Motivating Young Learners Classroom Management Education Essay Example

be provided by the teachers themselves. The key to maintaining student engagement lies in motivating them during their learning process. Motivation plays a vital role in guiding scholars' positive behavior towards achieving goals. As an educator who frequently encountered unmotivated children, I faced difficulties comprehending their issues since they did not openly express their emotions. Discovering methods to motivate them and establishing a positive learning environment are imperative tasks, with classroom management playing a part in controlling student motivation, behavior, time management, engagement in learning, and communication. Therefore, for optimal classroom management, lessons should revolve around each individual child's interests while also being enjoyable, timely, and stimulating.

Motivating Young Learners

It is essential for educators to consider how young learners interpret praise from their teachers and what significance it holds for them personally. Questions such as "Why did my teacher praise me?" arise - Was it because she believed in my abilities or simply because she wanted me to feel content with her approval?Motivating students is crucial for achieving success in education. Nowadays, students attend classes due to various pressures from parents, society, and teachers. However, they may give up on their studies for reasons such as learning disabilities, lack of motivation, physical issues like poor vision or hearing, inadequate study materials, or external distractions like media entertainment.

I firmly believe that if children are motivated in the right way, they will develop a positive attitude towards school, persevere through difficult tasks, and absorb accurate information - ultimately leading to success in the classroom. Children learn best when actively engaged in activities that interest them - whether it be exploring, researching or observing their surroundings.

For instance, they might choose toys or books based on colors or features that appeal to them.

However, when teachers provide guidance and set deadlines for completing tasks, children become externally motivated. This form of extrinsic motivation relies on rewards and external pressure to keep students engaged but can be challenging to sustain over time. Sadly though, many students drop out of school without reaching their full potential due to a lack of both intrinsic motivation within schools and at home.

In my view,it is essential for children to have an intrinsic drive towards achieving optimal results and fostering a genuine love for learning.Educators can promote student engagement and motivation by presenting challenges, recognizing achievements, promoting cooperation and trust, and providing appropriate guidance. However, achieving this goal is not easy in the classroom. Nowadays, children are often motivated by extrinsic rewards such as toys, food, coupons, and money. According to Alderman (1999), educators should find a balance between using extrinsic incentives to promote engagement while still fostering intrinsic motivation. Many schools heavily rely on extrinsic motivation; however, I agree with Alderman that teachers need to incorporate both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It is important for them to use rewards appropriately to reinforce intrinsic motivation through external factors.

Personally, it can be challenging for me to determine if extrinsic motivation is a solution or a problem. There have been times when I have given rewards like toys, free playtime, and badges to settle students and avoid wasting time managing them. However, I also agree with authors like Erwin (2004) and Dr.Maria Montessori who argue against giving external rewards as it can be seen as bribing children. Dr.Maria Montessori specifically

expresses her opposition to giving children external rewards as it can impact how they feel about the tasks they are completing.According to her, a motivated child should be like a horse roaming freely without any restrictions in an open valley. As a pedagogue, I aim to incorporate my own distinguished manners of behavior to inspire intrinsic motivation and effectively manage the classroom. This includes motivating students to attend class on time, encouraging quality learning and assignments, promoting active participation, and adhering to class policies.

Emphasizing the importance of timely attendance and the value of classroom learning will help conduct lessons as planned. Latecomers can disrupt other students in class, posing challenges for instructors as they must cover missed material and deal with intermittent noise. Educators can encourage punctual attendance by asking students to develop their own attendance policy since students are more likely to adhere to policies they have a hand in creating.

Conducting assessments early in the morning and introducing exciting subjects such as ICT, field trips, or physical education can also motivate timely attendance. Additionally, assigning due weeks instead of specific due dates can intrinsically motivate students. By engaging in this practice, students learn effective time management skills and complete assignments outside of the classroom which leads to a sense of pride and motivation.In order to promote quality learning, educators should prioritize a student-centered approach that considers individuals' age, gender, culture, and learning style. It is impressive to see a classroom with appealing displays and actively engaged students despite having over 30 students working on different tasks independently or with adult assistance. Various approaches are taken by each student based on their individual learning abilities.

Gardner suggests that some children excel in multiple areas while others excel in only a few, as strengths are not evenly distributed. According to Gardner, if there is no uncertainty and the overall atmosphere is perfect with motivated students working in ability groups, learning will happen naturally. Teaching according to age, gender, and culture may not be difficult; however, teaching according to learning style poses challenges for all educators. Despite criticisms of Gardner's theories...George Miller, a respected psychologist, criticized Gardner's argument as being based on "hunch and opinion" and stated that Gardner's subsequent work has not significantly shifted the balance of opinion. While I partially agree with this criticism, as I personally know a child who suffers from brain damage and is unable to read or write despite having perfect vision and hearing, weak thinking skills, memory problems, weak muscles leading to poor pencil grip and mobility issues. They dropped out of school for special needs at the age of 8 because they were unable to learn and are currently at home doing nothing.

My question is: what potential does this child have? According to my understanding of MI theory, there is no specific category for children who are suffering from brain damage or meningitis. Barbara Shafer points out that some parents see MI theory as a way to lower academic standards and prevent them from knowing their child's performance in school (source: http://www.igs.net/~cmorris/critiques.html).

However, I believe that MI theories are valuable guidelines for educators to identify students' needs and cater to them. Even though a group of visual learners may be taught the same way, not all of them will develop the same level of intelligence.

