Even those who have been working for years lose their motivation. Instead of completing their tasks, they start reading books, playing online roulette Philippines, and chatting with colleagues. The situation worsens if we look at children. They have an even lower level of motivation to study. Want to solve this problem ? Then, these 5 ways will be helpful.
Motivation – What Is it and How Does It Work?
Motivation is everything that makes us overcome inertia and our own laziness and do something. There is a famous joke.
Do you have a goal? Go for it. Can’t walk? Crawl. Can’t crawl? Lie down and lie in the direction of the goal.
Motivation is precisely what determines the urge to walk – crawl – lie down in the direction of the goal.
Interest as the Basis of a Child’s Learning Motivation
To increase learning motivation in children and adolescents, the material being studied must be:
- New, but “recognizable.” It makes no sense to explain degrees if you haven’t yet gone through the multiplication table. Lessons should surprise and at the same time have references to previous topics.
- Each time is a little more difficult than the previous one. If it’s easy for the child, he gets bored. Start from his experience and gradually complicate the tasks.
- Tutorials, webinars, excursions, experiments – the more formats, the more fun learning.
Autonomy to Build Motivation
In 1965, American elementary school teacher Barbara Scheel conducted an interesting experiment. She had a difficult class of 36 students, most of whom did not want to learn.
One day the teacher announced that each student could do whatever he or she wanted during the day. Some children studied, others drew, others stood on their ears. At the end of the day the teacher summed up the results: almost everyone liked the experiment and wanted to continue it.
At the next stage the children also had freedom of action, but Barbara helped them make a plan for the day and gave them a teacher’s book where the children could estimate the results of their work. Later she explained that there was a program and there was a certain amount of material to go through in a week.
As a result of the experiment, almost everyone’s intrinsic learning motivation kicked in. The children liked the autonomy and achieved results.
Let the child determine for himself what he will do today or during the week. Gradually introduce study rules to increase their motivation to learn.
Perception of Self-competence
In the 1960s, the American psychologist Martin Seligman conducted a series of experiments with dogs and revealed the phenomenon of learned helplessness. The animals were beaten with an electric shock, which was not harmful to their health but painful. One group of dogs could avoid it by pulling the lever. The other group could not. Then both groups were put into a situation where the current could be turned off. The first group of dogs did this successfully, the second group didn’t. After that, the experiments were repeated many times on humans, and the results were the same.
Learned helplessness occurs when children often find themselves in circumstances where they cannot do anything. The experience of being out of control is imprinted in the memory, and then, when something can be done, the child does not try to cope.
If a person is indoctrinated that he can do nothing, his motivation tends to zero. When a student is constantly faced with a task he can’t do, and then is given a manageable task, he won’t even try to do it.
Praise children for even small learning successes and help them cope with “unsolvable” tasks. In this way you will contribute to the proper formation of school motivation.
Positive Relationships With Others
Communication with like-minded people and teamwork has a very positive effect on learning motivation.
A child in family education may experience a lack of communication, and this may affect his or her interest in learning.
Besides, you can ask your child to do a science project together with a friend, sibling, or grandparent.
Purpose-based Learning to Increase Motivation
Goal-setting is an important part of educational strategy and building motivation for learning activities. Parents and children should clearly understand why to attend classes and do homework.
Ask your child what he or she sees as the meaning of his or her learning, and then formulate your goal together. It does not have to be global, but it’s better if the goal is commensurate with the age of the student. Getting into Harvard or becoming a programmer sounds too abstract for a fifth- or even seventh-grader.
Summary
After all, intrinsic learning motivation in school is much stronger than extrinsic incentives. Set a learning goal, let your child plan his or her own day, give him or her new and moderately challenging material, and praise him or her for even minor successes.
More Read On: Spero Magazine
