HOW TO MOTIVATE OUR STUDENTS

Below are some of the possible ways of motivating our students. Compare these with your lists and add extra ones which you have put on your own lists.

1. Praise: Giving frequent praise for achievement or correct answers.

2. Achievement: Make sure most tasks can be achieved by most students. If many tasks are too difficult, students may give up.

3. Organisation: Sessions should be well planned and organised, with proper equipment and materials, so students feel they are learning something. Otherwise they may become frustrated.

4. Long term goals: Set goals which students can reach, such as making a table, selling vegetables in the market. When students achieve something they can be proud of, they will lose some of the sense of failure which they often start an RTC course with.

5. Short term goals: Set a series of short term goals way - design the table, cut the legs, make a joint; clear the land, plant a nursery, transplant. Students will feel they are achieving something.

6. Interest: Students will only learn if our lessons are interesting, not boring.

7. Usefulness: Students will learn well if they feel that what they learn is useful to them.

8. Marks or grades: Grades may be used as rewards to motivate students, but remember that poor grades discourage students, especially if they have tried but are not very skilled or able.

9. Certificates: These may be issued at the end of a course to provide an incentive for students to do well throughout the course.

10. Rewards: Allow students to sell what they have made or produced and keep some of the money, or to keep things and take them home.

11. Feedback: Give frequent feedback to students. Look at their work, comment on it, suggest improvement, or praise achievement. A student who gets no attention from the teacher may give up. Feedback may criticise as well as praise, so it may discourage students as well. It is good to use a ‘feedback sandwich’:

Begin: with praise for something done correctly

Middle: point out mistakes and suggest improvements

End: with encouragement.

12. Display: Good work may be put on display so the student gets a sense of achievement.

13. Prizes: These may be given at the end of a term or year, but this may discourage those who do not get a prize, as well as encourage those who do.

In addition to considering how to motivate individual students, we must also look at our courses and teaching methods to see if we are motivating our students.

• Keep instructions brief and clear.

• Avoid long boring lectures;

• Use simple, language that the students understand;

• Do not make students copy lots of notes.

• Teaching practical skills by doing them.

All these will help to motivate your students. They will more likely want to learn.