Improving Motivation in Lessons

 

This is how to increase engagement in your lessons, change your students' attitudes towards work and motivate them to participate more...

The principle behind the  Needs-focusedTM Approach  is that there are three main psychological needs and that they are each incredible motivators. As humans we MUST have these needs satisfied in our lives (to a greater or lesser extents depending on the individual) and often go to great lengths to ensure this is so. 

These three crucial needs are: the need to 'belong', the need to feel 'empowered' and the need to have 'fun'.

Here's the rub... If we, as teachers, don't provide an appropriate means for our pupils to get these needs met, they will seek alternative ways to satisfy them - often to the detriment of the lesson. Concentrating on just these three needs can literally transform your lessons.

Think about it, kids love to have fun. They NEED fun - in all its forms, this is a basic psychological need. They need adventure, colour, variety, intrigue discovery, excitement, interaction, humour.We all do, it's human nature to seek these things in varying degrees.

If we don't provide the fun, the pupils will set about finding their own fun - by throwing things around, doodling, walking around the room to bother each other, making fun of the teacher etc. etc. You've seen it all before. 

Having really engaging, fun activities for them to do prevents this behaviour to a certain extent but it is only part of the story.

If you're spending a huge slice of your time trying to find fantastic worksheets, great video clips and whacky demonstrations in the name of giving them 'fun',  it's a fairly safe bet your most challenging students will still spend a large proportion of their time 'switched off' or presenting problems. 

If your students are switched off you're probably missing two more  vital pieces of the 'successful lesson' jigsaw...  

...and including them in your lessons is going to give you the very best chance of success with your most difficult, challenging and  disengaged pupils. 

As well as providing 'fun', you can make your lessons more engaging and successful if you...

1) Meet their need to 'belong' - feel connected, involved and valued, and 

2) Meet their need to feel 'empowered' - by enabling them to feel they have actually achieved something, accomplished something and had their successes recognized. 

Remember, many of the reasons for bad behaviour in lessons relate to the student's feelings at the time - they are often bored, frustrated, angry or in need of attention. By satisfying their needs you ELIMINATE a large proportion of behaviour problems.

Let me explain a little further because this is hugely important.. 

We are 'pack animals' - we need to 'BELONG' to, or be part of, something bigger than ourselves. In short, we need companionship. Try telling any gang member, hobby group enthusiast, dinner party host or 'new kid' in school that this isn't true. By making sure all your pupils feel involved in the lesson you lessen their desire to 'opt out', 'switch off' and form their own negative 'splinter groups'. 

We also need to succeed and achieve and to be recognised when we accomplish something or make the right choices. Would you give your all to a meaningless, pointless and boring job which offered no incentives, no chance of promotion, no relevance to your life and no sense of accomplishment and a boss who didn't even know you existed? 

By providing lesson activities that are specifically aimed at the abilities and interests of ALL your pupils, by creating a setting and structure that is sensitive to their innate needs, by giving some autonomy in the way work is completed and by ensuring successes and accomplishments are acknowledged by staff and peers alike, you will effectively 'EMPOWER' your pupils and reduce the chances of them refusing to work, arguing against you or constantly trying to get your attention for the wrong reasons.  

I know what you're thinking... This all sounds like EVEN MORE WORK but I want to tell you that there are some very straightforward ways of ensuring these three needs are met automatically  , which you can now easily begin to implement within the next 24 hours through our new program... Needs Focused Lessons