8 Student Motivation Strategies That Work!

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Success in the class involves numerous elements that a teacher must juggle. From lesson planning and test management, to assignment correction and parent-teacher meetings, providing each and every student with the best possible education while making progress in the class can seem daunting.

Motivating students is one major key that helps in creating successful classes that run smoothly.

But just how do you motivate students? What strategies have been tested and proven to motivate students to work and learn more? And what tips and tricks can you try in your next class to get your students more engaged?

Strategies for Motivating Students

Passion: Be Enthusiastic

Passion is always attractive, and enthusiasm is contagious in the class. One great way to get students excited, enthusiastic, and motivated to work and learn is to display the passion and enthusiasm you want to see in them. Rarely will students become interested and intrigued by a topic that a teacher displays little to no interest in either.

Relevance: Know Your Students

Another key to motivating students and igniting their enthusiasm is to know them better. Learn what their future dreams are, the things they love to do, and the topics and hobbies they’re interested in. You will be able to better connect the lesson and the course to their own personal lives, and thereby igniting more interest in the topic.

Freedom: Offer Students Some Control

Sometimes handing the tools of teaching to students helps motivate them to learn. Not only do students grasp the material better when they research it to present it, but it also helps keep them engaged in the topic and provides them with an opportunity to showcase their understanding to the you and to their peers.

Download a poster with a quick reminder of some of the student motivation strategies mentioned in this article. Hang it in the teacher’s lounge or your office so it’s always around for you or your colleagues to remember and incorporate into your lesson plans.

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Tips and Tricks for Motivating Students

Strategies are only really as good as the lesson plans and activities that are used to implement them. So what activities, methods, and assignment ideas can really help put those strategies to practice?

Outstanding work always deserves to be promoted. Set a designated area on the classroom wall for great work, and contact parents about their children’s impressive progress. Weekly awards and contests also keep students motivated each day.

Long term goals need short term motivations. Help students set short-term goals. Congratulate them and celebrate their success when they achieve those goals.

Class jobs give students a sense of responsibility, and build a stronger relationship between them, their classmates, and the class as a whole. Students can be delegated to do simple taskssuch as class attendance, whiteboard wiping, and chair organizing, or they can be assigned more engaging tasks such as working on a class blog, caring for a class pet, or classroom guest relations.

Interest and hobby surveys in the beginning of the school year can give you ideas ahead of time. Ask students what activities and topics they are fond ofand what they do during their free time.

Ask students to write about what connections can be made between the new lesson and their personal lives. Their answers, especially when written, will emphasize the importance of what they’ve learned and help keep them motivated.

Praise effort rather than personal qualities and intelligence. It pushes students, even the smartest of them, to continue to work harder, rather than rely on their intelligence to get by.

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