WHAT NEUROSCIENCE CAN TELL US ABOUT MOTIVATING STUDENTS?

When a teacher wants to know the factors that ensure greater student involvement in academics they can refer to what happens in the student’s brain during a particular interpersonal classroom context.

Is it possible for a teacher to “feel” the motivation of a student? The kind and intensity of motivation? It depends on the empathetic skills of the teacher. Usually, the responses of the student �" cognitive, behavioural and emotional �" help the teacher to understand whether a student is motivated or not. If the student’s responses are prompt and focused, and he/she is enthusiastic, the teacher assumes that the student has the right kind of motivation for learning.

But that way of understanding student motivation is only peripheral. The student’s responses fluctuate with many psycho-physical-environmental factors and need not be a direct reflection of student motivation. How then can a teacher make sure their teaching is really feeding the motivational energies of the student? The question matters as understanding the fundamental dynamics of student motivation help a lot. Teachers can create the best classroom contexts if they know clearly “what can keep the students motivated”.