Teachers and tutors play a vital role in students’ learning by offering guidance, support, and encouragement. Moreover, if students lack the motivation to study, the chances are, that they will not be interested in participating, being involved, and putting in any effort. Therefore, teachers and tutors must find ways to boost student motivation to keep pushing them forward.
Read also: Tutopiya’s Guide On How to Increase Productivity in Students
Here are 12 ways to boost student motivation!
12 Ways to Boost Student Motivation
1 – Assign responsibilities to students
There are many ways to motivate students but this assigning children to classroom jobs are one great way to foster a sense of belonging and community in students. There are many roles students can play in a classroom. Besides the typical, class monitor and assistant class monitor, teachers can also start a rooster for other children to exhibit their leadership skills. Some examples include having rotational duties for who is in charge of cleaning the whiteboard, sweeping the floor, organizing the study corner, etc.
2 – Recognise student’s efforts and achievements
The best way to boost students’ motivation is through the acknowledgment of their efforts and achievements. Even those who did not achieve their goals, still deserve to be acknowledged for their efforts. Acknowledgment is easily one of the easiest ways to boost students’ self-esteem and motivation as it shows them that they are seen and you take notice of their progress. This makes them feel important and appreciated which helps with boosting their motivation.
3 – Offer students different ways to learn by making use of a different variety of experiences
As much as a classroom is the most conducive environment for students to learn, it can still get mundane and boring over time. Teachers can take the chance to switch up the learning environment or throw in different activities to make learning more engaging and fun. Some examples include going on a field trip, inviting external speakers, and starting an event. This helps to make learning fresh again by incorporating different and unique learning experiences.
4 – Create a safe and comfortable environment for students
In the classroom or the tuition center, the environment contributes significantly to a student’s productivity and motivation. Teachers and tutors can spice up the environment to make learning conducive and enjoyable by adding study corners, shelves for books, etc!
One great idea for teachers is to have a questionnaire box in the room. Not every student is comfortable asking questions in class, this creates anonymity for the students who do not want to be singled out.
A safe environment also refers to allowing students to feel secure and comfortable sharing their ideas, questions, and opinions. Therefore, an anonymous questionnaire box can be of great help for shy students.
5 – Encourage healthy competition among students
Competition does not necessarily have to be negative and bad, when used appropriately it can be a motivating factor for students to do better. Teachers can encourage a friendly competition atmosphere through group games where students can exhibit their strengths. This also allows other students to learn from each other.
6 – Provide opportunities for success
All students, even the best ones, may feel dejected and demotivated to continue when they are struggling or not getting enough recognition. This is when teachers should learn to slip in chances for students to succeed in the classroom. Offer all the students get a chance to play to exhibit their strengths to allow them to feel valued and included again. This can make a huge difference and boost their motivation.
7 – Give learning feedback to students and offer chances to improve
Feedbacks are important for further improvement, therefore, teachers play an important role in providing effective learning feedback. Feedbacks help students close up their knowledge gaps and offer insights into where they went wrong which can provide them with sufficient information to know how and where they can improve next time.
8 – Provide support and comfort
We need to bear in mind that they are still children and they can feel sad, disappointed, and dejected. Teachers need to be students’ first line of support and defense when they are struggling with getting back on track with their studies. Support, encouragement, and comfort could just be what these students need in times of distress.
9 – Make use of student’s interests, strengths, and passion
Our brains naturally enjoy engaging ourselves in tasks that we are good at, hence, teachers can make use of this to boost students’ motivation. Curate study plans, activities, and learning experiences to fit your students’ interests, strengths, and passions.
10 – Give praise and offer rewards
Incentives are also a great way to motivate students to do better and try their best. Even adults also crave recognition and praise, and students of any age are no exception. Teachers can offer praise and incentives wherever is fitting.
11 – Listen to student’s suggestions and opinions
Though in the classroom, teachers call the shot, teachers should also open the floor to potential useful suggestions and opinions for students. Listen to students’ ideas of learning, and how studying can be improved in the classroom. It allows them to feel included and heard which is a powerful sense of belonging teachers can instill in their students.
12 – Always encourage students to try their best
Sometimes, the simplest words can easily boost students’ motivation and possibly relieve some of their anxiety. Before the start of any examinations, encourage your students to do their best, relieve their stress and show them that you are there for them. Remember teachers, it is you and the children versus the national examinations.
There are plenty of ways to boost student motivation and these 12 tips are just a few of many! Teachers and tutors will have different ways and methods of their own in instilling confidence in their own students. Teachers, you are on their side!
