Here Are 5 Ways You Can Motivate College Students In Their Courses

In every class, there are three types of students, the toppers who excel in every subject, the average students who perform decently and manage to pass in every subject, and the third lot who barely get by in classes and perform poorly on exams. Now, even though their grades may be different but they don’t need to differ in intelligence. While the top percentile of the class does not need motivation it may be so that the rest are just lacking in their effort and are just not motivated enough to go through their lessons.

Create a culture of open communication

The fact that students are too afraid to discuss their issues with their teachers or parents is one of the main issues they deal with. He or she may be distracted from their studies by any variety of things that are running through their mind. Establish a space where the student may come and talk to you about both academic and personal issues. By doing so, you’ll be better able to decipher their mental confusion and serve as their guide. This will enable you to interact with the student more effectively and give them a sense of accountability for performing well in your class.

Encourage students to adopt a Growth Mindset

Most people think that a student is either intelligent or not. Unluckily, this also applies to our parents and instructors. The first thing we think when we see a child doing well in class is, “Oh, that person is incredibly intelligent.” Our capacity to learn is constrained by this method. It’s possible that the student put in the hours and completed the tasks that allowed them to receive the grades they did. It is the responsibility of teachers and parents to instill in their pupils the idea that learning is a skill that can be developed.

There have been many instances where intelligent high school graduates start failing in college and struggle to pass their courses. What might the cause be? When they were the brightest stars of their schools, how are they able to start failing all of a sudden?

The reason behind this is that when they enroll in college, the competition is more intense, and they begin to doubt themselves. As a result, they lose the drive after one setback and believe that they have achieved the pinnacle of their abilities. Help your kids understand that their potential is unbounded; all they need to do is let go of their inhibitions and begin putting in the necessary time.

Take the learning outside the classroom

Students frequently struggle to comprehend how what they read applies to their lives or how learning basic math, physics, or accounts will benefit them in the future. Bring them along to offices, labs, and other locations. Show them what professionals do and how they put what they have learned in school and college into practice. You will see a significant shift in your students when you assist them in making the connection between learning and application. A student needs to have faith in the subject matter they are devoting their time to. This is one method you may use to assist them to learn to have faith in the procedure.

Give them autonomy

Students often feel helpless and think they are bound by the rules with ‘0’ control over their life. Start by giving them more freedom as to what they want to study and how they want to study. Every child has their process of learning, and binding them in a common format is a recipe for disaster. You need to understand what makes them tick. If they have other interests like sports, music, drama, etc. help them to excel in those fields.

This reminded me of a movie called ‘Coach Carter. It is a movie about how a basketball coach helped the students of a local school to not just excel in Basketball but also helped them get through their classes and ultimately pass their classes with good grades when most of the teachers and their peers had given up on them. If you haven’t seen the movie, I would recommend you check it out.

Create a collaborative environment

It’s high time we get rid of the age-old system of learning, where one person is giving lectures and students have to blindly take notes which they are going to go through on their own later. This is a one-way communication model with limited reciprocity from the students. We need to create an environment where there is collective learning. Divide lectures into tasks, students into groups, and create activities around learnings so that education turns into a fun activity in which students can participate. Help them work collectively and look for answers on their own. This also invokes curiosity and will make them better team players. We need to make education more fun; this will not only increase motivation but also lead to greater understanding.

While these are a few strategies that you can use to help students, this list is not exhaustive. The most important thing is that you need to communicate with your students or your child to better help them. Sit with them, talk to them, ask them questions about their life, and their interests, and show them that you are interested in knowing about them. This will also increase the trust that they have in you whether you are a parent or a teacher. Make them help you so that you can help them.

Learning is a beautiful thing. There is no age of learning and it is continuous. If we create the right motivation in our children now, it will serve them till the end of their days.