Students become motivated when they are allowed to choose their path in their education (SEU). For example, a young student is interested in chemistry, develops a new artificial chemical with a mentor that can help people, or transform the way people live, she would become more passionate about studying that discipline in post-secondary.

When students choose what they study based on their preferences, and even personal experience, they do better in school (RSC). It is connected with constructivism as students already know the learning methods they are comfortable with and they are engaged in their specific area of study specifically by a mentor. They also will voluntarily seek information during their free time if it interests them, even if it is entertaining and happens to be in a YouTube video (RSC). 

Dynamic Teachers and Professionals to the Rescue!

We have dynamic professionals that truly know how to engage an audience and allow their enthusiasm to radiate towards the students to help them during a lecture (Burns & Adams). A teacher or professor with a magnetic personality finds ways to ignite students. Edutopia suggests these three ways to excite students:

1. Connect skills and concepts to students' interests. Students acquire new knowledge by engaging with concepts with practical applications, such as the effects of centripetal force from a tight turn on a skateboard, bike, or car. This happens through reflection on and revision of creative writing, or prototypes that demonstrate the targeted skills and concepts.

2. Talking to students and professional experts in the field. Who do you know? Parents, friends, and colleagues either have the expertise to relate and talk to your students. One year I even brought students who were from the local college to talk about media to my students. This was so fun!

3. Have students solve a problem, design for a need, or explore their own questions. Give students real-world challenges to solve. The experiences may be a single activity, a collection of lessons, or an entire unit.

Allowing Students to do the Research:

Allowing students to do their research, they will most likely go for sources that work best with their natural abilities and existing skills (Burns & Adams). As in, if they work better using statistics and numbers and gadgets, then that would be their main way of making a connection between their existing knowledge and the subject being covered.

We know now about student-driven learning, and how it opens plenty of doors that offer inspiration for students to excel and succeed. They simply need to do two things differently to activate student interest in the subject and allow students to keep making decisions about the format in which they submit an assignment or evaluation.

Sources

Adams, Sharon & Burns, Mary. (1999). Connecting Student Learning and Technology.

“Empowering Students: 6 Proven Strategies | SEU Online.” Southeastern University Online, 15 Aug. 2019, online.seu.edu/articles/empowering-students.

McCarthy, J. (2015, August 05). Igniting student engagement: A roadmap for learning. Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/ignite-student-engagement-roadmap-learning-john-mccarthy

Monteiro, Neil. “Students Will Learn More If They’re Interested.” RSC Education, Education in Chemistry, 14 July 2016, edu.rsc.org/opinion/students-will-learn-more-if-theyre-interested/2010092.article.