Keeping students interested in learning is a difficult and ongoing task for all teachers. We know that a student's motivation of lack thereof can be a key component in the success or failure of a lesson. This week we focus on strategies that teachers can use to increase motivation in the classroom.
This Week's Tips
Attainable Goals Motivate Students (Monday)
Help students set realistic learning goals. Have students identify and write down their learning goals for each lesson or topic before they begin. As they master aspects of the curriculum, they can recognize their achievements more easily. This provides a more meaningful and realistic picture of what their time and effort has given them than just a grade.
Real World Connections Motivate Students (Tuesday)
Make content more meaningful and interesting by connecting it to students' lives. By providing a meaningful context to a task, you are demonstrating the subject's intrinsic value. For example, if your class is studying the Bill of Rights, you could conduct a debate about whether students who wear prohibited clothing to school are protected under the First Amendment. Students are more motivated to learn about issues to which they feel personally connected.
Mastery Learning Motivates Students (Wednesday)
Help students see the relationship between effort and result. Reinforce the idea that your curriculum goals are designed to be attainable, but only with effort. Temporary setbacks should be treated as a normal event on the road to mastery. Make this real for your students by relaying a personal experience in which you struggled with something, but with effort, triumphed in the end.
Success Motivates Students (Thursday)
Provide multiple opportunities for success. Try breaking down difficult assignments into manageable mini-lessons, wherein each task gives students the chance to demonstrate their learning. Each subsequent lesson can then build on the objectives of the one before it. When success can be attributed to the effort it took to complete a challenging, but attainable task, it boosts a student's confidence, performance, and motivation.
Finished Products Motivate Students (Friday)
Give students opportunities to create finished products that reflect their time and effort. Students often spend considerable time doing busy work that doesn't result in a final product. Whether it involves writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper or collecting a personal history from someone who lived during World War II, a project that results in a tangible product helps make schoolwork meaningful and dynamic.
