Published on February 6th, 2017 | by Guest

5 Proven Techniques for Increasing Student Motivation

Despite how confident and uninterested in the whole studying process students might seem, most of them feel lost and confused during school years. Not many students actually know what to do with their lives, who they want to become, what college they want to get it, and so on. However, finding this out (as well as performing well during school years) is very important for everyone’s future. That’s why if your students don’t look interested in the studying process, it’s up to you to change that and make them work harder to earn the bright future they deserve.

The easiest way to do so is to increase their motivation. However, not all teachers understand exactly what that means. While motivation might seem an abstract thing that is hard to awake, it could actually be increased with the help a few concrete techniques. And today I’m going to share five of them with you.

Refer to pop-culture more often

Despite the fact that all students have different interests, most of them know the most famous pop-culture phenomena. You could make the whole studying process more interesting simply by mentioning them in your lectures. Try to refer to Marvel, Star Wars, popular TV shows, and bands, maybe even remake some of the home assignments so they will include pop-culture characters. This way you’ll be able not only to increase students’ interest but also to connect with them better.

Talk about real life

For some students it might seem that lessons and home assignments have nothing to do with their real life. So it’s no wonder that they don’t pay much attention to them – after all, this way it looks like a waste of time. You can change it, describing how exactly your lessons can help them in real life, drawing connections and making examples. This way the whole studying process will look more valuable to the students.

Moreover, it’s important to talk to students about their perspectives too. Ask them what they plan to study at college and remind that they might have to pass tests related to your subject if they want to get into colleges of their dreams.

Use different materials

Students lose motivation when they lose interest, so one of your main goals is to not let your lessons become boring. One of the easiest ways to do so is to experiment with learning materials. Lucky for you, these days you don’t even have to spend money on many of them.

For example, you can add videos to your lessons – they can make them more entertaining as well as illustrate the material better (especially for those students who remember visual information better). Moreover, you can use modern technologies and come up with more creative home assignments – for example, encourage students to start their own blogs or Instagram accounts related to certain topics of your lessons.

Involve students

For some students it is easy to remain unmotivated as they spend all the lessons sitting in the corner of the classroom doing nothing. Try to involve all students into studying process: this way they’ll actually feel like they belong here and have to perform better in front of their classmates. It may even help with term paper writing, encouraging students to study more.

One of the best ways to do so is to divide students into teams, organizing a small competition. Be sure that this competition remains positive, so the students won’t lose motivation. Another good way to do so is to assign students different home tasks and then check them all in the classroom.

You could also encourage students to replace you at some lectures: choose the ones that are going to replace you and let them explain the material to the class (but be sure to tell them to prepare beforehand).

Be accessible

One of the most important things a teacher can do to help their students is to gain their trust, become their mentor and friend. In order to achieve this, you have to be accessible as well as interested in students’ life.

Ask them about things they like and things they want to achieve, encourage them to work harder. Tell them that you are ready to help them if they need something: for example, that you are available until 4 PM and they can come talk to you if they need help or advice. And, of course, be sure to stick to things you promise them.

Building up students’ motivation isn’t a simple task – however, it isn’t an impossible one too. If you pay enough attention to them, demonstrate your enthusiasm, and work hard to make your lessons not only informative but also interesting, everything will work out just fine.

And if you also have some tips on how to increase students’ motivation, feel free to share them with us in the comment section below!

About the author:

With a background in education and entrepreneurship, Jake Lester currently writes for the educational blogging project and helps with term paper writing. Jake writes for many blogs and gives useful advice for entrepreneurs, students and educators. He likes to cover stories in productivity, careers and education. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.

Tags: increasing, motivation, proven, student, techniques