Committee for Children Blog

Ideas to Boost Student Motivation in 2017

Why do some students stop using their social-emotional learning (SEL) skills after they’ve learned them? The answer to this question has a lot to do with us, the adults, and not just the students. We need to offer ongoing support to students to help them use their SEL skills. Modeling, practice, and positive feedback play a role in this, but if we stop there we miss something important: motivation.

One take on motivation is the expectancy-value theory (developed by John William Atkinson). It suggests that two factors influence our choices and that we need both to be motivated: (1) Expectancy: confidence in one’s ability to succeed in a task and (2) Value: perception that the task is important, enjoyable, or useful. Here are a few ideas for how to put this theory into action, to support students in actively using their positive social skills to effectively manage life’s daily challenges.

Expectancy for Success

Daniel Pink suggests that making progress is a powerful motivator. Students need to see their accomplishments along the way and be recognized for them. Point out when you see your students using a skill and compliment them on the little improvements. Introduce more complex social skills in smaller steps. Work with students to set realistic goals, give opportunities to measure progress and acknowledge smaller successes along the way.

Value

What students value influences how and if they use their social skills. Learn more about what students value, ask students what is important to them, or invite them to take an interest survey.

Align SEL teaching strategies to what students value. Do meaningful activities directly tied to the things students care about. If you are implementing the Second Step program and your students value movement and laughing, bring out the brain builder games more often or try some new energizer activities that combine fun with self-regulation and attention. If your students enjoy talking about themselves, give them more time to share what they’ve learned or practiced. For students who like to work with others, give them more time to practice skills with group activities. This Greater Good article provides further reflection on how to connect what students value to their use of SEL skills.

Students also need to believe an SEL skill will work or they are not likely to use it. Help them see the benefits, share stories about how their role models have successfully used these skills. Have others tell about what they have accomplished with their social skills, such as how managing anger helped them get something they wanted.

If you believe in teaching your students SEL skills, help them stay motivated. Celebrate progress your students make. Tie your activities to things students care about, and you will see the benefits!