How to Motivate Students

Teachers interested in how to motivate students, especially those interested in motivation and middle school children, need only look at the gifted and talented children in their care. Children have varied interests and talents, and it is important to recognize that all students are gifted! It is up to us to help them discover their area of giftedness.

Providing motivation in math teaching particularly proves to be difficult because for many, it has been so long since they experienced success of any kind in math class. I find that many of my students gave up long ago, and much of my job is spent helping them experience success again.

For this reason, I try to provide a wide range of activities that will give all of my students a taste of success.

Every student should experience some type of success every day at school.

That's a pretty tall order, isn't it? But once you start looking at your students with a talent scout's eye, I have found, it is easier to provide the motivation which is always the by-product of success.

Different Ways of Being Smart

Gamers just cracked a code which has puzzled researchers and scientists for years - and they did it practically overnight! Their contribution to science and to the medical field is an important one, and the story should awaken us to the realization that there are many ways of being smart.

The Fixers

As teachers, we need to be constantly searching for the gift which every child possesses. Every year I have "fixers" who can fix whatever is broken in my classroom. It takes special talent - one which I do not possess myself! - to take apart a stapler or pencil sharpener and put it back together. It is this kind of task which challenges and motivates them. My challenge is creating activities to tap into that talent.

One good resource for these children are the Snap Circuits kits by Elenco Electronics. These are beautiful examples of the integration of science, math, and reading because students must read the instructions in order to build the projects using electric circuitry. They are amazing kits and worth a closer look.

The Artists

You have met some of the gifted artists who have passed through the doors of my classroom. There are others in my classes right now, and they are in yours, too. It's how they learn and who they are. So it is important that we include art in our instruction, particularly in the area of math.

The Athletes

The link between reading and physical coordination is one which is routinely overlooked in public schools. The fact is that learning is enhanced by physical activity. Children who are gifted in this area need to move in order to learn.

This is why using energizers will help support their learning.

The Computer Guys

Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Need I say more?

The Musicians

Another reason for using energizers, these kids think in terms of melodies, riffs, and steady beats. There is a lot of mathematics in music so approaching fractions in this manner will connect with and help motivate them.

The "beat" in music is generally a "quarter note," and it can be subdivided into two "eighth notes" or four "sixteenth notes." It's a natural way to study fractions!

Bringing in a cool set of Paper Jamz drums with paper amp lights up these kids like nothing else. They are super motivated to get the problems right for their chance at playing a drum roll just before each answer is announced.

There is a wide variety of gadgets and toys which may be used to motivate students, and these paper drums are among the best. We use them when we are Singing the Word Wall, too, to help establish a steady beat which makes them important as a memory activity.

Neuro Cognitive Schools Get It Right

In neuro cognitive schools such as those directed by Dr. Fritz Mengert, students have the opportunity to discover, explore, and develop their unique gifts and interests in multi-aged clubs or workshops. In these pure examples of authentic education, students are allowed to choose afternoon sessions according to their talents and interests, each one providing a math and reading focus in order for students to practice the skills they have learned in the morning core classes.

This afternoon time is also used to catch kids up. Those who are behind in reading and math work very hard in special remediation sessions so that they can join their classmates in regular workshops.

It is absolutely education at its very best.

Go to Art and Learning from How to Motivate Students
Go to Use of Music from How to Motivate Students