We come across very few students (at any age) who “enjoy studying.” Most of them study because they have to complete assignments, prepare for exams or escape scolding. Students seldom study for fun. As there is no intrinsic motivation towards studies, external stimuli is sought after in order to drive students towards picking up books.
Though there is no harm in being driven by external persuasions, it just translates into a constant need for the environment (and people in it) to stay focused on creating enough reasons to keep students “studying.” More often than not, it is during the middle and high school years that the adults start getting tired of driving the students and want to wean them off these compulsions. Students in the middle and high school are expected to study by self-realisation or being internally driven. While many students get into the driving seat due to a plethora of reasons, many do not. This is the time when tired adults and confused younger minds start to get into a series of conflicts.
How can parents and teachers contribute in helping students increase their motivation towards studies?
Having a long-term perspective is always useful. Rome was not built in a day. Getting students to initiate and sustain the act of studying is a slow and deliberate process. Adults in a hurry to fix the students are likely to end up frustrated and unsuccessful in motivating them. Creating the right environment and routines for studying also helps. In order to focus on the task in hand, it is important to have a certain amount of order and calm around us. If there is excessive noise or activity, it is difficult to sustain focus.
The schedules of the house/school need to encourage the act of studying. When the actions of people around the student prompt studying, it is easy to initiate the student into doing his work.
Another way is coupling studies with positive experiences. Make a conscious effort to associate the act of studying and related people with positive emotions, such as happiness, excitement, fun, warmth and support. This would imply that adults in charge of teaching stay calm, enthused and happy while teaching. If students experience pleasure while studying, they are likely to come back to it.
An important point to keep in mind is to stop studying before the saturation point is reached. If a student reaches the phase of being tired and bored with some activity, it is unlikely that he/she would come back to it.
Skill developmentRemember to support and close skill gaps. It is common for students to avoid studies because they are not fluent in reading, writing or mathematical skills. Therefore, it is important that the adults facilitating the student’s study sessions ensure that the skill gaps are identified and addressed. In case these gaps are big, it will be important to provide enough sheltering/ support so that the student has fruitful study sessions. If students face prolonged frustration, they build a chronic pattern of giving up early on in the learning process.
Provide active feedback about how the student is doing. When he/she makes an attempt or shows initiative, it is helpful to acknowledge and tell what is correct about that attempt. If many efforts go unnoticed, the student is likely to stop trying.
Helping students develop effective strategies for studying is essential. Teaching students how to learn is as important as what to learn. Students often need to be told explicitly to observe their own thought process and steps they take to understand the meaning of some concepts.
It is crucial to keep students successful at showing their learning. This would require building their background knowledge about the concepts they are about to read, helping them quickly when they struggle and keeping their response rate high. One successful attempt in itself is the motivation to attempt another one. And, the cycle will likely continue.
The writer is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) U.S. and Founder Director, Edessential.
