How to Motivate Uninterested Students

How to motivate uninterested students?” … A question we have all asked ourselves at one time or another. With experience, we find a solution, for the most part. However, there is always one that gets away. I don’t routinely work with disabled students, but am always interested to learn about things that don’t concern me!

My special interest is in short-term (or temporary) homeschooling following a math curriculum meltdown. These students can plummet to the depths of despair and so, whilst they are probably not mathematically disabled they are in need of special treatment.

This topic was addressed by Tricia Underwood of Rare Bird Learning at “Impact 2”, the Online Conference for Tutors in July 2022. It was a full three-day event and packed full of interesting speakers. Tricia is an Academic Well Being Coach and Author/Creator of the ‘Happy Grades system for academic success with more

happiness and less stress’. Here is what she said.

How is it done

She advocates students stop chasing good grades and learn how to be happier during their lessons. Funnily enough, success in this area is often accompanied by an upward tick in their grades.

Executive functioning skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. They are central to this concept because her main aim is to teach students how to create strategies and habits that support their executive functioning system without ignoring the art and skill of happiness.

Some students can only get things done if they are in a fight-or-flight mode - propelled by adrenalin and cortisol. Homework is a point in case and there is a better way. We learn so much more effectively when we are in a calm, happy state than if we are highly stressed and charged with negative emotions.

In class, or online, we have a chance to manage this for the good. Surprisingly, a few simple changes made to the beginning and the end of each session can vastly improve the effectiveness of the class. The purpose of the changes is to help students regulate themselves when ‘bad stuff happens’ or when they simply can’t get things done.

Tricia explained that when executive function skills shut down our limbic system (fight or flight) is more active. So the two work against each other. Improving executive function skills diminishes the fight or flight mentality and allows us to perform better with more long-lasting results.

D.O.E.S.

In other words, we would like to encourage the production of happy hormones

D = dopamine, O = oxytocin, E = endorphins and S = serotonin. This allows them to get things done without being in panic mode. They will be able to be more engaged and to take more away from a lesson.

The limbic system manages fight or flight whereas the frontal lobes of our brain are more discerning. Positive psychology and mindfulness enable us to manage discomfort and acknowledge the absence of danger.

With this in mind, Tricia explained that tiny habits achieve significant results and that whenever something goes really well in class we should enact whatever we do when we are really happy. Of course, if your ‘happy dance’ involves shouting from the rooftops you will need to modify that in a public setting, but you get the idea.

What to do when children are demotivated

There is no need for great in-depth talks, she says. Rather focus on simply calming down the limbic system. Here is Tricia’s list of go-to activities for use at the beginning or end of a lesson. Sometimes she also breaks off during the lesson to carry out a different activity if the student is losing focus. The list is by no means exhaustive. You will be able to add to it with your own ideas no doubt. In no particular order:

Brain dump.

Ask the student to list everything that is on their mind right now. They do not need to talk about it and likely will not want to anyway. They simply need to write it down. Afterwards, they can throw it in the bin. The act of writing it all down is the therapeutic part.

That reminded me of when I worked with sick kids in another life. I remember they were often kept awake at night with unpleasant thoughts. We taught them to have a notebook on their bedside table and to write them all down as they came. It worked wonders.

Spinner wheel suggesting 6 or 7 two-minute activities.

My apologies, I don’t remember what the two-minute activities were! If you are familiar with this style of teaching and have your own activities please do share them in the comments. It is so much more fun when we are able to learn from each other in this way.

One Minute Gratitude:

The student and the tutor each offer one thing they are grateful for, taking it in turns and keeping it going for one minute. This can also help build relationships with students as and when necessary.

Joke of the day.

In case you are poor at telling or remembering jokes, here is a good source to get you started. It is from MrBartonMaths jokes. Here are some oneliners that are age-appropriate. Failing that, you can just do a Google search for ‘jokes for children’ and look at the images..

Teachers mind your mood

Our emotions are contagious, so it is important a teacher is aware of their mood too. One teacher shared how she went to anger management classes so she could better understand a student of hers, only to find out that she too had anger management issues! What may be less obvious is the need for teachers to take care of themselves so that they are able to stay on an even keel and have time and energy for others.

And finally ...

Some advice that is relevant to students and teachers alike. Tricia cautions against taking yourself too seriously. You will learn more and have a happier life if you pay attention to these four pillars:

• Be peaceful. Learn how to control negative thoughts

• Be playful. Use vocabulary from other areas of life.

• Be “sense” itive and make full use of all your senses. Experience life fully.

• Be social. This will develop a sense of peace and a sense of purpose. Mix with people you most want to be like.

If you are homeschooling a student who is demotivated and uninterested in math feel free to contact me for an informal chat.