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Motivating in the classroom is a very important job. Without motivation, the engagement and participation of the students is at stake. Motivation is the key force that drives many behaviors of students, making it a key tool to understand. In order to increase motivation there are some things that can be done such as; creating engaging and interesting lessons, fostering a positive environment, building a rapport with students that allows them to take ownership of their learning, and providing constructive feedback. These techniques will not only help motivate students to learn and grow, but also will help improve the effectiveness of learning. In order to promote the motivation in students one must first and foremost create engaging lessons. These lessons must be interesting, interactive, and exciting. Lessons that contain these elements boost student's energy while also allowing the student's creativity to flow. All of which encourages participation and involvement in the learning process. There are multiple different ways to interest the students, such as taping into their own interests. Take to the internet and figure out what is popular, which icon has done something awesome and incorporate it into the lesson. Students respond more when they are reading, listening, or writing about something they are passionate about. Another way to peak student’s interest is by having a broad range of activities and examples. One needs to try to cater to as many interests as possible. By having an assortment of activities and examples not only mixes up the structure of the lesson, keeping it fresh and new, but also improves the likelihood that one of the activities will peak a student’s interest. Mixing up the activities and examples, making sure that the content is new and exciting, as well as catering to your student’s passions will help boost motivation in the classroom. Although content is an important factor to boosting the motivation of students, the environment is another key feature. An environment that is negative, boring, and isolated will only create disdain and distance between the teacher and students. An effective learning environment is one that is positive, bright, and open. The students should feel comfortable speaking up in class and asking questions when they need help. To create this ideal environment the teacher needs to make themselves available, keep an upbeat attitude, and get to know the students. By doing so the students should feel more relaxed and safe in the classroom. In the video example in Unit 6 taught us the importance of being upbeat while teaching. The example consisted of a teacher showing two types of teaching styles; one where he was being bleak and harsh, and another where he was being positive and upbeat. The latter showed an astounding difference in the student’s participation level and overall motivation to engage in the lesson. By being positive and having an open rapport with students helps increase the effectiveness of the lesson. Students respond not only to the external factors, such as positive energy of the teacher, but also internal factors, such as the desire to improve. By providing feedback to students it allows them to set goals for themselves and reach toward achieving them. Constructive feedback can allow students to see their mistakes and aim toward eliminating them. The desire to improve can be a great motivator for students, but one must be cautious when attempting to correct mistakes. As a lead teacher, it is a priority for your students to grow and develop, but giving too much feedback can seem harsh and targeted. Feedback must be given in balance. Too much will create contempt, but too little will only deter their progress. Focusing on both external factors such as environment and lesson content, as well as internal factors such as student’s desires to grow and succeed can be great motivational techniques. Motivation of the students can make or break a classroom. It can make the difference in the amount of participation, engagement, quality of relationships with students, and overall effectiveness of the classroom. In order to be a successful lead teacher, one must focus on all aspect of teaching in order to foster learning and development.
