The best ways to motivate a classroom

Getting your class in the mood for some learning without boring them to death or at least without losing their attention can sometimes feel like quite the herculean task, right? The key to successfully managing your classroom is engaging with your students and motivating so that they actually want to participate. So, how do you do this? What’s going to get those little light bulbs turning on?

Scientific research has provided us with a so many ways to get those juices flowing. Most smart teachers know this, even without scientific proof. That’s why we’ve come up with a few ways you can get your students motivated and ready.

1. Start with the question, not the answer. Memorizing information is boring. Discovering the solution to a puzzle is invigorating. Present material to be learned not as a parrot fashioned answer, but as a live question begging to be explored. Encourage your students to challenge the question. Who doesn’t love a little debate?
2. Make it social. Put together a learning group, or have students find learning partners with whom they can share their moments of discovery and points of confusion. Divide the learning task into parts, and take turns being teacher and pupil. The simple act of explaining what they’re learning out loud will help them understand and remember it better.
3. Be extremely encouraging. Sometimes students who appear lazy are actually discouraged or frustrated that they are having trouble learning. Our words can be extremely powerful in inspiring them, but more importantly, we can encourage them by giving them one-on-one help and showing them that they can indeed do the work and be successful. It can make a world of difference when they see that they are capable of even small successes.
4. Make learning fun. You don’t have to constantly be doing intricate activities to make learning fun. Just be passionate about what you’re teaching and let that passion shine through. Tell relevant stories and add in some humor. And simply show the kids that they can do it – Students enjoy learning when they feel that they are successful.
5. Consider whole brain teaching. If you’re not familiar with whole brain teaching, you should really check it out. We’ve got a great course on it that will set you off in the right direction!
6. Bring energy to the classroom. A classroom that feels tired probably won’t be very inspiring. Take action to make sure that your classroom pulses with energy. Start by pumping up your own enthusiasm.
7. Incorporate games. Students might feel more inspiration if they are having fun. Try organizing your lesson around a game. You can adapt this strategy for any age level.
8. Get more students involved. Each class is bound to have a few students who are reluctant to participate. However, it is important to make each student feel actively involved in the lesson. Try to get most (if not all) students to participate in activities.

What have you found that works well in your classroom? Remember, a happy classroom is an engaged, motivated classroom, so make sure you are making those gears turn with each and every student that passes through your door. After all, the easiest way to motivate yourself is to see that you’ve motivated someone else.