Q: Is it the role of teachers to motivate students?
A: You decide?
That’s not a cop out… BUT, one teacher once told me “I taught them, they just didn’t learn it”.
Where does the learning start and where does it end?
If I was a comedian and I told you “I was funny, but , they just didn’t laugh !!”. Is that true?
Or the salesman who said “I sold it them, they just didn’t buy it”. Surely the true measurement is in the result of what we said we did.
My previous marriage – I might have said “yeah, I loved my wife – BUT, did she feel loved?”…. you’d have to ask her !!!
So, going back to the teacher who said, “I taught them, they just didn’t learn”. That doesn’t quite stack up. So, how do you motivate students to learn then?
The techniques people often use…
Competition – This is a good thing BUT it’s good to realize that it doesn’t work for all kids. The reality is, the only person who is truly motivated by competition is the person who thinks he/she has a chance of winning!
Rewards don’t always work either, if the child is having difficulty. All reward systems are based on the concept that the child CAN DO IT, he just chooses NOT TO. That’s great if you know they’re not really trying.
Punishment is not normally very effective way because it takes the child’s favourite thing, whether it be a football or a skateboard, and take it away from him when they’re bad. Marriages even break up over sex or money, and it’s because one spouse takes the thing that the other spouse wants and uses it to manipulate the other person. You’re basically saying “I’ll give it to you when you’re good, and I won’t when you’re bad.” So if it doesn’t work with adults maybe it might not be all that effective with kids?
So, what do I do to motivate?
The NINE RULES here I have made up are inspired by the author Richard Lovoie.
Play – Have fun, enjoy, enthuse and bring energy to the room.
“No-one ever achieved anything without enthusiasm” Emerson
Personal – School is about life.
• Indulge your students and listen to their stories.
• Indulge yourself – Share your stories with them… if it benefits them?
Provoke – Ask questions about life, ask questions about the topic – it gets them to think… It’s powerful when they get to see things through their own mind !
Praise – Catch People Doing Things Right. Be focused on praise BUT be specific and sincere. The praise should be focused on effort and improvement – this is always effective. We all need to feel good enough.
Power. Letting your students determine some of the agenda or make certain rules gets them to feel like they’re ‘in charge’ without you losing control.
Projects. These are very powerful mechanisms for connecting different skills and knowledge and harnessing natural curiosity.
Positive People. This gets them to learn quickly how to behave in a positive manner.
Prizes. Rewards can be powerful when they are unannounced and not too familiar. The prize may be as innocuous or humorous as you like.
Prestige. All children need to feel important, and some more than others, so prestige and recognition are fundamental. Consistent encouragement and opportunities to showcase these talents are important.
That’s it… These techniques are NOT magic as you can see, they’re just ways of keeping people focused when their natural attention wanes. It’s incredibly powerful and effective and it’s a lot of fun…
