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Motivating studentsNo matter how enthusiastic students may be about being in a class and learning the subject, motivating them is almost as important as the content of the class. In fact how long does it take you to read a book you like and are motivated to read for any reason compared to a book you are forcing yourself to read? It could be 2 days vs 2 months. As no matter how much effort or time a teacher can spend preparing the class, if the presentation is not adequate to the students? level or it is unorganized or not varied or presented in a boring way, the teacher will loose the students? attention. Student?s motivation is easy to monitor as it shows on students? body and physic. Yawning, glassy, watery eyes, slouching are definite signs. So what to do and how to keep motivation high? There is no magic formula but there are many factors that can affect a student?s motivation. Give frequent positive feedback and reward success. Negative feedback should be very specific and relate to a particular project not to the student?s personality or person. Involve students in discussions and group work. Individual work is important during the study stage of a lesson but the activate and engage stages should be lively and require students? involvement and participation. Create an open and positive environment where students are not afraid to speak and participate. Too much competition between students will result in anxiety and lack of participation. Students? participation is key to their level of motivation. Present adequate material and resources to the class level. Mix content that is challenging with content that is more easily understood so that the students while being challenged also experience a feeling of achievement. Set high but reachable expectations. Students need to be motivated to do their best work but if standards are too high and seemingly not reachable, they will easily give up trying. Be enthusiastic and motivated yourself. A boring teacher makes for a boring class. Have a routine AND break the routine. If you don?t have a routine, the class may feel lost at times and wonder what is expected. But at the same time, students love nothing more when something unexpected happens and feels like a surprise. It makes them feel special and also shows that the teacher cares and goes out of her/his way. There is no magic formula or key to a student?s motivation but all the above action can help motivate students.
