How to encourage your students to do quality work

I can remember countless assignments that I was given in high school that I absolutely loathed. Part of the reason was that I just didn't want to do the work, but mostly it was because I didn't see the value in the assignment. They were just another thing that teachers wanted me to do so that they could get their kicks.

Now as a teacher, I don't want to put my students through that same ordeal, but I recognize that it is important to teach students things that sometimes they don't want to do. That is where I believe students should have a voice in some aspect of the project or assignment. I believe that when students are given the opportunity to decide what they can research and participate in a creative process that they will not only be more motivated, but they will do better quality work.

That being said, there will always be students who don't want to put in the time and effort to produce quality work. In that case, you have to push them to do good work. This past week I was given the task to assess research posters for the introduction to agriculture course. It was an interesting experience because I gave quite a few students failing grades. I think that at first the students expected to turn in terrible work and get a C maybe and then that is it. But when the see the 26% they suddenly see that they have to think and put in  some effort. I'll tell you though, they do work hard and they turn in significantly better work.

So, to encourage students to do quality work, give students a voice, don't give them stupid assignments, and push them.