Desire to Achieve: Motivation to Learn

By Kris Woodside
College of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
January, 2011

Upon going over the syllabus in class today, I feel much more confident about this course. When I read the syllabus on my own, I could not help but feel overwhelmed; talking out the course content with the professor and my classmates really helped solidify ideas for me and make everything seem a bit more obtainable.

I still feel (rightfully so, I believe) that this course will be a lot of work and require many resources: time, energy, patience, organization, perseverance, etc. However, that’s not a bad thing at all. The focus of the course is to build up towards a concise, dense research paper to be presented at the CESTL conference, and I think that’s a fantastic goal. It’s a wonderful experience, looks fantastic on a resume, and is a very practical, real-world goal. As such, despite my extreme trepidation and anxiety about presenting my personal research in front of hundreds of people, I’m actually incredibly excited about this opportunity. I think it will be an event that will prepare me well for my job as a teacher, and I have great respect for a class that actually attempts to prepare me, rather then lecture at me.

In short, I’m excited about this course, and I am very determined to succeed. I am typically a straight-A student, and I expect to push myself to receive an A in this course as well. I want this A not just for my transcript, but also because getting an A will mean that I have accomplished the practical goals set out for me and will perform well at the CESTL conference, which is truly a triumph that will help me out in the field when I’m a teacher.