Whole Brain Teaching: The Importance Of Motivation

Although I have encountered several obstacles in my teaching career, there is one that I believe is the hardest to solve. Motivation. What do you do with a student who is capable of so much more, but is simply unmotivated? How can you reach this student who lacks intrinsic motivation, which is so vital for success? Success that you know this student can achieve. It breaks your teacher heart to see so much potential go to waste. I have had students like this and I am going to tell you about what worked for one and will hopefully work for others.
Engagement. This is a buzz word in the education sector. As a teacher, you want your students engaged and excited about what they are learning. That is the ultimate goal. Students who are engaged will be motivated to do their best because they are interested and involved in their learning. I’ve got three words for you: Whole Brain Teaching. If you don’t know what it is, look it up because it is a game changer! Whole Brain Teaching is a technique that incorporates all the parts of the brain into your teaching. The idea is that students are talking more …show more content…
No matter what you may ask the student to do or how you may convince them that doing their best work every time really pays off, you will get no where without a genuine relationship. I started to ask my student questions about home to better understand where he comes from and how that may affect his apathy towards his work. I also talked with him casually about his interests, hobbies, etc. This way, I could see what really made him “tick”. We all have things we are passionate about and when I planned my lessons I tried to incorporate those things I knew would really make his eyes sparkle. This also gets students on your side. When students see you truly care about them, they will want to please you and do their best for you. Without this relationship, any other methods may be in