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Read on for more about how to motivate your students to learn!
7 Strategies to Motivate Students To Learn
One of the most difficult aspects of the teaching profession is learning how to motivate students. So the question of how to motivate students to learn effectively? If they are not efficient in their learning, they will not retain information, will not participate and some of them may even become disruptive. A student can be demotivated for various reasons. They may find the subject uninteresting, find the teacher’s methods uninviting, or be distracted by outside agents. It may even be that a student who does not seem motivated is actually having difficulty learning and needs special attention.
Although academic motivation can be a difficult task for the teacher to accomplish, the rewards are more than worth it. Motivated students are more enthusiastic about learning and participating. In other words: teaching a class full of motivated students is fun for teachers and students alike. Some motivated students have a natural appetite for learning. But even with students who don’t have this natural motivation, a good teacher always thinks about the best way to motivate their students. So his goal is to make learning fun and encourage them to reach their full potential.
How to motivate a student to work?
There are many strategies that teachers can use to promote and sustain motivation in their students. On the other hand, many theorists define motivation as resulting from a need to satisfy psychological desires for autonomy, competence, and connection or belonging. The following motivational strategies focus on meeting these needs. Here are six strategies for motivating students:
- Involve the students
One way to encourage students and teach them responsibility is to involve them in the classroom. Make participation fun by giving each student an assignment. Give students the responsibility of cleaning up or decorating the classroom as well . Ask a student to erase the blackboard or hand out handouts. If you are proofreading a class reading, ask students to take turns reading sections aloud. Have students work in groups and assign each a task or role. Giving students a sense of belonging allows them to feel accomplished and encourages active participation in the classroom.
- Bring in motivational speakers
At a certain point in class, many students can get tired of hearing the same teacher over and over again. Since most teachers approach a subject or topic in one very specific way, after some time, the student might start to get tired of how that teacher approaches the subject. This is why many schools bring in a motivational speaker.
Motivational speakers are experiences storytellers who understand the psyche of a student and know how to breakthrough their self doubt and limiting beliefs to help motivate them to want to learn, overcome adversity, develop good study habits, and accomplish their academic goals.
Or, some schools like to bring in an inspirational speaker who can share a personal story about themselves on how they overcame adversity. These powerful stories have the ability to help students find someone they can relate to who may not be “perfect” and therefore this can inspire them to know that if that person can overcome so much, so can they.
- Give students autonomy and responsibility
Motivation decreases when students feel they have no control over a given situation. Giving students choices and reinforcing their initiative improves motivation, effort, interest and positive emotions. And perceptions of personal control and competence, as well as achievement.
Most students perform better on self-adaptive tests where they can select test items from a variety of options. Offering choices can also increase risk taking. And help students develop their interest in particular activities. However, for students from certain cultural groups, motivation may be higher when authority figures or peers make the choices for them.
It is important to think carefully about how to make choices available to students, and plan carefully, based on your students’ ability to understand and make choices. Some students may need support to help them make the right choices.
Choices must be adapted to the abilities and needs of the students, and match their interests (but beware of trying to align all learning activities with students’ current interests, or risk compromising the quality of learning or missing the opportunity to spark interest). interest and develop knowledge in a new area). Students may be able to choose from a list of themed activities provided by the teacher or they may choose their own tasks to work on.
They may also be involved in setting due dates. The choice of student work groups and the order of task completion. Being able to choose how they can allocate their time, as well as among several different versions of a task, can be most motivating for students with self-regulation skills.
- Be creative
According to Motivation Ping, avoid monotony by changing your class structure. Teach through games and discussions rather than lectures. Also, encourage students to debate and enrich the topic with visual aids, such as colorful graphs, diagrams and videos. You can even show a movie that effectively illustrates a topic or theme. Your classroom should never be boring. So use posters, templates, student class projects, and seasonal themes to decorate your classroom and create a warm and nurturing environment.
- Connect with real life
“When will I need it? This question, too often heard in class, indicates that a student has a lack of commitment. If a student does not believe in the importance of what he is learning, he will not want to learn; it is therefore essential to show how the subject articulates with him. If you teach algebra, take the time to research how it is used in practice – for example in engineering – and share your findings with your students.
Really amaze them by telling them they could use it in their career. Showing them that a subject is used daily by “real” people gives it new importance. They may never be enthusiastic about algebra, but if they see how it applies to them. They may be motivated to learn more carefully.
- Provide opportunities for cooperative learning
Meeting students’ need for connection with others can enhance motivation for the related learning activity. Indeed, students demonstrate increased motivation when teachers frequently provide them with opportunities to share their questions and what they have learned with their peers. Students often demonstrate increased work effort when there is a sense of collective responsibility for learning. Furthermore, research shows that students who have collaborative learning opportunities engage in deeper processing of information.
Plan a student-to-student dialogue during a lesson and identify activities that can be undertaken in pairs or groups. Develop group tasks in which tasks are divided among students. Make sure each student has a clear responsibility for a group goal.
- Teach the concept of motivation
First, supporting students’ understanding of motivation can improve their ability to self-regulate their level of motivation and help them identify strategies and behaviors that increase or decrease their motivation. Although motivational support strategies should be incorporated into instruction , it can also be helpful to discuss motivation explicitly with students. This helps students understand the importance of effort in learning, and finding ways to motivate themselves can help them put in the necessary effort.
Similarly, emphasize the importance of motivation to succeed in learning. Regularly discuss how students should work and how effort helps them become smarter by linking effort to results. Also make sure that you and your students have the same perception of effort: discuss what it means to try. Help students distinguish between productive and unproductive effort by explaining that effort is more than time spent on a task. But also means using effective strategies, practicing and seeking help. Take the mystery out of learning something new by demonstrating that it’s all about strategy and motivation.
