Motivate High School Students

Whether you are a teacher, parent or home-schooling parent, motivating high school students is not always an easy task. Inspiring students requires creative techniques. Additionally, it usually takes more than one creative method to keep a student motivated to learn and want to learn more. If you are looking for creative ways to motivate high school students, consider the following.

Steps

Treating the Teenager Like an Adult

1. Give your students a choice whenever possible. Offering choices gives students a sense of control rather than feeling constantly directed. For example, you could give assignment themes and allow students to pick from them.
   • Teenagers with a sense of choice will feel less like there is a huge authoritative presence over them. Additionally, they will feel like they have more opportunities for creativity if you offer them choices.
2. Inspire students by introducing activities that relate to them. Incorporate popular culture, relevant news, and interesting or provocative themes into your curriculum. These are the things that students are comfortable and familiar with, so they will be more inclined to pay attention.
   • Read the news and pay attention to what your students are talking about before and after class. There may be a way to connect a celebrity scandal to a topic you are trying to teach if you think creatively enough.
3. Do not dismiss what your students like to talk about as petty conversation. These are the topics which your students enjoy learning more about. If you try hard enough, you will likely recognize the value in these topics as well.
4. Teach at a level that is challenging and respectful to the intelligence of your students. If you give students assignments that are far too easy, they will likely tune out. Therefore, opt for levels that challenge a student. Just make sure that you don't raise the level to one that your students find to achieve. Raise the expectation to a level just above their capability.
   • If at all possible, be available for outside help in order to ensure students understand the higher level topics. It is difficult to spend time outside class hours, but holding office hours drives home the point that you genuinely care for your students.
   • Check in with your students in the form of quizzes or informal discussion to gauge how well they are managing the challenge level of your curriculum. It is important to make sure that everyone in the class understands the material.
5. Take your students seriously. Teenagers will resent you if they can sense a condescending or pandering tone. Do not underestimate the importance of simply treating them like you would treat any other adult.
   • This means you should consider criticisms and compliments equally. Students may be able to tell you ways that your teaching could be improved which you may not realize yourself. While the way in which they tell you may not always be respectful, try to consider what you can draw from the critiques, if anything.
   • Do not enforce silly rules or play games meant for children. Teenagers want to feel like an adult and will resent rules which force them to behave like children. Do not use too many childish games to teach your material.
6. Be approachable so that students can feel comfortable enough to come to you with issues or concerns. Always be open so that they believe nothing they have to say is ridiculous. By doing this, students will be more inclined to let you know when they are feeling uninspired. And when this occurs, consider it a challenge for you to find a way to motivate your student.
   • You do not need to act as a therapist to each and every student, but it is important to be mindful of external influences in students' lives which could affect their learning.
   • Do not ever force the student to tell you why they are feeling depressed or uninspired. Try to let them come to you about these issues.
7. Be sure your students understand why they are learning the material. Oftentimes, students feel a large disconnect between the material and the real world. In addition to teaching the material, teach how the material can apply to the real world both in the workforce and in everyday life.
   • For example, an English teacher should try to relate how different interpretations of novels can help students think about different perspectives people can have. The teacher could then connect this to how it can help in analyzing people's motive in the workplace, in relationships, in politics or in any interpersonal context.
   • Try to avoid rote memorization of material. Students will respect the material if they can easily understand how it will be used in the future.

Using Effective Teaching Techniques

1. Avoid lecturing as your primary teaching technique. No matter how engaging you are, students will likely grow tired of purely listening. Try to encourage discussion and ask questions of the students frequently.
   • In your lectures, try to keep them light-hearted and maybe try to crack a joke every so often. Do not be too uptight and formal with lecturing.
2. Invite people to your class that students can look up to. These would be role models that students can identify to, such as relevant or local authors, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists.
   • If the students can see clearly how to structure their learning or careers in order to achieve what these people have, they will be much more inspired in their studies.
   • Be sure the guest understands what the class is about so that it has some relation to the material.
3. Do not over test the students. Tests and quizzes are an effective way to gauge the students' understanding level, but they can also add unnecessary stress. Students will respond better, and feel more comfortable, in discussions.
   • It is also important to remember that tests do not necessarily gauge the understanding level of every student. Some students simply do not test well, even if they understand the material.
4. Be engaged with your own topics. Students can tell when a teacher does not care about the topic he or she is teaching. It is incredibly important to try maintaining an interest in your subject.
   • Try to encourage the administration to allow you to have some wiggle room in creating your own curriculum. It is much ore difficult in public schools due to the common core, but try to fight for freedom in the classroom.

Related Articles

• Motivate Kids to Do Well in School
• Motivate Teen Friends to Do Better at Academics
• Encourage Students to Learn
• Motivate Teenagers to Do Their Homework

Sources and Citations

• http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motivation.html

See also

• Resolve Classroom Management Issues
• Catch Students Cheating
• Motivate Students
• Create a Positive Classroom Atmosphere
• Discipline Children in the Classroom
• Quiet a Classroom
• Motivate Kids to Do Well in School
• Prevent Students from Cheating
• Maintain Classroom Discipline
• Understand a Student's Body Language

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