8 Strategies to Build Student Motivation

Last time, we discussed how intrinsic motivation is built on the concepts of value and success.  Today, let’s look at specific ways to deal with challenges related to building value and success.

For learners who struggle with . . .	Do this…
Seeing relevance	Develop real-life learning experiences and applications.
Not enjoying the activity	Attempt to involve the student more in the activity or provide an alternate activity.
Poor relationship with peers	Use care when assigning groups, design activities that build collaboration, pair student with a “coach” to help him or her assimilate into group work.
Poor relationship with teacher	Take time to build a more positive relationship with the student. Take it as your responsibility to improve the relationship.
Not feeling successful	Provide small chunks of tasks that students can complete successfully. Reinforce the successes.
Not feeling successful	Show them why they are successful. Positively reinforce the effort and achievement.
Thinking they are not successful when they are.	Show them why they are successful. Positively reinforce the effort and achievement.
Thinking they are successful when they are not.	Reinforce that they have tried, but point out where they have made mistakes and provide coaching and support to help them succeed.

Source: Adapted from Opitz and Ford (2014), Engaging Minds in the Classroom: The Surprising Power of Joy

Which of these strategies do you want to implement in the classroom?