Secret of Motivation and Inspiration - Kate Martin

I feel like it is very important to know your students on a more personal level and I try to learn at least one thing about each student in my class. Some students are easier to connect with than others, but every student has the right to feel valued in your classroom. I have found it very easy to build a good relationship with unmotivated female students, especially being a female teacher. Something as simple as complimenting a hair cut/style, outfit, nail polish, or writing/drawings is a huge motivator. Sometimes it just takes an interest and willingness to talk to them that will improve behavior. For example, I had this really unmotivated girl in my first placement. It was impossible to get her to do anything, and she genuinely thought she was stupid despite my protests. When doing a review where students independently answered cumulative questions, I was checking on her progress. She was on a question about volume, and I simply asked where she’d heard the word before. She replied “ I don’t know, like volume stuff for your hair,” and I saw my opportunity to connect with her. I told her that was exactly right, and to explain to me what volumizing conditioner is supposed to do for your hair. She was a little hesitant, sensing that it didn’t really relate to science but said “it makes your hair bigger and stuff.” I agreed with her and said that volume is just how much space something takes up, so when you volumize your hair, you’re making it bigger to take up more space. Ever since then, she was a perfect student. She was completing several activities a day when it had originally been difficult for her to complete anything. With everything she finished, she brought to me for validation. I praised her on everything she turned in and found one thing I liked about each project. I was amazed at how much better she acted and how much more motivated she was to perform.

It is also important to catch students doing things correctly and praise them for the behavior you want them to repeat. I have noticed that saying “I’m glad you all got out your bell ringer papers so quickly” was a much more effective way to start class than saying “You all need to hurry up and get out your papers, the bell rang.” The attitude and mood of the teacher dictates how the class will run.  Teachers need to be excited about what they’re teaching (or pretend to be) and continue to exhibit positive behaviors to benefit their classrooms. It’s also important to emphasize student success that is relevant for each student. When monitoring progress of students (even if they are working at a slower pace than I expect) I’ll compliment them on their progress and then set a goal for them. For example, I’d walk around to see how far they were getting with an in class math practice set and say “wow, you’re moving right along! You’re already on 3! By the time I come back around I want to see if you can get to number 6.” This seems to be a good way to motivate them, because they are almost always farther than I had expected them to be. It’s funny that in the first 10 minutes they can only get 3 done when they’re unmotivated. Once complimented, they are able to complete 4 in 5 minutes because they become motivated to perform.