Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations

Steven B. Oppenheimer

doi:doi:10.11648/j.her.20190402.14

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Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations

Steven B. Oppenheimer

Published in Higher Education Research (Volume 4, Issue 2)

Received: 12 May 2019 Accepted: 15 June 2019 Published: 26 June 2019

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Abstract

The career outcomes of hundreds of college students, mostly biology majors, mentored by U.S. Presidential Awardee (PAESMEM) Steven Oppenheimer, over a 47 year period, at California State University, Northridge, were tracked and recorded. The motivational strategies that putatively helped lead to these career outcomes were gleaned from 20 years of anonymous student evaluations. In addition, evidence is presented that the motivational strategies, in some cases, were a likely cause of student career success and not just correlated with it. The student evaluations suggest that boundless energy, enthusiasm, clarity and organization keep students excited and engaged, helping to motivate them to succeed. Motivation at the pre-college level is also discussed, as by the time students enter college their career choices are often already made. These programs helped win a U.S. Presidential Award, the highest U.S. Award for student mentoring.

Published in	Higher Education Research (Volume 4, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.her.20190402.14
Page(s)	42-45
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Motivational Strategies, US. Presidential Award, 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations

References

[1]	Herstein, O., 2016, Steven Oppenheimer, CSUN Magazine, no. 67, p. 20, Fall 2016.
[2]	NSF Proposal 0731633, March 6, 2007, Individual-Steven Oppenheimer Mentor, Researcher, Teacher.
[3]	National Science Foundation Excellence Awards in Science and Engineering Program: Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (EASE: PAESMEM). Solicitation 16-534. 2019. The U.S. Presidential Award is the highest U.S. Award for student mentoring in science (https://paesmem.net).
[4]	OSTP and NSF to honor 140 individuals and organizations with highest US award for teachers and mentors. News Release 18-043, June 25, 2018.
[5]	Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, NSF Home Page, 2019.
[6]	NSF Proposal 07316333, March 6, 2007, Individual-Steven Oppenheimer Mentor, Researcher, Teacher.
[7]	Oppenheimer, S. B., 2015, Undergraduate Research in Action, Nature 519, p. 158, March 12, 2015.
[8]	Camacho, N. L., 2018, ER Doctor’s Gift Honors Biology Professor for Changing the Trajectory of Her Life, CSUN Magazine, May 30, 2018 and CSUN Weekly vol. 5, Ed. 42, June 12, 2018.
[9]	Strang, T., 2015, What Keeps College Students Motivated?, Engagement and Motivation, Student Engagement, www.Cengage.com., Jan 14, 2015.
[10]	http://scholarworks.csun.edu/handle/10211.3/125029 This collection contains volumes I - XXIII of The New Journal of Student Research Abstracts. Published in conjunction with CSUN and several publishing partners, and edited by CSUN biology faculty member Steven Oppenheimer, the journal contains abstracts of K-12 student science experiments. 23 volumes (1995-2018).
[11]	Lewis, T., 2018, Oviatt Library Hosts Fourth Annual Open Access Symposium, https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/…oviatt-library-hosts-fourth-annual-open-access-sym…Jan 24, 2018.

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APA Style

Steven B. Oppenheimer. (2019). Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations. Higher Education Research, 4(2), 42-45. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20190402.14

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ACS Style

Steven B. Oppenheimer. Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations. High. Educ. Res. 2019, 4(2), 42-45. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20190402.14

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AMA Style

Steven B. Oppenheimer. Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations. High Educ Res. 2019;4(2):42-45. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20190402.14

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@article{10.11648/j.her.20190402.14,
  author = {Steven B. Oppenheimer},
  title = {Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations},
  journal = {Higher Education Research},
  volume = {4},
  number = {2},
  pages = {42-45},
  doi = {10.11648/j.her.20190402.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20190402.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.her.20190402.14},
  abstract = {The career outcomes of hundreds of college students, mostly biology majors, mentored by U.S. Presidential Awardee (PAESMEM) Steven Oppenheimer, over a 47 year period, at California State University, Northridge, were tracked and recorded. The motivational strategies that putatively helped lead to these career outcomes were gleaned from 20 years of anonymous student evaluations. In addition, evidence is presented that the motivational strategies, in some cases, were a likely cause of student career success and not just correlated with it. The student evaluations suggest that boundless energy, enthusiasm, clarity and organization keep students excited and engaged, helping to motivate them to succeed. Motivation at the pre-college level is also discussed, as by the time students enter college their career choices are often already made. These programs helped win a U.S. Presidential Award, the highest U.S. Award for student mentoring.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations
AU  - Steven B. Oppenheimer
Y1  - 2019/06/26
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20190402.14
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Author Information

Steven B. Oppenheimer

Department of Biology and Center for Cancer and Developmental Biology, California State University, Northridge, U.S.A

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APA Style

Steven B. Oppenheimer. (2019). Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations. Higher Education Research, 4(2), 42-45. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20190402.14

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ACS Style

Steven B. Oppenheimer. Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations. High. Educ. Res. 2019, 4(2), 42-45. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20190402.14

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AMA Style

Steven B. Oppenheimer. Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations. High Educ Res. 2019;4(2):42-45. doi: 10.11648/j.her.20190402.14

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@article{10.11648/j.her.20190402.14,
  author = {Steven B. Oppenheimer},
  title = {Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations},
  journal = {Higher Education Research},
  volume = {4},
  number = {2},
  pages = {42-45},
  doi = {10.11648/j.her.20190402.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20190402.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.her.20190402.14},
  abstract = {The career outcomes of hundreds of college students, mostly biology majors, mentored by U.S. Presidential Awardee (PAESMEM) Steven Oppenheimer, over a 47 year period, at California State University, Northridge, were tracked and recorded. The motivational strategies that putatively helped lead to these career outcomes were gleaned from 20 years of anonymous student evaluations. In addition, evidence is presented that the motivational strategies, in some cases, were a likely cause of student career success and not just correlated with it. The student evaluations suggest that boundless energy, enthusiasm, clarity and organization keep students excited and engaged, helping to motivate them to succeed. Motivation at the pre-college level is also discussed, as by the time students enter college their career choices are often already made. These programs helped win a U.S. Presidential Award, the highest U.S. Award for student mentoring.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Motivating College Students: Evidence from 20 Years of Anonymous Student Evaluations
AU  - Steven B. Oppenheimer
Y1  - 2019/06/26
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20190402.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.her.20190402.14
T2  - Higher Education Research
JF  - Higher Education Research
JO  - Higher Education Research
SP  - 42
EP  - 45
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-935X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.her.20190402.14
AB  - The career outcomes of hundreds of college students, mostly biology majors, mentored by U.S. Presidential Awardee (PAESMEM) Steven Oppenheimer, over a 47 year period, at California State University, Northridge, were tracked and recorded. The motivational strategies that putatively helped lead to these career outcomes were gleaned from 20 years of anonymous student evaluations. In addition, evidence is presented that the motivational strategies, in some cases, were a likely cause of student career success and not just correlated with it. The student evaluations suggest that boundless energy, enthusiasm, clarity and organization keep students excited and engaged, helping to motivate them to succeed. Motivation at the pre-college level is also discussed, as by the time students enter college their career choices are often already made. These programs helped win a U.S. Presidential Award, the highest U.S. Award for student mentoring.
VL  - 4
IS  - 2
ER  -

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