Motivational Strategies for the Classroom

Looking around any classroom at the start of another school year, you will probably see a range of reactions from students. Some are eager to get started, returning from the break with a desire to start the year off in a positive way. Others appear less confident and seem to have approached the end of the summer with a sense of dread. Throughout the school year, you can also expect students to slowly lose motivation without some extra motivational strategies. They may be disappointed by a bad grade, or quietly decide that the material is too difficult, or not worth the effort, or that they generally lack the fundamental skills to keep up. There are ways to combat this, however–try these motivational strategies.

1. Take a look at the classroom environment first. It’s easy to overlook the most important step in any teaching strategy: to build a positive class culture. When classroom rules are negotiated with students, they feel a greater sense of ownership and commitment toward them. Often these “rule-setting” sessions at the start of the year generate fairly similar (and effective) sets of rules. Student-negotiated consequences for breaking these rules, and ensuring they are followed throughout the year, can also reinforce a cohesive and positive learning environment. Students are more likely to meet expectations and interact positively with others when they’ve agreed on both the rules and consequences. A set of class rules may look as follows:

• We should listen to each other
• We should try not to hurt each other, verbally or physically
• We should respect each other’s ideas and values
• We shouldn’t make fun of each other’s learning / it’s OK to make mistakes
• We should help each other

2. Boost student interest. Students are more motivated by their schoolwork when it is interesting, so offering students choice is a common way of building interest, along with the quality and relevance of learning materials. Teachers may also allow students to negotiate twists on a task that makes it more interesting to them, while still working toward the learning outcomes of the lesson. Not every learning goal will naturally pique student interests, so ask students to reflect on tasks they find uninteresting in a learning journal to help them identify patterns in these moments and to react in a positive way. The journal entries are also great feedback for the teacher on how to make content more engaging for students.

3. Combat negative emotions. At the start of the school year, discuss with students how different moods and emotions help or hurt learning, as students often aren’t aware of how much their emotions affect their schoolwork. Then you can ask students to create a positive “mantra” they can refer back to if feeling unmotivated or anxious. Teachers can also prompt students to reflect on their moods when evaluating how they are progressing toward their goals, and note these observations in their learning journals. For example, a student might write: “I didn’t learn much new vocabulary this week. I was feeling angry and I couldn’t focus.” Once the teacher knows what’s going on in the emotional lives of students it’s easier to offer targeted advice on strategies to ensure learning continues, even when a student is in a heightened emotional state.

What motivational strategies have you found helpful in the classroom?

Allison Green
Boston Tutoring Services