order to convey practical steps we can take to increase student motivation, interest, and desire to learn in the courses we teach.

Learning Outcomes for Workshop Participants

Participants will:

1. describe the literature on motivating students.

2. assess the extent to which their courses and methods are aligned with the current research on motivating students.

3. reflect on how they might alter their methods in order to enhance student motivation.

About the presenter:

A professor in both the School of Liberal Arts and the School of Health Professions, and the founding Director of the Center for Academic Excellence at Dalton State College, Christy Price has been teaching at the collegiate level for 25 years. She is a nationally recognized authority on innovative teaching techniques to engage millennial learners and was chosen by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as the Outstanding U.S. Professor for 2012 in the Baccalaureate Colleges category. Dr. Price also won the 2010 Carnegie Foundation Outstanding Professor Award for the state of Georgia. She was honored by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition as an Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate for 2009. Dr. Price won the University System of Georgia Teaching Excellence Award in the Two & Four-Year College sector for 2008/2009 and the Excellence in Teaching Award at Dalton State in 2007. Dr. Price’s awards are, in part, a result of her use of innovative strategies in assisting students to achieve learning outcomes. Her dynamic and interactive style make Dr. Price a favorite as a professor and presenter. She regularly presents as a keynote speaker and has led faculty development workshops and retreats at over seventy institutions across the United States and abroad. As a recipient of an institutional foundation grant award, Dr. Price has studied teaching techniques that influence student motivation. Her most recent research focuses on engaging Millennial learners and preventing incivility in the classroom. She has served in various administrative roles leading campus-wide initiatives on the First Year Experience, Student Success, Retention & Completion, and Learning-Centered Course Redesign. Christy has completed post-doctoral work in educational psychology from Georgia State University. She holds a doctorate in community health from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, and a bachelor’s degree in social services from Northern Illinois University.