By: LORINDA M. TORRES
Teacher III
San Andres Elementary School
Science City of Muñoz
Motivating learners is not easy. Teachers use extrinsic motivation such as giving chocolates, simple toys or giving school supplies while others prepare to use intrinsic motivation, giving positive praises and giving stars just to stimulate the attention of their learners because learners who are not motivated will not learn effectively. They won’t retain information, they won’t participate and some of them may even become disruptive. They find their lesson unexciting. Teachers must be creative and resourceful enough to get the interest of the learners. It may even come to light that a learner who appeared unmotivated actually has difficulty learning and needs of special attention.
Here are some tips to make your learners become excited about learning:
1. Encourage Learners
Learners look to teachers for approval and positive reinforcement, and are more likely to be enthusiastic about learning if they feel their work is recognized and valued.
Let them feel that they belong, especially those challenge learners. Be enthusiastic. Praise your learners often. Recognize them for their contributions. If your classroom is a friendly place where learners feel heard and respected, they will be more eager to learn. A “good job” or “nice work” can go a long way.
2. Get Them Involved
One way to encourage learners- and to make them responsible – is to get them involved in the classroom. Encourage them to participate in group activities. Motivate a learner by giving them an obligation, like assigning them as a leader or presenter on their group activities. Scheduling of daily cleaners also develops sense of responsibility. Ask a volunteer to erase the board or collect materials like test papers or activity sheets. If you are conducting a reading class, ask learners to take turns reading sections out loud. Make learners work in groups and assign each a task or role. Giving learners a sense of ownership allows them to feel accomplished, and encourages active participation in class.
3. Offer Incentives
Offering learners small incentives makes learning fun and motivates learners to push themselves. We can give incentives like candies or even school supplies to those learners who show admirable doings and attitudes. Giving rewards will motivate more the learners to participate and outshine in the class. Rewards stimulate learners to do things beyond the expectations.
4. Get Creative
Decorate your room, be creative and artistic. Make your room more conducive to learning by providing their needs to enhance their interest and knowledge. Teach through technology integration like games instead of lectures, encourage learners to debate and enrich the subject matter with visual aids, like colorful charts, manipulative objects, diagrams and videos. Film showing will catch learners’ attention and will help them get a better understanding of a certain topic or situation presented to them. Some may be able to relate it to their personal experiences. Let them learn by viewing. You can also ask them to bring their gadgets such as tablets and cell phones and utilize them in the learning process. Giving differentiated activities will also do.
5. Draw Connections to Real Life
“When will I ever need this?” This question, too often heard in the classroom, indicates that a learner is not engaged. If the learners do not believe that what they’re learning is important, they won’t want to learn, so it’s important to demonstrate how the subject relates to them. For instance, if you’re teaching science, the topic is all about force. You can give examples that are familiar to them or wherein everybody can relate, like sleeping. You can tell them that sometimes you are not aware that when you are sleeping, you are changing your position every now and then. You still exert force if you are asleep that’s why you still use energy while sleeping. Through this example, learners understand because everybody sleeps. Learners relate the lesson to real life.
According to Plato, “the beginning is the most important part of the work”. Just like in teaching, the way teacher starts the class and motivates his/her learners will affect the pupil’s performance. But motivating pupils should focus not only at the beginning but towards the end of the lesson to achieve a better output.