You Can Motivate Your Students - Here’s How

Motivation doesn’t come easily to everyone. For some, it’s “in-built” while most students need some sort of pushing from time to time. The pushing is most effective when its in-tune with a child’s own goals - whether it’s topping class, winning a championship or simply gaining more knowledge about a particular subject. As a teacher, here’s what you can do to motivate your class:

1. Show Me The Marks!

Just like grown-ups are motivated by appraisals and promotions at the workplace, children are also intrinsically motivated by marks and grades. To get your students giving their all on a regular basis, hold as many mock tests as possible so your students are fully prepared for the real thing!

2. Recognise Improvement

Even the smallest jump should be recognised to improve the confidence of your students. For example, if a student has jumped from a 6/10 to an 8.5/10 in an English vocabulary class test, it can be acknowledged both verbally and with a “well done” or a star sticker on the test itself - it all depends on your personal style of giving praise and encouragement.

3. Active Learning Is The Way To Go

Often, it’s the teacher that does the majority of the talking in class. Flip the norm by making the lesson activities more conversational in nature with an interactive video or two, group debates and problem-solving worksheets from teaching resources such as Super Teacher Worksheets.^[1]

4. Build On Strengths

If your student shows an aptitude for trigonometry and is genuinely interested, sign the student up for the 100 Problems Challenge^[2] and watch this interest turn into a much-loved passion. Similarly, there are many PC resources to help your students build on their strengths. All you have to do is have an in-depth conversation to find out what interests your student and help them find a PC resource to take it further.

Whether you’re a seasoned or first-time teacher, besides your subject expertise and the enthusiasm you bring in class - the PC is an essential teaching tool. It’s a learning tool not just for your students but you too!