Why Does This Course Matter?
Students want to understand why each class they take is important and how it can make a difference in their lives. How does the course relate to the big questions of life? How does it help them make sense of the world? Will it give them tools to succeed and make a difference in their families or as employees and community members? When they see the purpose of what they are learning, it motivates them to learn.
A Faculty Perspective
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A Student Perspective
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What others are saying about this question
Kevin Kelly
Communications |
[I want] students to know that "Maybe there’s a chance somewhere in your life where you’re going to take what you learn here and you’re going to give back to the church. Maybe just in your ward or maybe somewhere else, but hopefully you’re going to take your gifts, your talents, the things you’re given, and you’re going to be able to give them back." And I hope I’m an example of that for them and they can say, “‘I’m going to go out and do something, but maybe I’ll come back and be able to really apply these things someday to help build the Kingdom."
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A Student
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I think that if a professor could, at the beginning of the semester, hand out the syllabus and say, "Guess what? Brigham Young said that a firm, unchangeable course of righteousness through life is what secures to a person true intelligence. So whatever you learn in my class will be worth nothing if you don’t build character along with it. And here’s how I hope you will build character in my class. And I will try my best to help you build character in these ways." ... I think that just even the professor making me aware of it and explaining how that applies to his or her class would, for me at least, go a long way.
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