Love is the greatest motivator for learning, that there is. We're biologically hard-wired to make it so. When we are newborn and helpless, our parents...the people who (hopefully!) love us most in the whole wide world, are our first teachers.
Incredible amounts of learning take place in early childhood. A baby dropping the spoon over and over from the edge of the high chair is learning about gravity. Does it work EVERY time? It DOES!!!!
A crawling toddler who puts everything in their mouth is learning about how the world feels, smells, and tastes.
(Have you ever asked yourself if you somehow "know" how rubber tastes? How metal tastes? How the sidewalk tastes? I think most of us DO know how those things taste, and I shudder to think how we learned that, lol!).
A toddler's healthy interest in exploring the world is supported by the safety and security they feel in their parents' love.
Create learning people LOVE
Make your content DELICIOUS and enticing!
Love and learning go hand in hand at every stage of our lives.
If you think back to the most positive learning experiences you've had, can you see how love was involved?
Maybe you loved the subject matter and it held deep fascination for you.
We are much more likely to persist in a learning task, even a very difficult one, if we are strongly motivated to do so by a deep love of the topic.
Or perhaps you were inspired by a teacher who clearly loved the subject, or loved teaching itself.
Or perhaps (admit it...because I think we've all done this...) you were trying to impress that special someone with your amazing knowledge of ... whatever topic would impress them.
As educators, we want our course participants to LOVE our courses! It's an amazing feeling to see people all over the world engaged and motivated to learn what you've created for them based on your knowledge and expertise.
I do not advocate the view of online courses as a source of "passive" income. If you create your course right, in the way that will make people love it, there's nothing passive about it.
A more accurate term for the income you make from an online course is "asynchronous" income. That means, you get paid at one time for work you did (creating the course) at another time.
Teaching online in a way that inspires deep love for the subject matter and for the learning experience you create, requires a lot of hard active work. But it's work that is well worth it.
Teaching online is one of the most profound ways you can share what you know with people all over the world.
Learning how to teach online in ways that optimize engagement and promote learner motivation, will enable you to create deep impact and leave a lasting legacy.
Most importantly, taking the time and putting in the effort required to learn how to teach beautifully, online, is a demonstration of the caring and appreciation you have for the people you are here to serve: your course participants.
What do you love to learn, and teach, about?
What learning experiences stand out to you as being connected to love, whether for parents, teachers, peers, or that special someone?
I'd love to hear about it!
Write to Rebecca@learnandgetsmarter.com and let me know!
Happy Valentine's Day -- may it be a time for you to express love and caring to everyone in your life who could benefit from knowing that they are truly loved and appreciated.
Here are some virtual Valentine's Day chocolates for you to enjoy. These are made from pure pixels of light. All the calories have been removed.(You're welcome! 💖)
Valentine's Day (or any day!) is the perfect time to think about how you can create luscious morsels of learning in your online course!
