Student motivation and engagement are key premises for academic success. As put by Seymour Papert, a renowned educator, explanations play a very limited role in teaching, while engagement and developing affection for the learned material are central aspects of education (Wonder Workshop, 2018). It is essential to enhance students’ motivation and engagement to make the learning process effective and enjoyable. Children should feel safe and willing to engage in the offered activities, both in groups, and individuals. Teachers employ diverse tactics to ensure students’ engagement.
For instance, the establishment of expectations is one of the strategies that can improve children’s engagement (BrookesPublishing, 2017). Young learners need to have a clear understanding of what to do. These instructions need to be clear and limited to five or fewer. These can be academic goals, behavioral patterns, routine establishment, and many other important aspects of the classroom environment. Children and especially preschoolers want to receive an appraisal, so they look for ways to be praised. Doing what is expected is one of these options, which makes kids engaged. It is noteworthy that children are also keen on showing off their success and achievement, so clear goals and outcomes are instrumental in helping students accomplish tasks (Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood Education, 2019). Clearly, the tasks and activities should be manageable and appropriate for all students’ levels.
Engagement can be achieved through increasing students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn and behave. Many educators tend to concentrate on extrinsic motivation to learn and behave properly which often involves grades, scores, and tangible feedback and appraisal, to name a few (BrookesPublishing, 2017). Intrinsic motivation can be more difficult to affect, but it also plays a more pronounced role in the learning process (Wonder Workshop, 2018). Intrinsic motivation is associated with the affection for the subject of learning mentioned above, so it is often more valuable. Teachers can also try to tie academic activities to real-life problems, which will help in developing problem-solving skills in addition to building intrinsic motivation. These real-life situations should be based on children’s backgrounds and interests. Cultural aspects require particular attention, and teachers can relate activities and tasks to these areas. Motivation and engagement can be enhanced if the teacher pays specific attention to children’s preferred learning mode (BrookesPublishing, 2017). Of course, it is necessary to utilize activities adapted for different types of learning modes. However, individual tasks may be more student-centered.
Some of the methods to increase children’s intrinsic motivation to learn are to establish positive relationships with the child, proper rapport, and an appropriate environment. The establishment of positive relationships is critical for preschoolers as they view their teachers as significant adults in their lives (Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood Education, 2019). One of the tools to set appropriate relationships with children is setting a daily routine of wellness and mood checkups. The teacher should greet students in the morning when they come to the class asking about their mood, health, as well as events of the past days. For instance, if a child was presented with a cat, the teacher can ask about the pet or discuss strategies to treat the animal.
Intrinsic motivation to learn can be hard to enhance and requires deep knowledge of each student’s interests, backgrounds, and other features (HighScopeUS, 2020). For instance, the development of writing skills seemed quite a boring activity for a student. The teacher knew that the child liked labyrinths and looking for hidden objects in pictures. Some of the activities for this boy were doing labyrinths that included portions of writing tasks. The child was also asked to “hide” and find some letters in different pictures. Writing codes was another activity that increased children’s intrinsic motivation to improve their writing skills as they started sending each other coded messages.
Intrinsic motivation to behave can be enhanced by arranging the classroom layout properly. It is important to create areas for different types of work, but these sites can be employed for several activities. Avoiding stress, weariness, and lost attention are important for children’s motivation to behave as well. It is not necessary to keep children at their tables for a long period of time (HighScopeUS, 2020). Students will also want to behave if they anticipate the activities they like.
As for my personal techniques to keep students engaged, they are based on the principles mentioned above. When some students refuse to work, I try to identify the reason for such behavior first. The child may feel bad, may want to get attention, or is totally engaged in another activity (Wonder Workshop, 2018). The teacher should be attentive and observant to identify these reasons for misbehavior, but it is also possible to ask the child. Based on the causes of a particular behavior, I choose a strategy to motivate the student to work. I may give them some time to finish their previous activity. Groupwork is often a helpful technique as children become interested in an activity when they see others’ engagement.
The use of technology is an important element of engaging students. Audio and video materials tend to be most effective. However, other types of technology can also be employed to create a positive and engaging learning environment. For instance, cell phones can be utilized to learn time or improve reading (or other proficiency) skills. In order to develop children’s creative thinking, teachers can encourage students to create stories that will later be turned into short video files or audiobooks. These products can be distributed among the children’s parents and even other classes. When it comes to the use of technology, teachers need to ensure minimal screen time that can be harmful if screens are used excessively. The use of technology has become critical during periods of lockdowns and strict quarantine measures. For many teachers, keeping preschoolers engaged in the digital environment became a considerable challenge. Engaging transitions, the utilization of more diverse activities, and focus on creativity helped many educators address the problems mentioned above.
To sum up, motivation and engagement are building blocks of effective learning. Students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation tends to influence the level of their engagement. Teachers should employ diverse types of activities and instruments, create a safe and positive learning environment, as well as establish proper relationships with children. Students’ needs and their backgrounds should be considered when developing lesson plans and every activity. Technology also plays an important role in improving students’ motivation and engagement. Nevertheless, technology should be used sparingly in order to avoid any negative effects on students’ health. Teachers may also need additional training to be able to address the challenges related to the pandemic.
References
BrookesPublishing. (2017). Strategies to improve behavior and instruction in the classroom[Video]. Web.
HighScopeUS. (2020). Adapting the highscope learning environment and daily routine[Video]. Web.
Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood Education. (2019). Positive relationships—The heart of all teaching [Video]. Web.
Wonder Workshop. (2018). Webinar series – student motivation: Less stick, more carrot | Wonder Workshop[Video]. Web.