Activity 5.

1
What you think motivates students to engage actively and participate in a lesson? Why do you think so?
Initially, the tactic to encourage students and impart them responsibility is to involve them in the
classroom. Make participating fun by assigning each student some task to perform. Give students the
accountability of cleanup or furnishing the classroom. Ask a student to clean the blackboard or carrying
or forwarding materials. Motivation is not only significant in its own right; it is also
an important prognosticator of gaining and demonstrating. Students who are more motivated to learn
continue longer, harvest valuable effort, learn more intensely, and achieve better in classes and on
graded activities. According to my mindset, the tips and tricks stated below worked very well in
developing motivation and encouragement among the students are:
1. Memorize your student’s names and use their names on and off to show your connection.
2. Design for every class; never try to wing it.
3. Weigh the strengths and limitations of each of your students. Reward their strengths and
strengthen their weaknesses.
4. Prefer to set your room in a U-shape to encourage interaction among students.
5. Focus your instructional strategies; use lectures, demonstrations, discussions, case studies,
groups, and more.
6. Remind the learning objectives with your students. Make sure students identify what they are
going to learn, do, know, etc.
7. Roam between the students while lecturing.
8. Make your classes connective, how the content relates to them and the world around them.
9. Be expressive not only by speech but your gesture too.
10. Make your deliverance attractive; by varying your pitch volume and rate.
11. Use lots of examples.
12. Encourage students to share their ideas and comments, even if they are incorrect. You'll never
know what students don't understand unless you ask them.
13. Make eye contact and move toward your students as you interact with them. Nod your head to
show that you are listening to them.
14. Give liberty for students to speak to the class.
15. Make sure your availability before class starts, during break, and after class for students.
16. Return assignments and tests to students on time
17. Be positive in your attitude towards students.
18. Justify, your exams are current, valid, and reliable. Tie your assessment to your course
objectives.
19. Encourage feedback and constructive comments.
 Have you experienced lessons during which students do not participate actively?
What can explain their detachment? And how could you have encouraged more participation?
Being an educator in an engineering university, I personally experienced the student’s interest in
technical subjects rather than descriptive ones. In the starting days of my career I was offered
Engineering Geology to teach. Basically this is scientific discipline concerned with the application
of geological knowledge to engineering problems—e.g., to reservoir design and location,
determination of slope stability for construction purposes, and determination of earthquake,
flood, or subsidence but students were not keen to explore. I observed their attitudes and gave
subject a new look. By forcing them to contribute through sharing eye witness experiences, case
studies, and open ended discussions and above all by organizing (reward based) poster/model
making competitions.