As educators, the first thing we establish is the vision and the mission. We need to understand the how to motivate staff and students to accomplish them but especially teaching and learning. How can we help students encourage themselves to learn?
Content and crucial academic skills can be provided to students but are unlearned if students are not motivated to learn. Other issues can prevent students from learning, and as educators, we must take steps to find out those things which are the barriers to learning.
Incentives and consequences are not the conditions we seek to provide students sustainable progression. The best learning motivation comes from within students and the choice to learn. Generating this intrinsic motivation, drive to learn and strong desire is found when students:
- Are confident in their abilities
- See if their actions are directly contributing to an outcome
- See value and interest
- Knowing it will lead to belonging or approval
How to help students build motivation
Students arrive with different needs, interests, hopes, and aspirations. Knowing as much as we can about each student will help us design experiences in learning they’ll find to be more motivating. Providing more choices is a great strategy to assist them in understanding education is something we do with them.
Our long-term goal for students is to recognize how they can motivate themselves with learning. There are many strategies we can use for self-motivation.
- Keep learning focused on learning, not on grades
- Maintain a focus on the fun of what is learned and the exciting parts of the learning
- Encourage sharing with peers on the best strategies used, what are the procedures and approaches they use to complete activities
- Coach students in positive self-talk. Many times we can talk ourselves out of being successful
- Encourage students to ask peers for advice and to provide advice when asked.
- Utilize organizational routines and support students in looking at all ways to be prepared and choices to find a sense of belonging. Students can select where they sit, organize their binders, have procedures in place, and develop habits that provide a feeling of being safe and feeling good
- Having input in procedural choices generates early motivation for students to get started, and cognitive decisions generate interest, ownership, and commitment to learning activities
Mission
Our mission is to help all children along the educational path by guiding, facilitating, and supporting all needs on the road to achieving all they desire. Be the solution today in a world that needs you!