The next chapter in line, “Motivating Students and Faculty”, Eble discusses the topic of motivating students (and faculty!). For starters, he places a great emphasis on the interactions between student and teacher, the importance of the professor’s presence, and the thoughtful consideration of the effects of grades and tests. All of these form basic means of creating motivation for students. Motivation, as defined by Eble, can be perceived as being either intrinsic or extrinsic. The former, “coming from within, is generally accorded greater worth; the latter recognizes how much we are driven by outside forces.” Beyond that, he counsels from the outset that “a teacher needs to take advantage of such extrinsic motivations as exist and hope to provide an atmosphere in which, as time goes along, intrinsic motivation becomes more important.” In such a way, both forms of motivation are at work.

There are a multitude of forces that may put a student in one college over another, many of which may sometimes furnish a great deal of motivation from learning. One the student arrives, as Eble describes, “motivation waxes and wanes as do love affairs and often in concert with them. Without advocating a counselor’s relationship with every student, I think a teacher sensitive to these and related matters is likely to have some success in motivating students.” This brings us back to earlier chapters whence Eble discusses counseling students. All of this aside, by breaking away from the standard model of emphasis on individual achievement and concentration upon realizing the full potential of cooperative learning in which the motivation may come from both the individual learning and the group which learns around him. As icing on the cake, Eble writes that “among education’s highest aspirations is the development of the self-motivating and continuing learner.”

Oftentimes, the motivation for the student comes directly from the professor. This interest preceding motivation often brings with it the enthusiasm, the energy, and the commitment that motivates the teacher. Eble points to five key areas in which a professor may encourage such motivation. First, the professor should make goals and objectives clear and attractive. Second, one must set achievable goals at definite stages of the term. Third, he may increase the possibilities for cooperation among students. Lastly, throughout the term he who professes may be sensitive to the rhythms of the course – the ups and downs in group and individual performance.

Of course, there are many other forms of motivation that may be used and found within the classroom. Curiosity, as Eble points out, is certainly a strong source of motivation. But what we must learn here, as educators, is that in order to motivate our students, we must be able to motivate ourselves. How are the students supposed to be motivated when their instructors aren’t? As Eble closes, “motivating students is closely related to motivating ourselves. The attitude that may damn teachers most in students’ eyes is that of not seeming to care.”