cartoon from http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/m/motivation.html

QUICK RESOURCE SHEET #45

Motivating students

PREVIOUS TOPICS LISTED AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

The educational equivalent to "location, location, location," is "motivation, motivation, motivation," for motivation is probably the most significant factor educators can target in order to improve learning.

Teachers routinely attest to the importance of motivating students, lamenting how easily students memorize unending rap songs despite their needing a truckload of teaching tricks to remember directions for a simple assignment.

-----from http://712educators.about.com/cs/motivation/a/motivation.htm

Below, a variety of approaches to the topic of motivating your students.

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/clic/nrrc/rspon_r8.html

“This report of an interpretive study, conducted in a 5th/6th-grade whole language classroom, provides insights about students' thoughts, feelings, and actions when not motivated for literacy tasks, and examines students' subjective experiences in three different motivational situations. The study offers clues about the affective and cognitive processes that enable some students to become engaged in literacy activities and prevent others from beginning them. It argues that a responsive classroom culture that honors students' voices may enhance students' ownership of literacy learning and alleviate feelings of anger, anxiety, alienation, and powerlessness.”

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html

“Unfortunately, there is no single magical formula for motivating students. Many factors affect a given student's motivation to work and to learn (Bligh, 1971; Sass, 1989): interest in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as patience and persistence. And, of course, not all students are motivated by the same values, needs, desires, or wants. Some of your students will be motivated by the approval of others, some by overcoming challenges.”

http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/faqs/motivatingstudents/motivating.html

“Create a need to know. As you are preparing your lesson plans, ask yourself - why would a student need to know this? This helps you think about material in terms of its relevance to students' lives.”

http://www.naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contentId=1085

“There are many reasons why students lose motivation to learn, become disinterested in school, or develop negative attitudes about themselves as learners. Some stem from difficult life circumstances while others result from inability to cope with what and how we teach. Classrooms are complex environments, where teaching and learning are interdependent activities. How we teach and conduct ourselves affects student learning and behavior, and how students learn and behave affects our practice and sense of efficacy in the classroom.”

http://www.nwrel.org/request/oct00/engage.html

“Allow students to have some degree of control over learning (Brooks et al., 1998). This can be done in any number of ways, from giving students choices between different assignments, to minimizing adult supervision over group projects, to letting students monitor and evaluate their own progress (Anderman & Midgley, 1998; Dev, 1997; Policy Studies Associates, 1995). Anderman & Midgely (1998) note that this doesn't mean teachers must relinquish control of the classroom.”

Previous editions of the QUICK RESOURCE SHEET

#1 – Creating quizzes (and more) online                                                         

#2 – Vocabulary builders

#3 – Online discussion groups for English teachers                                    

#4 – Grammar headaches – and how to cure them

#5 – Resources for new teachers                                                     

#6 – International Education Week

#7 – Mentoring programs                                                                    

#8 – Education publications online

#9 – Applied Linguistics                                                                   

#10 – English for Young Learners

#11 – World AIDS Day                                                                      

#12 – Online writing guides

#13 – E-mail exchanges                                                                      

#14 – Free online English courses

#15 – Effective e-mail communication                                             

#16 – Libraries online

#17 – American Studies                                                                     

#18 – Teaching methodologies

#19 – Internet tutorials                                                                       

#20 – Using the newspaper – Part I

#21 – Making books                                                                           

#22 - Using the newspaper – Part II

#23 – Human rights in language teaching

#24 – Blogging

#25 – Poetry and language teaching

#26 – The communicative approach

#27 -  Idioms

#28 – Earth Day

#29 – Alternative assessment

#30 – Peer assessment

#31 – Self-assessment

#32 – Portfolio assessment – Part I

#33 -  Portfolio assessment - Part II (Online Portfolios)

#34 – Intercultural communication

#35 – Teaching Adults

#36 – Learning disorders / Special needs

#37 – Using computers in reading instruction

#38 – Use of authentic materials

#39 – English for Medical Purposes

#40 – Sources for authentic materials

#41 – Education and technology

#42 – Academic writing

#43 – Teaching and stress

#44 – Back to school