How can we keep our students engaged and motivated in
their learning? This is a question that runs through the minds of all teachers
as we see the presence of children who are all different in our classroom and
as we see students begin to fade away during lessons that don’t draw their
interest. When trying to answer this question, teachers are constantly looking
for motivational strategies. According to Guilloteaux and Dornyei (2008)
motivational strategies are instructional interventions applied by the teacher
to elicit and stimulate motivation and self-regulating strategies that are
purposefully used by students to manage their own level of motivation. According
to Drake, Reid and Kolohon (2014) when you tap into a learner’s motivation it
can also increase their engagement and the way assessment is delivered which is
important due to links between motivation, effort and identity in the
classroom. Motivation is important in sustaining the long and sometimes tedious
learning process and is often created by classroom factors such as tasks,
learning activities and instructional materials. In order for learners to
display their motivated behaviours they must be motivated to a certain extent.
This motivation is mainly shaped by the learning process, whether the activities/lessons
presented are meaningful to them and whether the learners feel comfortable
expressing their learning in the classroom (Huang, 2011). In my opinion I believe that one of the most
important factors in motivating students if providing them with information
that is meaningful to them. I think that this strategy is more likely to draw
in students attention as if they believe the content they are learning will
benefit them or if it interests them, they are more likely to be motivated to
put in their best effort. Edutopia presents four important strategies for
helping students to regulate their motivation.
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The video below is a Ted Talk presented by Peter
Gardenfors on how to motivate students. Gardenfors begins this video by stating
findings that say that the majority of high school students find school boring
and uses this to discuss why this is and how we can change this. The main reason
discussed for the reasoning students find school boring is hidden rules. Hidden
rules are rules that are not explicitly stated, but are used in a way to make
all students similar which consequently blocks motivation and does not allow
everyone to fit in. Gardenfors believes that motivation is the way to change
students thinking through curiosity, cooperation, control, peer learning and
metacognition.
References
Drake,
S.M., Reid, J.L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving
curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st century
learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Guilloteaux,
M.J., & Dornyei, Z. (2008). Motivating language learners: A
classroom-oriented investigation of the effects of motivational strategies on
student motivation. Tesol Quarterly, 42(1),
55-77.
Huang,
K.M. (2011). Motivating lessons: A classroom-oriented investigation of the
effects of content-based instruction on EFL young learners motivated behaviours
and classroom verbal interaction. Science
Direct, 186-201.
