Motivating your students
Step back and think about the lesson you just gave! Was it something that would have motivated you? If not why!! If you wouldn't want to come back what makes you think the students would feel any different. Also remember they probably know very little about the subject. Did you overwhelm them or make them feel stupid? If you did you probably won't see those student again. Keep them motivated so they WANT to come back.
Motivating statements and positive reinforecment help to motivate.
Hi Marie,
This is a common problem with many students. They tend to lose sight of the end goal they have before them.
A strategy you can use is to have success segments throughout the course. By having them see a sense of accomplishment and skill development in the short term, such as the completion of a unit, they get fired up again and the motivation levels rise. The point is that they don't have to see the total end result but small segments of results. This will help to keep them focused and encouraged to keep going.
Other times I have simply stopped class for a while and had a "break" party with snacks, pizza, etc. and we caught our breath. There is no agenda to this little party other than to let the students chat a bit and enjoy some time together without the pressures of the class. This time doesn't have to be long, somewhere around 30 minutes if you have a class that is 3 hours or longer.
Then you can call the students back together and focus on the course once again.
Gary
It's difficult to motivate our students sometimes because they get frustrated with the length of time it takes to complete our program. They tend to get bogged down with life and don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. They look at all the dollars and time they have spent and feel they have come too far to stop, so sometimes they continue even though their heart isn't in it. We try to encourage them by showing them that it can be done and reminding them that with great effort, there is reward. Any other tips? Our end result requires a great amount of practice outside of school hours, and that's often hard to get them to do.
Along with motivation comes encouragement and application of the skills being taught.
Hi Shawnte,
You make a number of very good points about motivation. Teachers need to work hard at keep the motivation opportunities in front of their students. Motivation does breed success.
Keep up the good work.
Gary
While students are ultimately responsible for motivating themselves, the instructor also plays a crucial role.
Motivating your students, through various ways, will prove beneficial. Understanding what motivates an individual can be difficult but is definitely attainable. A motivate person can be moved to do most anything, including successfully completing a course.
