7 Essential Student Motivation Techniques That You Must Use
View PDF | Print View
by: HoneyKrumholz
Total views: 11
Word Count: 598
Teachers must keep the motivation for learning alive and growing in their students. From a very early age, children have that curiosity to explore everything around them. Teachers have a responsibility to their students to motivate them and develop that curiosity into a desire for knowledge.
Teachers each have their own methods and techniques for trying to motivate their students. Here are 7 of my favorites that have been very beneficial to me and my students.
1. Develop a trusting relationship with your students. Show then that you care and you will create a genuine bond with them. Gain your students' respect and in most cases they will reciprocate. This is vital in establishing an atmosphere where learning is a positive, meaningful and valuable experience.
2. Everyone likes to make their own decisions, create their own personal choices, and have control of their lives. Students are no exception. So, as much as possible, give students more control. Allow students to choose (within reason) their own ways of completing assignments, learning new or complex tasks, etc. Having control of your own rights, is a very resourceful motivational technique.
3. People in general and young students in particular need to feel that whatever they're learning has a useful application in life. So, keep your students motivated by trying to associate anything you teach, class projects, assignments, etc. to a real life situation. The advancement of computer technology,the Internet and applications such as Powerpoint should provide many opportunities to keep your students motivated, involved and attentive.
4. A reward system is a terrific motivator for your students and can be of great benefit to you as well. Everyone wins. Introduce a reward system and allow your students to win simple and inexpensive prizes that you can buy at the dollar store. You can also offer other classroom awards such as giving "free time" or having classroom parties. You'll need to adjust the rewards but all your students young and older will love it. You win by keeping your students motivated (at least by the prizes). Be sure to reward your students only if they finish their work, assignment, project,etc. and not just for taking part.
5. Classroom team building activities such as classroom games play an important role as student motivational tools. Other team building activities such as classroom meetings to discuss things such as hobbies, vacation plans, class parties and trips, are great for developing friendships between students and building students' self-esteem. These activities will also draw in your unmotivated students as well.
6. Kids "love" helping the teacher whether they're primary or junior grade students. What a great motivational tool! Not only that, but an added benefit was the more they helped, the less I had to do.
7. Allowing your students to decorate their classroom and put up some classroom displays, gives your students a feeling of ownership. Make them feel proud and build up their self-esteem by displaying their work around the classroom. It will be sure to motivate them to work harder and produce better work. It will also liven up your classroom and make it a more inviting place to come and learn.
Two important thoughts to keep in mind as you finish reading this article. Always display care, concern and encouragement for your students, and never give up on any unmotivated students or they will give up on themselves. It's a WIN-WIN for everyone involved!
About the Author
Honey Krumholz has taught elementary school for 33 years. She is currently a college supervisor and mentor to student teachers. She presents seminars on teaching strategies at York University in Toronto. Visit her website and get her effective teaching strategies on a wide variety of topics, for example, her strategies on classroom awards
HTML Code For Copy & Paste
The following code can be copied and pasted into your web page to ensure all links are properly maintained.
Rating: Not yet rated