As a teacher you are faced with many responsibilities on a daily basis. You have lessons to teach and state requirements to meet, and you have a roomful of students that you must keep motivated. Motivated students are more likely to engage with the material and to learn, succeed and excel. There are many ways to inspire students on a daily basis.
1. Be Clear and Check for Understanding:
The first step to ensuring your students are motivated is to be clear in the classroom. Give explicit instructions when administering directions. Explain what the purpose of the lesson is and why it is beneficial to students, since they want to feel their time and effort has a purpose. When you are teaching a concept, remember to practice patience and explain ideas in as many ways as necessary. Never assume your students are following along and comprehend what you are saying. Check for student understanding as you go.
2. Encourage Participation:
The more students are actively engaged in their learning, the more motivated they will be. Student participation is one of the most important things you can implement in your classroom to teach successfully. As you teach, stop and ask questions. When possible, break students into groups where each individual has a clear role. Ask students to volunteer to read aloud, explain an answer or state an opinion. Give students opportuntiies to take responsibility for their learning, and you will see an increase in motivation all around.
Address Multiple Learning Styles:
Not all students learn the same way. Some students are visual learners, while other students are auditory learners. Current thinking in educational psychology is that there are multiple intelligences, and that educators need to use differentiated instruction to reach students with a variety of learning styles. When possible, make your lessons multimodal. Include visuals like graphs, photos, PowerPoint presentations or video clips whenever possible. Students of any learning style will appreciate the variety of lessons you provide. When you constantly keep lessons intriguing or surprising, students are more likely to have their interest held. Keeping their attention level high will be a natural motivator.
Create a Bond:
Probably the most important thing you can do to help motivate students is to genuinely care. Of course, most teachers care about their students, but it is necessary to make sure your students know. Spend time conferencing with them one-on-one at least once a week. If you see a student struggling, whether it`s because of the lesson or something else that is bothering him, take the time to pull that student aside and talk. Students excel in an environment where they feel safe, important and loved.