Bored with the core: stimulating student interest in online general education

Motivating students to learn in general education courses, particularly in an online environment, is a challenge for many colleges and universities. A general education curriculum, by definition, is wide-ranging in its scope of topics, disciplines, and applications, but many students enter college with specific personal interests or affinities for particular areas of academic study. This interest gap between individual student interests and general education offerings is frequently expressed by students in their desire to “get the core courses out of the way.” For those institutions that appreciate the role that a general education curriculum plays in providing students with a holistic liberal arts education, this “get them out of the way” attitude must be addressed. Through the application of text-based situational interest research, and creative writing principles and techniques to instructional design, this article offers educators theoretical insights and practical ways to stimulate student interest in online general education courses.