Motivation is one of the most vital elements of success in academia. It influences student engagement with course material and shapes how students approach assignments and important tasks. In other words, students with high motivation levels tend to perform better academically than unmotivated learners.
Motivation is particularly important when it comes to encouraging the persistence of effort when students face challenges in their personal and academic lives. That said, students sometimes face frustrations, lowering their motivation and making them question whether all work and dedication will pay off. Experts say feedback is important for improving motivation and getting students more engaged and successful. Here is a look at how to design feedback to enhance motivation and learning.
Build Strong Relationships With Students
Recent evidence shows that positive relationships with teachers are considerably linked to positive motivation and improved student performance. In addition, previous studies have shown that student-teacher relationships promote the learner’s academic performance through better grades and improved communication skills. However, recent studies show that this relationship between teachers and students also leads to better teaching strategies.
The findings of these studies emphasize the importance of teachers and the feedback they provide on academic performance. The point is that students are likelier to learn in a setting where they feel cared for and valued. When creating a feedback culture, teachers should start by working on positive relationships with learners. Teachers should show concern and support and be interested in students’ ideas and interests. Ensure a sense of caring about how every student is doing. Furthermore, showing kindness and sensitivity fosters an effective climate in the classroom.
Align Feedback to Learning Goals
Goal setting is important in academia as it helps students remain focused and driven. Often, new college students find that there is a lot of information to learn for them to adapt to their new environments. Assignments also come fast and heavy, with the many responsibilities taking away from the time needed for personal care. All the work and responsibilities can be overwhelming to learners and could explain the high rates of college dropouts worldwide.
Instead of pushing students to cover as much coursework as possible within a short time, create one or two learning objectives to work on at a time. You can then align your feedback to these cognitive, affective, or psychomotor goals. Teach students essay writer skills and how they can improve their study habits.
After deciding on the learning objectives, you wish your class to focus on, share them with the learners, making sure they are transparent. Integrate the objectives into daily conversations with students and make them part of the course description. As you evaluate student progress, share updates individually relating to the learning that is taking place in line with the goals.
Coach Instead of Judging
Smart teachers have mastered the art of using feedback to coach rather than judge their students. Unlike judges who look for mistakes they can correct and who evaluate the final product, coaches seek to guide. They see learning as a process and understand that each student has the potential for greatness. When giving feedback as a coach, look for potential in your students and find ways to encourage improvement.
Also, understand that your primary role as a coach is not to judge the final product. In fact, you should know that grades and test scores can be demotivating to students. So, the more you delay grading and judging students for their abilities and performance, the more motivated the learners will be. Remember, students sometimes look for do my paper support online. Help them develop their own writing skills, diminishing the need for online assignment services.
Offer Specific and Positive Feedback
Recent studies show that students love being praised, especially when facing academic and personal hurdles. Make positive remarks a crucial part of your feedback culture. Also, understand that praise is more effective when based on the process rather than the person. Tell the student you like how they are improving in specific learning areas. Offering specific and positive feedback will help you foster a growth mindset among learners.
This article contains tips on how students can provide effective, positive, timely, and precise feedback. Understand that effective feedback keeps students motivated and willing to learn. You can also help students to develop their own feedback-giving skills.
