Fostering student motivation is an important part of teaching. Students should be motivated to learn as less motivation leads to loss of interest in the subject and poor attention in class. Students who are motivated are also more likely to engage with the lecture and show genuine interest in the subject matter. Even with the prefect method of teaching and the best teaching material, a demotivated or disinterested student will not learn, and it is not productive to force them to learn something they have no interest in. Instead, the solution is to foster interest and motivate the students to learn. The motivation of students plays a large part in students’ performance in the class and at exams, and this often takes a cyclical nature where poor performance demotivates students, which leads to poorer performance, and so on. Therefore, enhancing motivation should be a priority in a learning environment and make the overall attitude of the class more conductive to learning.

Increase Engagement

Students are more motivated when they see the practical aspects of what they are learning and are allowed to engage with the studies in the more meaningful manner than just listening to a lecture and memorising notes. Institutions and teachers can improve the engagement aspect by keeping in touch with the students and giving them assignments that require them to use the skills and knowledge they gained in class to complete. Modern technology such as the internet, social media, and websites can be used to this effect by uploading additional material that the students can peruse at their leisure. An LMS system would allow students to engage in learning even outside of class. Learn more about these at websites for schools.

Reward the Students

People respond better to rewards than threats. That is, the threat of failing a course is less likely to motivate a student than a reward for passing the course. The reward does not necessarily need to be material, it could simply be affirmation and appreciation of their efforts. The idea is to establish a common goal with the learners that they would work towards achieving by performing better.

Ensure the course material is useful

Tied very closely to the above tip, students are not likely to be excited to learn something they perceive to not have any real value. If the students feel that there is no practical purpose of completing a course, they will not do so. Demonstrate the usefulness of the course material by allowing them to solve real problems and by analysing case studies in class using the knowledge they have gained throughout the course.

Establish clear goals

Set the targets of the course and what is expected of the students from the onset and allow them to work towards the goal. Setting too high of an expectation leads to demotivation as students feel that the target is impossible to achieve and do not bother trying. Similarly, if the target is too lax, students feel that they can achieve it without trying. The key, then, is to find a balance where students relish the challenge and strive towards its completion for the sake of the challenge.