Students need opportunities to study things that are meaningful and relevant to their life and interests. Developing a curriculum around student interests fosters intrinsic motivation and stimulates their passion to learn. One way to take learning in a direction relevant to student interest is to invite student dialogue about the lessons and units of study. Given the opportunity for input, students generate ideas and set goals that make for much richer activities than I could have created or imagined myself. When students have ownership in the curriculum, they are motivated to work hard and master the skills necessary to reach their goals.
If students engage with lesson concepts and materials, with one another and with me, they will maximize their overall understandings. But even more, once students engage and become invested in their learning experience in the classroom, the likelihood of sucess (in and out of school) greatly increases.
If students engage with lesson concepts and materials, with one another and with me, they will maximize their overall understandings. But even more, once students engage and become invested in their learning experience in the classroom, the likelihood of sucess (in and out of school) greatly increases.
Ways to Increase Student Motivation and Engagement:
Create Meaning: Connecting "big ideas" to meaningful activities.
Here, students chose to showcase their knowledge in regards to how population and tourism patterns are affected by climate and landforms. These brochures were one way students engaged with the social studies content.
Student Choice: Giving students the opportunity to make decisions.
Through the implementation of Readers Workshop, Book Clubs, and Literature Circles, students can have access to well-written literature. Offering students a choice of books to read within the Readers Workshop structure can motivate children and push them to think critically and engage in literature discussions.
Make connections: Connecting lessons to real-life experiences.
Students developed an understanding of weather patterns in the western region of the United States. Students created a bar graph of the weather glyphs they created and applied the information presented in this graph to an important issue in their lives. "How does climate affect our decision on where to go for summer vacation?"
Hands-on Activities: Students are active participants in their learning.
These students are investigating the scientific concept of the earth, moon, and sun's movement. In order to establish a concrete understanding of revolution vs. rotation, students connected their movements and materials to scientific "big ideas".
Learning Styles: Investigating concepts in a variety of ways.
Students all learn differently. This picture illustrates a hands-on approach to teaching long division through the use of manipulatives. This lesson greatly benefits students who take a kinesthetic approach to learning.
