There are a few good strategies that you can try out to help motivate your child or your students to do their homework or study (and with a little creativity, these tips can be applied to other things such as chores)! There are strategies both for the short term and the long term.
A long term strategy is a sticker board. For this, simply post a board or paper in your home and purchase some stickers from a dollar store. Every time your child completes a homework assignment and/or studies, he or she gets a sticker. Choose a number of stickers to be an appropriate goal for the student and once your child has accumulated that number of stickers, allow him to choose a reward such as a pizza party, a gift, or a special trip somewhere. This will give your child daily feedback on their work and help them visualize their progress towards their long term goal.
A short term strategy is an immediate reward. If a long term strategy doesn't work well with your child, you can try to incorporate a short term goal as well. In addition to earning a sticker for a sticker board, he could also receive a small piece of candy or some time to spend on the computer or watching television, whatever is appropriate to you. This method will help to motivate your child to work towards long term goals and, eventually, your child can be weened off of the short term rewards and focus more on the long term.
For older students, reward good grades as well as improved scores on report cards/midterms. If your child gets good grades, give him some extra cash, let him borrow the car, or anything that is appropriate for your situation. Look at poor grades from a positive perspective. Instead of being angry over a C in math, tell your child that if he works hard and improves his grade, he'll not only be better off academically but he also gets another opportunity to earn a reward.
These are just a few drops in the bucket as far as motivational tactics go. If you have any you'd like to share please do so in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment