Education can be simply defined as a process where skills and knowledge are offered in a systematic manner, such as in a learning institution. Education helps us better understand the world around us and how best to improve it by providing all the necessary skills and information that is required to help you identify and take advantage of the various opportunities that are available to us.
Education has often been referred to as the key to success and rightly so, as it offers students with the necessary tools to help improve their living standards as well as those of the people around them. It plays an essential role by providing students with a chance at meeting job requirements for a well-paying job. However, even though the benefits education has to offer, there are several challenges that students are faced with in their pursuit of knowledge, more so their willingness to learn.
Therefore, to ensure the demand for quality education has been met, teachers spend years honing their skills to become experts in their respective areas of specialization. Teachers spend a considerable amount of time developing curriculums, planning educational calendars, assess students, collaboration with the institutions, etc. to make sure they can implement the best practices for different situations.
Motivation: Is It Indeed The Driving Factor?
However, these steps are less likely to excite students about the idea of learning new concepts, especially in technical subjects. This is a direct result of a lack of motivation to learn, which is a crucial determining factor in a student’s academic success or failure. Motivation is described as the reason (s) a person acts or behaves in a specific manner to achieve his/ her goals and objectives.
Motivation has several effects on a student’s ability to learn concerning the choices he/ she makes. A good example of motivation is working on your assignment writing task instead of going for a movie or any other enjoyable event to attain good grades and progress to the next level of your education. As such, motivation is a factor as to whether a student is willing to take on a particular task either with a lackluster or enthusiastic attitude.
Furthermore, motivation has a greater role to play in a student’s future. Once they pack up on fuel in the form of motivation, it can be difficult to stop the momentum of a student. Motivation can be the driving factor, but other good elements should come into play–discipline, strategy, intelligence, and more–to keep motivation steady.
5 Straightforward Ideas to Motivate Students
The lack of motivation has grown to be a severe problem with teachers claiming that their primary concern is to teach students and not to motivate them. This is an old way of thinking that dramatically limits the teacher’s effectiveness to teach. Today, teachers should realize that having the drive to learn is essential in the learning process, whereby they are ideally suited to make an impact on their motivation. Below are a few ways students can stay motivated to ensure a successful learning experience. They include:
- Encourage a growth mindset
Having a fixed mindset means you are more likely to shy away from challenges; however, with a growth mindset, you are motivated to try new things and learn new concepts through the cultivation of skills, talents, and abilities.
Motivation doesn’t simply come out of nowhere. It has to start within a student’s mind and heart, and it takes different things to fuel their fire inside. For some students, a daily dose of motivation quotes can kickstart their productive, learning day, while some may need the extra push. Regardless of the source of motivation, the mindset should show potential for growth.
- Implementation of a conducive learning environment
To effectively motivate students to learn, teachers should be familiar with each of their student’s strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, talents to create a favorable learning environment. Therefore, teachers will be able to formulate specific motivational strategies for each of their students.
This is where the problem of fostering every student’s motivation arises. Since one student is different from another, it’s difficult to invite them into a standardized learning environment and expect them to learn equally.
Your class’s learning environment isn’t just the location, which is the classroom. You have a vital role in improving this environment or making it worse. Therefore, you have to arrange your class activities in a way that agrees with what they yearn for.
- Engage students in the learning process
Some students might be able to cope with traditional teaching practices, such as when a teacher dictates notes and leaves it up to the students to read them or not. However, today teachers ought to include educational activities that actively involve students in the learning process for better academic results.
Also, a motivated teacher yields a motivated student. To effectively engage students in the learning process, you have to show that you, as their mentor and second parents, are motivated to teach students towards better learning experiences. You should be willing and motivated to learn from your students as well.
- Provide students with a sense of control
The guidance of teachers is essential to ensure students follow the assigned curriculum; however, offering students some freedom to choose what happens in class is among the best ways of keeping them motivated. A good example is letting students select which topic they would like to learn about first.
- Clearly define the goals and objectives for each task
The teacher should ensure that they clearly outline what is required before each task to ensure that the student understands what needs to be done. As a student knowing what is required of you helps you to stay focused.
These are just some of the possible methods students can be motivated to realize the benefits education has to offer. However, in addition to these ideas, perhaps the most significant motivation is the opportunity to succeed in life. Therefore, ensure you stay motivated and willing to learn for better opportunities in the future.