Therefore, I find MI theories essential for teachers who prioritize quality learning and effective management of children.The theories allow students to explore and learn in ways that suit them best. Despite criticism, these theories address issues such as behavior and resistance in the classroom, while motivating students based on their intelligences and identifying their strengths. The impact of this theory is evident when put into practice. According to the gardener theory, each child has a unique learning style. By teaching according to their preferred style, their educational success will increase. Some children excel in speaking but struggle in sports activities. Most children are visual learners who benefit from textbooks, charts, maps, graphs, and other guides. Visual learners may become distracted during lessons but can be motivated by sitting near the whiteboard or close to the teacher away from windows and doors for a peaceful classroom environment. Kinesthetic learners learn best through doing and may exhibit behavioral issues like distractions, fights, and disobedience. In my class, these kinesthetic learners were engaged in tasks such as book distribution, overseeing others' work, and erasing the whiteboard so as not to distract other studentsIn order to develop their understanding of oneself and their relationship with others and the world, it is crucial for students to enhance their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills through various activities such as reading, writing, and organizing socializing events like field trips, fun days, and regular assemblies. However, in my own learning journey, I have discovered that true motivation arises when teachers effectively deliver the right content in an engaging manner. If students do not find joy in learning, it indicates a flaw in the curriculum

or the guidance provided by teachers. Personally, I often found my school experience monotonous and frustrating because I only enjoyed Maths and Science subjects while disliking everything else. My typical day involved sitting for long periods of time listening to lengthy instructions and copying notes from the chalkboard. The morning assemblies were prolonged affairs where I had no choice but to sit on a worn-out chair playing repetitive games. With 35-40 students packed into my classroom arranged in rows of desks and chairs, individual needs were rarely addressed as our teachers primarily relied on lecturing methods with most activities centered around board work. Learning styles were disregarded as the entire class received identical tasks leaving only those who excelled completing them while others were left ignored or struggling to keep up with the pace.During my childhood, I often experienced hunger and sleepiness during lessons. I wondered if my teacher ever took the time to understand my lifestyle and why I lacked interest in the lesson. Despite this, I managed to endure these boring classes. Understanding a child's lifestyle, interests, and personal feelings is crucial for creating motivation in a well-managed classroom. According to Maslow's perspective, educators must ensure that a child's basic biological needs such as air, food, drink, warmth, and sleep are met in the classroom. Additionally, safety needs like security, boundaries, and stability should also be addressed to motivate them to learn. Maslow classifies physiological and safety needs as lower order needs. In an ideal society where members' basic needs are fulfilled, mentally and physically healthy individuals are not primarily driven by animalistic desires such as hunger or thirst (Chaplin & Krawiec 1962).

Therefore,Maslow's five-level hierarchy of needs model is essential for motivating children in schools; these needs should be satisfied in the proper sequence. For example,it would be unrealistic to expect a hungry or thirsty child to actively participate in group work activities like Scrabble without first recognizing their self-esteem. Unfortunately,during my own childhood experience,the teachers never bothered finding out whether our basic physiological needs were being met,such as food ,air,and warmth,in order for us maintain optimal brain function and body health ,and ultimately help us focus better during class timeThe lack of effort to understand why some children performed poorly in school, the absence of friendly and comfortable communication between teachers and students, occasional bullying and distractions from friends leading to a lack of motivation, ineffective policies addressing behavioral issues, many dropouts and struggles finding suitable jobs after graduation, often settling for low-paying positions like cleaners or carpenters - all these factors contributed to my own struggles with learning. As a result, I made sure to provide individualized care for my students in class to inspire them towards learning. It is important to emphasize that their lack of motivation was heavily influenced by the teachers' skills, society's beliefs about limited learning potential until a certain age, cultural factors, and poverty during my educational experience. Additionally, the teachers were unaware of how to adapt their teaching methods to different learning styles due to a lack of participation in professional development programs. The society's belief that survival required any job choice further pressured individuals into less fulfilling roles. Poverty also played a role in pushing individuals towards jobs that fulfilled immediate responsibilities.The classroom layout is a significant issue

that hampers learning by dampening motivation. It seems implausible that 30 children can be accommodated in a small classroom with tables and chairs while still being motivated. In some schools, children are crammed into cramped rooms where they only interact with one adult throughout the day. However, if the classroom environment is designed to promote learning, motivation will naturally increase. The arrangement of tables and chairs plays a crucial role in fostering meaningful interactions among students. Furthermore, the equality in the setup allows students to receive knowledge from the teacher and freely move around the tables to develop their own individual identities. Each student's relationship with the teacher's table or desk is clearly defined as well. According to Moyles (1992), this idea is supported as she states that teachers arrange the classroom environment for faster and more effective learning while also creating a positive atmosphere that encourages enjoyable learning (p.3). The classroom layout serves as a means for teachers to express their social relationship with their students, displaying movement and intention during instruction which reflects their teaching method.Visual cues such as handwritten posters, student photos, timetables, and word walls demonstrate the social relationship between students and instructors. Effective instructors possess commendable qualities related to dialogue regarding classroom organization and management. The instructor's voice is soft, low, friendly yet firm, conveying an expected level of skill from students. Furthermore, the instructor's speech demonstrates authority and the acquisition of knowledge, highlighting the significance of cultivated understanding and motivation in students.

The relationship between students and instructors, along with a well-organized classroom layout and instructor control over scholars contribute to promoting independent work and help-seeking. The layout of a

classroom can also motivate interactions between instructors and students, facilitate student socialization, and meet each student's academic needs.

When managing the classroom and motivating young learners, educators must consider the role of the instructor, the needs of the students, and implement child-centered teaching.Educators can enhance student performance by acknowledging their needs and learning styles. Motivation and classroom management techniques play a crucial role in minimizing resistance and maximizing achievement. Through motivation, instructors encourage self-sufficiency, establish positive classroom habits, set high standards for performance, and assess the learning environment. This involves tapping into students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes to drive their engagement.