If a student isn’t motivated, it won’t matter what kind of books, subjects, software, or other materials are offered to them; they just won’t be interested in learning, and they won’t be excited to do more than they have to (and some won’t even want to do that).

This can be very disappointing for a teacher, especially one who can see that there is a lot of potential in their students if only they would find the motivation to do more. So what can teachers do to keep the children in their charge motivated and excited to learn more? After all, the more a student learns at school, the more chances they will have in life, and the happier they will be because they will have choices. Read on to find out some of the ways that students can be motivated to learn more and give themselves a better chance in life. 

Image from Pixabay

Give Learning Objectives 

One of the reasons that students might not be motivated to work hard is that they simply don’t know the reasons behind the work they are being asked to do. This can make it all seem rather pointless, and they can’t see why they have to do it at all. 

By giving students clearly defined objectives, laying out what is expected, giving them small goals to reach, and ultimately explaining just why what they are learning is important, you will find they are much more motivated. Goals are important at all stages of life, and it begins in school. 

Be Available 

Students need to be able to talk to their teachers about their concerns. They need to feel comfortable asking questions. They need to trust that you are available for them as much as they require you to be. Teaching is not just a job you do in the classroom, and to keep children motivated you may need to step outside of that area and help them whenever they need it. 

Although, of course, you will need some time to yourself, you should also encourage your students to get in touch with you if they have a query or they’re not sure about something. If this means answering an email in the evenings or sending out a message through your group texting service for schools at the weekend, then it will be worth it to show the student you care and you want them to succeed. 

Use Your Students’ Interests 

Not everyone is going to be interested in history or science or math. Some will like one class more than another, for example. Everyone is different. This doesn’t mean that the students can stop learning just because they find they don’t like a subject or prefer a different one; the information is still going to be of use to them. 

If this is the case, teachers can use their students’ interests and incorporate them into the lesson plan, making even those classes that the student doesn’t like that little more interesting. If a child is a big fan of Marvel, for example, but they don’t like geography, a good teacher looking to engage more people could include information about the Marvel characters in the geography lesson. This will make things much more interesting, and more memorable, and will encourage more students to engage and be motivated.