Motivation comes from the Latin word “movere” which means to move (Human Behavior in Organization). It is the act of giving someone a reason for doing something. It is something that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior; it gets students moving, points them in a particular direction, and keeps them going. We often see students’ motivation reflected inpersonal investmentand in cognitive, emotional, and behavioralengagementin school activities (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004; Maehr & Meyer, 2004; Reeve, 2006).
“I can’t force them to study!”That’s what we could hear from most of us; Teachers. Students nowadays lack the willingness and desire to learn. They would sit down at the start of the class until the end without comprehending their lessons. Studentscomplain about work that is tedious and boring, and many refuse to comply with requirements for homework.
Virtually all students are motivated in one way or another. One student may be keenly interested in classroom subject matter and seek out challenging course work, participate actively in class discussions, and earn high marks on assigned projects. Another student may be more concerned with the social side of school, interacting with classmates frequently, attending extracurricular activities almost every day, and perhaps running for a student government office. Still another may be focused on athletics, excelling in physical education classes, playing or watching sports most afternoons and weekends, and faithfully following a physical fitness regimen. Yet another student—perhaps because of an undetected learning disability, a shy temperament, or a seemingly uncoordinated body—may be motivated toavoidacademics, social situations, or athletic activities.
To ensure that students get the proper academic challenge to stimulate their desire to work in school, we should think of practical techniques to motivate the unmotivated student: give them challenge, choice, feedback, and competence.
Let the students work on something interesting, challenging, and relevant for them. If the purpose of a homework assignment is to practice a set of skills, create a menu of three choices so that students can choose how to demonstrate mastery.The teachers should know that they need not make everything count for a grade to motivate students, but rather that they provide feedback that is clear, relevant, immediate, and constructive.Feedback, not threats of low grades, leads to better performance. Most of all help students feel competent because they are more engaged and learn better when they know that they are competent.
By: Dusty M. Mangila | Teacher II | Limay National High School | LImay, Bataan
