Motivation strategies for a disinterested set of learners: Share ideas
What can one do to infuse energy into a wilting roomful of
learners(teachers) who would rather take a siesta after lunch on a
hot afternoon than...?
If there is anything you think will work, then do post it here. :)
Any teacher encounters this problem from time to time and we have to react on the spur of the moment. I usually stop the lesson and try to make them speak about something students are interested in.I know it shouldn't be this way but it's better waste some time than speak to the walls of the room. Two months ago I even made coffee for all of them (only 8) in order to wake them up. It worked and I continued working.
In fact I do not think there is a recipe but your idea to raise the question is great and let's hope other teachers will share their experience.
Hello there!
I have surely gone through some moments when getting into a classroom of twelve 17-year old girls at 8.30 in the morning I felt like they still were in their pyjamas, dreaming for sure.My approach is somehow different: I wake them up by ...making jokes. They surely laugh at either what I say, or at me...as I am very lively by nature. Then we get started, they always accept me for what I am, and we get along with one another simply because we have the same purpose: studying together for exams.
Hello!
A tip that can work in those "low" moments is... surprise!: stop the activity in progress without previous notice and make everybody stand up, change places and do breathing and stretching exercises)like the ones at the gym!). REnewing the flow of oxygen through brain and limbs can do the trick specially if you are teaching early in the morning or after lunch. If you are teaching children, they'll take it as a "game", if you´re teaching adolescents they may be a bit shy at the beginning, but as soon as you appeal to "natural leaders" for a start off , the rest will follow and have a good laugh, as well.
Playing a game surely livens the classroom.