Tools That Every Educator Should Use To Boost Learners' Intrinsic Motivation
There are two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic, and any teacher will tell you that learners with domineering intrinsic motivation are easy to teach and work with. On the other hand, students with a personal interest in studies are characterized by a high level of self-fulfillment and a more-than-average inner drive when grasping the material.
But living at the time of digital solutions that allows resolving practically any challenge you might encounter, it will be only fair to wonder if there are technologies that would be able to make an impact and enhance the students' intrinsic motivation. Which is especially valuable, as it is more long-lasting than the extrinsic type that is based on the desire to please parents or teachers with good results.
Before turning to search for specific ways of increasing the students' engagement into the learning process, let us look into what comprises inner motivation. Studies show that inner-motivated learners demonstrate a high level of autonomy in making educational decisions, and significantly strive for mastery and purposefulness. If the goal set by a teacher is aligned with their values, the learners show unconstrained productivity.
Let alone the teacher's efforts to make a class interesting, there are tools that can be used in order to enhance the inner motivation of the students and let them fortify the skills, see their goals more clearly, and help them feel more independent. Moreover, the offered tools are easily applicable to remote learning, as they are technologically-based.
Implement The Use Of Google Search Into The Students' Curriculum
It relates to practically any subject.
One of the good examples of 'academically justifiable' Google use would be including the use of Google Earth while learning Geography, as it gives the opportunity to 'visit' as many places as students want. Virtual excursions widen the horizon and intrinsically shape the mindset for intellectual expansion.
Besides, teachers can use the Google search option for a pre-assessment: a learner can be given a task to do research on certain topics. By the content the learner submits, a teacher makes an evaluation of students' knowledge, which is invaluable in terms of strategic planning and the creation of an adequate academic profile for individuals.
Implement The Use Of Time Tracking Into Students' Activities
It can be applied to teaching any kind of subject, too.
Time trackers benefit both teachers and students, as they help chunk the content, visualize the time consumption and 'translate' the speed of students' progress with their studies into numbers equally transparent for all the participants of the learning process.
Time trackers quantify the learners' engagement in different types of learning activities (educational games, quizzes, tests, etc.), which greatly facilitates the teaching process at the stage of evaluation.
They Encourage Students To Implement Digital Task Planners
They sync with any device your students use so they have the instant access to the schedule/assignments/projects. The task planners are beneficial because, additionally, they have the option of monitoring the progress of certain projects. Labeling the project with the status 'done' might mean that your students just expanded the list of their achievements.
They Encourage Students To Use The Camera For Taking Pictures Or Video Of Themselves For Academic Purposes
The discussion of whether mobile phones must be banned or not in the classroom is an ongoing one. However, instead of blacklisting the phones in learning, let's think that the gadgets should be regarded as the tool for fostering creativity and, thus, enhancing the learner's inner motivation.
For instance, students can be given a task of digital storytelling and record themselves while presenting this task. This way, the students can easily monitor their performance and exercise self-discipline.
Implement The Use Of Apps Animating The Teaching Process
The theoretical material is easily digested when the gap between explaining and practicing is of no significance. For example, when teaching grammatical rules, students will certainly achieve better results without losing focus, if the theory presented is immediately followed by exercises demonstrating the practical application of the rules in communication.
Animation for support of the theoretical explanation works for capturing the learner's attention and making the mandatory memorizing easier.
Implement The Use Of The Learning Management System That Best Suits You As A Teacher
Might sound surprising, but taking into consideration the right choice of a Learning Management System results in perfecting the motivation of your students. In case teachers work with the system that suits their needs, they save tons of time and energy for handling academic tasks. The system managing the teaching process might be of great help for personalizing learning, diagnosing the academic problems at the early stages, and achieving better results.
In Conclusion
Our students were born in the digital era, and if we want to make our classes relevant, we need to reflect the virtual reality in their learning process to bring the best academic outcomes through fostering their intrinsic motivation. The virtual tools that keep the students focused without pressure (for example, task planners, easily accessible digital resources, time-trackers, Learning Management Systems and applications for gamification the teaching process) can be skillfully used so that they act as intrinsic motivation boosters for the students.
