Student Motivation

Student motivation is crucial when planning and implementing instructional strategies. In the classroom, student motivation is defined as the focus and attention that influences and drives the desire to learn. This topic can be a bit of a controversy because it asks the question of is the parent, teacher, or student responsible for developing that motivation. To me, motivation can’t be left in the hands of students, especially when teaching elementary aged children. Taking into consideration that younger kids have a low attention span, teachers would be responsible for designing lessons that are engaging and finding ways to help students become motivated and passionate about learning. With that being said, some students love learning and are excited to go to school, while others dread it. Every student is different and that is where the teacher comes in. By planning crafts and activities to go along with lessons, teachers create a fun atmosphere for the kids to enjoy. Along with that, there are simple ways to teach with motivation. In an article that provided tips and tricks for teaching motivation, my favorite suggestion was promoting a growth mindset. This means making sure that students know that growth will happen and that their abilities/skills will improve with practice. When fostering this mindset, it is important to be positive and encouraging about the potential for their future- something I am very passionate about! I will definitely utilize this strategy in my own classroom. Secondly, I plan to offer incentives and rewards for certain things in order to motivate students. In my practicum experience, my mentor teacher gives a jellybean for each page of homework turned in. This motivates the students to complete assignments because they know there is candy waiting for them. I also love the idea of a treasure box for students to pick a prize from when they complete a sticker chart or achieve something amazing. Lastly, and probably the most simple way, I will always make learning fun. Even now, as a high school student, I create and develop lessons that have fun things to make or silly pictures to engage students in participating. I tend to be a very creative person and designing fun lessons is a good creative outlet for me.

There are tons of ways to motivate students for learning! In researching, I have found that most have to do with being positive and fun in the classroom. Luckily, I am passionate about both of those things and I cannot wait to put them into action when I become a teacher!