Do you need help with an unmotivated student? You’re not the first educator to feel this way, and you certainly won’t be the last. A lot of students simply don’t see the value in doing school work, especially when they’re young and more interested in playing and having fun.
So what are you supposed to do in order to handle this? There’s actually more than a few ways you can go about it, so let’s take a look at them.
How To Help Your Unmotivated Student
Use Positive Reinforcement
A simple thing you can start doing is rewarding the behavior you want. For example, if a student is showing eagerness to start a new task, give them a compliment. It doesn’t have to be a big deal. But by doing this, you’re letting the student know they’re doing something good and that you appreciate it.
In turn, this will make them want to work harder in order to receive that positive reinforcement again. If you’re lucky, their enthusiasm will rub off on their classmates and the entire class will start to perform better.
Be Enthusiastic
One of the best ways to get students motivated is by showing you’re excited about the material too. After all, if you can get them fired up about the topic, they’ll be more likely to want to learn about it. All you’ve got to do is act as if what you’re teaching is the most interesting thing in the world.
If that feels too disingenuous, then you can also come up with creative ways to present the material. This could be anything from acting out a scene to using props. The key is to make the material interesting and relevant to your students.
Do More Hands-On Activities Or Group Work
I think most of us can agree that sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher talk for hours is not the best way to learn. In fact, it can be downright boring. So to engage an unmotivated student, you can try to make your lessons more hands-on or interactive.
Doing things like using group work, creating visual aids, or displaying visuals on the chalkboard can all help to keep your students more interested. It can also help them to learn the material better as well.
Change Up Your Teaching Style
Sometimes adding novelty can help get your students more interested in school work. For example, if you usually teach by lecture, try switching it up by putting together a presentation. Or if you usually have the kids sit in assigned seats, switch those up and create groups.
By doing this, you’re changing the dynamic of the classroom and it might help to give your students a fresh perspective.
Mix Things Up
Going further with the idea of changing things up, there are other ideas as well. Why not try teaching outside? Or having a class picnic? Or even having the class try to teach you the material instead?
The key is to think of new and creative ways to get the students interested. You don’t have to accomplish anything big, but you can at least try to find some way to keep them engaged in between standard lectures.
Show Them Their Progress
One way to get a student excited about doing school work is by showing them their progress. You can do this in different ways, such as giving them a periodic report card (that they don’t have to give their parents) or using online tools that track their progress. Seeing that they’re getting better at something will make them feel good and it might give them that motivation to keep going.
Just be sure their grades are improving before you do this. Otherwise, it could have the opposite effect instead.
Help Your Unmotivated Student Today
These are just a few of the ways you can help your students be more motivated. It’s not an easy task, but it’s definitely possible if you use some of the tips recommended above.
And if you’re looking for a simple way to motivate students regarding their typing skills, then you can’t go wrong with the tools found at KeyboardingOnline. Make sure to check it out if you’re looking for a more fun and interactive way to help students learn how to type.