Get Your Students Hired
1
Reward your students for participating in class. These rewards don't have to be fancy; a simple "good job" is often enough to make a student feel great. The more a student experiences that inner feeling of accomplishment, the more motivated they will become.
2
Establish a connection with your students. A teacher who makes students feel comfortable and confident creates a safe environment. Students need to feel safe; they need to understand that it's okay if they get an answer wrong.
3
Create opportunities for student participation. Don't just lecture at your students--get them involved. Modify lesson plans to make assignments more active and engaging. Can you turn a lecture into a class discussion or a game? An energetic lesson that gets students involved is a great way to motivate them and help them learn.
4
Give students choices. They need to feel like they have some power and control over their educational experience. Incorporate a degree of flexibility into your assignments so students can choose how to participate, and thus feel actively involved. For extra credit, let them do projects on subjects that interest them even if they are not part of regular class study.
5
Have students work together. Most people like to spend time with other people. Completing projects as part of a team gives students the chance to feel like they belong and can motivate lazy students to contribute more.
6
Demonstrate how lessons relate to students' lives. If they understand how something affects them personally, they are more likely to pay attention to the lesson. Take events out of the newspaper and pop culture, and have the class analyze them for life lessons.
Cameron,
Personal attention from a person in authority is a powerful motivator. You are doing a great job of reaching out and engaging students that are not putting forth the effort that is needed for success. Knowing you care about them and their future is important to their career development.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I also find that giving a lazy student 1-on-1 time often motivates them. I will often have an informal conversation with a lazy student before or after class. If a student is not completing class work, I"ll say something like "John, I think you have a real knack for this material & you could be exceptional if you would apply yourself. I bet you'd surprise yourself if you stepped it up just a bit." More often than not, that student will try harder, if only because they feel that I am looking over their shoulder.
That is where it comes back to knowing your students. Perhaps there are issues at home that are dragging him down and he can not focus. There might be pressures from friends and family telling him that he can't succeed and he is caught up in believing them. Perhaps it is time for a one-on-one discussion letting him know that you care about his progress and are concerned.
This is a great list. I have one student who has some life experience and is very bright but he just isn't motivated to study. I have had him participate in class, used him to demonstrate principles (with his permission) and spoke with him one on one. He reminds me of when I was his age going through school. My first 2 years were partying and the last 2 I paid for it. I shared this with him and use his love of baseball to give an example of how difficult it is to train someone to be an excellent baseball player if they don't practice batting and catching, etc. It worked for about 2 weeks and now he is slipping again. Anyone with any suggestions?