Heather Holmes's List: Motivation

• Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom   will be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom.
• • Give frequent, early, positive feedback that supports students' beliefs   that they can do well.
   
  • Ensure opportunities for students’ success by assigning tasks that   are neither too easy nor too difficult.
   
  • Help students find personal meaning and value in the material.
   
  • Create an atmosphere that is open and positive.
   
  • Help students feel that they are valued members of a learning community.
• Capitalize on students' existing needs.
• Make students active participants in learning
• Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less "motivating."
• Hold high but realistic expectations for your students
• Help students set achievable goals for themselves.
• Tell students what they need to do to succeed in your course.
• Strengthen students' self-motivation
• Avoid creating intense competition among students.
• Be enthusiastic about your subject.
• Find out why students   are enrolled in your course, how they feel about the subject matter, and what   their expectations are.
• Work from students' strengths and interests.
• When possible, let students have some say in choosing what will be studied.
• Increase the difficulty of the material as the semester progresses.
• Vary your teaching methods.
• Emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades.
• eliminating complex systems   of credit points
• Design tests that encourage the kind of learning you want students to   achieve.
• Avoid using grades as threats.
• Give students feedback as quickly as possible.
• Reward success.
• Introduce students to the good work done by their peers.
• Be specific when giving negative feedback.
• Avoid demeaning comments.
• Avoid giving in to students' pleas for "the answer" to homework problems.

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• Intrinsic motivators include fascination with the subject, a sense of its relevance to life and the world, a sense of accomplishment in mastering it, and a sense of calling to it.
• Extrinsic motivators include parental expectations, expectations of other trusted role models, earning potential of a course of study, and grades (which keep scholarships coming).
• extrinsic motivators can often distract students from learning the subject at hand.
• Do so by requiring students to apply, synthesize, or evaluate material instead of merely comprehending or memorizing material.
• The challenge, then, is to provide teaching and learning activities that are both stimulating and offer students a degree of personal control.
• Become a role model for student interest.
• Get to know your students.
• Use examples freely. 
• Use a variety of student-active teaching activities. 
• Set realistic performance goals
• Place appropriate emphasis on testing and grading
• Be free with praise and constructive in criticism. 
• Give students as much control over their own education as possible.

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