Teachers Use Grab Bag of Tools to Help Motivate Their Students

The key to successful learning is motivation on the student’s part.

The motivator most people think of is grades. But not all students care about grades or think they can get good ones, so other means of motivating are necessary.

This is a daily concern of most teachers, and they generally try a variety of ways to motivate their students.

The classroom appearance can help motivate students. If the room has colorful posters, models, gadgets and other displays, it can stimulate students’ curiosity about a subject.

The classroom atmosphere helps motivate too. It is shaped largely by the teacher’s rapport with students and is most encouraging when it includes patience, humor and mutual respect.

A hostile classroom environment, meanwhile, is certain to set students against the teacher and subject matter.

Most students don’t have time to waste on information that isn’t useful, so showing the relevance of the subject to the students’ lives is another motivational tool.

This can include comparing literary characters’ traits or experiences to the students’ in literature classes, or debating the fairness of laws in civics class.

Telling students how a skill or subject will help them later in life gets them interested too.

For example, my students groan when I first announce that all formal papers must be typed. But the complaints stop when I explain that much college work must be typed and that competent keyboarding is needed for many good entry-level jobs.

Variety is also essential for motivating students. Students look forward to class when they know that the daily menu of activities changes. Lecturing is the least motivational form of teaching. Films, guest speakers, debates, discussions, group projects, and alternating written and oral assignments can help keep students engaged.

Students are often turned off because they think that assignments are forced on them without their input. It is more encouraging to give them an occasional choice of assignments, partners or topics for book reports or term papers. They are generally more willing to work if they feel they are in control.

Many students also derive motivation from incentives. Teachers can offer a variety of rewards such as free reading time, a classroom party or a pertinent film.

I’ve also noticed that the words extra credit , used sparingly, can have a magical effect. Students are eager to demonstrate their learning through favorite talents or hobbies such as making models or artwork, writing songs or poems, and acting.

Teachers can also motivate by celebrating students’ good work. This can mean displaying and reading aloud a good paper, giving the student a special privilege or asking his or her parents to do so at home.

Of course, teachers also use some seemingly negative ways to motivate students to learn.

Manipulating students’ stress levels is the primary method: promising a quiz at day’s end, or heavily weighing the grade for an upcoming exam.

Although this sounds threatening, stress is actually healthy when used in moderation and in combination with more positive motivators.

Encouraging children to learn does not rest solely with teachers, however.

Parents can inspire success by emphasizing the joy and importance of learning, taking trips to libraries and museums, and offering rewards such as special privileges or a vacation from chores.

Ultimately, though, the most steady and effective motivation lies within the student.

Teachers and parents can provide enticement to learn, but the decision whether to take the bait belongs to the student.