Motivation...

Becoming motivated is something everyone can relate to! But the problem is how do you get your students motivated to learn? What happens when your students are unmotivated, what causes them to become motivated/unmotivated?

Citation: "Student Motivation Self-Assessment." My Business. 2006. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.  <http://jacksanfernandes.com/student_motivation_survey_self-assessment>.

•             What are some reasons that students are motivated/unmotivated to learn? I believe that some students aren’t motivated to learn because they might not be interested in that specific subject. Also they might be unmotivated because their parents or peers have not told them how important having an education is. When I was in school most of the students who were unmotivated felt there was no need for them to be in school, if students like this had someone to help them or someone to look up too then maybe they would become motivated to learn. 
• Can teachers motivate students to engage in activities they find boring, useless or irrelevant? I believe teachers can definitely try to engage students in activities they find boring. The teacher can make the lesson as interesting and fun as she wants, but it is up to the student to come with a positive attitude and open mind in order to learn the lesson. Teachers do try to make lessons fun and they do try to engage students in different activities however, it is all up to the student as to what they do with the information being taught.
•       Do you feel that rewards and praise can motivate students to learn? I feel that rewarding students and giving them praise will not truly help a student learn. I think if the student knows he/she is going to receive a reward it will only make them participate more. Just because the student had the right answer does not mean they truly understand or acquired the material. Anyone can find an answer in the book and if a student knows he/she will receive a reward for reading a story the night before class and remembering what the themes were, then it will only make the student learn the material for that specific reason. It is more important that as a teacher they make sure the student can acquire the information. Rewarding students and praising them will only make them participate more, just because they participate and get the answer correct does not mean they truly know or understand the material.
• Can students’ emotions affect their thinking and learning? Moreno says, “teachers need to consider how students’ motivational beliefs may play a role in their conceptual change” (Moreno, 353). I would have to agree with both this statement. Emotions can affect learning to some extent and teachers must be aware of these emotions or beliefs in order to help students look past them. If a student is having a bad day then the last thing on that students mind might be the lesson that is being taught. Teachers need to be aware of the emotions of their students’ because it could tell the teacher if the student is understand the lesson or thinking of something else.