first thoughts: for me, as a student, topics are interesting based on how much i dont yet know times my estimate of the usefulness and/or satisfaction with the knowing, when it comes. I guesstimate future potential value and allocate focused attention to whatever enegery level i have available until i feel full, put it on the back burner to cook and move on: to either generate more energy or follow the flow to the next topic that comes to my attention. So as a learner I am motivated by a sense of needing to know that preceeds formal knowing. I am attracted to events where I stand to learn more about something i alreayd know about, or a new area that i think i need to consider. I dont have to see the endstate before i proceed
as a teacher then, i try to model the behavior of the ideal student i want to be: one who is self motivated to learn, based on the judgment of what is important, a practical sense of what i will do witht he knowledge in service to others.
i teach in a military college where students are assigned as pert of their career progression and so they cannot be approaching the material in the ideal way. we all make choices and live in a world of compromises. So now, as a teacher i believe i have an obligation to take their perspective into consideration and help to jointly create a a class that we all would seek to attend if we werent ordered to be here and thus try to transcend the constraints in pursuit of worthy knowledge in support of worthy goals. Right action in practice