Enthusiasm Awareness in the Experiential Classroom

Abstract

Enthusiasm comes from the Greek, where it meant “possessed by a god..” An enthusiastic person is someone who literally is inspired by a powerful force. It is used frequently as a descriptor of effective teachers. Can we learn to be enthusiastic, or is it something we either have or don’t have? This writing identifies both verbal and non-verbal dimensions of enthusiastic teaching, provides an Enthusiasm Awareness Index, and offers suggestions for developing a repertoire of enthusiastic teaching behaviors.