Motivation is the key for students to succeed. Maintaining motivation can be challenging at times, but good communication can be the solution you need.
Motivated students are considerably more likely to succeed. Students who have high levels of personal motivation are not only more likely to meet deadlines, turn in assignments, and make sure that they spend adequate time studying for tests, they’re more likely to go the extra mile, from asking questions when they have them to putting in extra effort on projects, papers, and more.
Maintaining student motivation, however, can feel incredibly challenging, especially in an era when instructors must contend with challenges like Covid-related learning loss and immense emotional strain for many students. Whether you’re struggling to see the motivation you expect in the classroom or you simply want to provide students with additional support that will help keep them motivated, good communication can offer immense advantages.
1. Communication can help remove barriers to motivation.
A lack of information can crush student motivation before it starts.
Picture this: a student is feeling energetic and motivated. She has a great idea for her term paper, and she’s going to get an early start on it. As she sits down to begin the work, however, she realizes that she doesn’t have critical information about the project. Perhaps she doesn’t know how long it has to be, what sources she has to use, or even what the theme of the project needs to be, based on your expectations.
If she has to wait until her next class period to answer those critical questions, she may find that motivation slipping away. Other delays may creep in. Suddenly, it’s a few days before the paper is due, and she has to rush to put it together, rather than giving it her best.
On the other hand, suppose that you have a communication system in place within your classroom. Your student has a question about the paper. She pulls up the Pronto app. Immediately, you can provide her with an answer to that question, so she can get to work on the paper before the opportunity slips away.
2. Students care more about what you know when they know that you care.
Students are more responsive when they know their instructors care about them. They work harder. They feel more motivated. They give their best to instructors that they connect with on a more personal level. While you don’t have to have a deep, personal relationship with every student who comes through your classroom doors, they should feel as though you are accessible to them and that you genuinely care about their needs. With effective communication strategies in place, you can more easily show students that you’re willing to provide the support they need.
3. Connected students can help motivate one another.
Motivation in isolation is hard. Students may have a much harder time in general staying motivated when they’re on their own, trying to push themselves to succeed without the support of their peers.
Even in a great classroom culture, you may find that motivation decreases when students walk out the door. They’re no longer directly connected with one another and working together, and as a result, they may have a harder time keeping up that motivation–especially if they’re distracted by peers who are trying to convince them to engage in other activities.
Great communication and connection to other motivated students, on the other hand, can substantially encourage student performance. With a good communication system in place, students can encourage one another, challenge one another, and push one another to new levels of confidence and motivation. A communication app like Pronto is ideal for putting that engagement and motivation in students’ hands, keeping their classmates accessible when they’re outside of the classroom.
4. Regular communication helps keep the source of motivation fresh.
It’s easy to motivate students when you see them every day. Many classes, however, do not meet that frequently, especially on the college level. Even when high school and middle school students go home for the weekend or for a break, they may have a hard time keeping up that critical motivation.
Regular communication, on the other hand, can help keep that source of motivation fresh.
Send out reminders. Offer funny anecdotes. Share new information as it comes to light. The more connected you are to your students, the better you can help them maintain motivation regardless of whether they are in the classroom or outside it.
Pronto is the ideal solution for maintaining communication with your students. It allows you to connect with them where they are, whether they’re hanging out on campus to use the library or heading home as soon as they finish their last class of the day. Want to learn more? Contact us today for your demonstration.
