10 Ideas to Improve Student Motivation and Engagement

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Educators should engage with their students to shape their professional future. It doesn’t take just good books, best lessons, or materials to make them work hard, but also needs motivation and engagement from time-to-time. Before you head to the classroom as a teacher, here are a few ideas on how you can motivate and get engaged with your students.

1. Ask Your Students About Their Expectations From You

You obviously expect that your students will leave your class with more knowledge than what they came with. Its common sense that they expect something from you too.

Face them and ask them what kind of a teacher they need. Try to live up to the way they describe. That will be a first step to winning their respect and hearts.

2. Let Them Feel Like They Are In Control

It’s your responsibility to ensure that students are guided, but you can allow them to control what happens in the classroom as a way of engaging them.

As a teacher who has undergone praxis practice tests, you are a certified educator who knows how to work with young minds. So, use those tricks to get the best out of them.

3. Change Your Environment

A classroom is where students and teachers spend most of their learning and teaching time, but it can get boring if students only sit & learn in the classroom.

For instance, if you are a business teacher and the next lesson will be about corporate management, you can organize a trip to a big company like Apple, or Google. Students love field trips, going to the library, and interacting with new faces.

4. Introduce Genius Hour

Google and Federal Express were probably the first companies to come with the “Genius Hour.” Slowly, schools are picking up and including it on the curriculum.

You basically give your students a moment or a quarter of your lesson to pursue their creativity in relation to the subject you teach.

5. Collect Clear Data On Your Students

Collect information about your students including their performance. By doing so, you will be able to understand every student individually.

You will be able to help them grow according to their situation and motivate them towards their goals.

6. Define The Objectives

Your students will feel wasted when there aren’t any objectives. They want you to show them what you expect of them and how they can get the best out of themselves.

When they have a target to make or a specific goal, they get motivated to beat it. When a new year sets in, give them higher targets, rules, and expectations.

7. Leverage Social Media

Whenever teenagers are online, they are highly likely logged into Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social media You may not like getting online, but for the sake of your students, join these social media to make them feel connected.

That’s one of the best ways to engage with your students because you should do what they love; get connected and stay connected. Do they want to learn business marketing? Show them Kylie’s Cosmetics, for example.

8. Mix Up Your Lessons

Every student responds differently to lessons. Some will read from a book and learn, others want to hear your lectures, and others understand better when working in groups.

Mix up all your lessons to allow them to understand what you’re teaching. Anyone can teach. But very few can help them understand.

9. Use Movie Clips and Song Lyrics to Engage Them

First, ask your students about the music they love. Use clips to help them learn about rhetoric or figurative language.

For instance, you might want to teach your students about human rights and refer them to Beyonce’s “Lemonade.”

10. Offer Rewards

Who doesn’t love getting things for free? Promise them that if they reach a particular goal, you will reward them with movie tickets, or pizza.

Conclusion

Students should also be your friends. When you keep them closer, they will trust you and love your lesson more. The best thing you can do besides teaching is motivating them to be a responsible citizen and a good human being.