Motivation

Keeping students motivated is a really big part of teaching.Without motivation, students will not be willing to put in the proper effort needed to suceed in school. As an elementary education major, I will not have to deal so much with other teachers not keeping their students motivated as they will stay in my classroom for the majority of the day. It is a teacher's job to keep her students focused on the task at hand and make sure that they do not lose interest in it. Keeping students interested in the material that is being learned is a big part of this though a student will not always be interested in what has to be taught. That's just life. For elementary school- aged children, some of the classroom motivation aspects that we discussed in class would not be appropriate. For instance, letting young students grade themselves or treating them like adults will not benefit anyone. However, setting high expectations for students and making sure that they are aware that you expect them to meet those standards is just one of the many ways to keep young students motivated. This is because young children thrive to impress and please the adults that matter in their lives such as their parents, teachers, and older siblings. I feel that the environment also plays a big part in how a student stays motivated. A classroom should be colorful and keep a child stimulated, but too much going on on the walls and ceilings of students can be very distracting. Distractions make students lose their motivation as they are focusing thier attention on other things rather than classwork. Asking questions to ensure that they are understanding the materials can also be motivating going back to the aspect of students wanting to please the people that they feel are important. This also checks to see if the students are up to date on what is being taught enabling the teacher to figure out whether or not they should be spending more time teaching that subject or move on to something else.