11.1 | To Engage, to Motivate, or to Challenge?
Preview
Before we begin, think about your own motivation and your students’ What kind of learning do you enjoy? What do you think your students enjoy? When you were a student, what were your goals, and why? What are your students’ goals for the year, and for the future? Do you think that classwork is too easy, too difficult or just right for your students?
Understanding Engagement, Motivation, and Challenge
One goal of teaching is to make sure that all students are motivated, engaged and challenged at all times. This will actively involve students in learning.
Students have different motivations for learning. Teachers can support these motivations when teaching. Motivations include:
- usefulness for future life;
- pressure from family;
- approval from teacher and classmates;
- interest in the topic;
- enjoying learning new things;
- wanting good grades;
- greater self-confidence
- self- esteem;
- enjoying interacting with classmates.
Students are engaged with learning when they are actively paying attention and participating. The students feel like they are a part of the lesson. The pacing of the class affects how learners are engaged. Different learning experiences make the class interesting and energising.
Students also need to be challenged. This means that all students are expected to be working hard during the lesson. This involves choosing a variety of activities that use different levels of thinking, frequently asking questions to students and making all students push themselves.