The role of teachers in students’ learning
There is no doubt that one of the most crucial roles of teachers is motivating their students. Motivation affects every aspect of students’ school life, from attendance, classroom performance to academic achievement. Actually, it is an influential factor that determines the process and outcomes of learning. I can dare to say that motivation is what makes a difference between success and failure.
Motivated students will effectively learn and greatly participate in creating a positive and enjoyable atmosphere for teachers and students alike. However, in every classroom, there might be some students who are unmotivated. Subsequently, they won’t participate, they won’t retain information and they may even become disruptive.
Students might be unmotivated for a variety of reasons. Some might feel that they have no interest in a particular subject, while others find teachers’ methods unappealing or boring.
Lack of motivation will lead to Poor achievements. As a result, it enlarges the gap between high and low achievers. Here comes the integral role of teachers, which is to diminish this gap by inspiring learners, sparking their interest, and most importantly getting them motivated.
Students become motivated, and their predisposition to learn grows when they get positive reinforcement and approval from teachers. It all happens when teachers recognize and value their work.
How teachers can motivate their students
Teachers should constantly praise their students’ contributions in the classroom in order to maintain their motivation because the effective use of verbal praise is a powerful extrinsic motivating technique.
Varying the ways and techniques of teaching helps to a large extent in stimulating students’ motivation, interest and maximize engagement. This can happen through using games, discussions, debates, multimedia, project work, and visual aids.
Teachers can also get their students motivated through principled engagement, that is to say, to keep them on task. Teachers can achieve this through maximizing pair and group work as they enhance students’ sense of ownership and responsibility, create a competitive atmosphere, allow them to feel accomplished as well as encourage them to be active participators in the learning event.
All in all, the centrality of motivation in learning and teaching is unquestionable. As a matter of fact, motivation is inevitable in classroom learning. Research has continually shown that its effect on learning and behaviors is so remarkable. Therefore, it is very important for teachers to know about the science of motivation and use it to support their students’ learning.
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Have a great day, Edutopians.
