It’s not always easy keeping your students motivated in the classroom. Luckily, there are a variety of techniques and strategies that teachers can use to motivate their students. And with a little time, patience and hard work, you can definitely motivate your students to succeed in school.

Determine why your students are not motivated. There are different reasons why students may lack motivation, such as having low self-esteem, problems at home, a learning disability, health issues or depression. Be sure to evaluate each student’s situation and try to find out the main reason for the lack of motivation.

Evaluate your teaching strategies and make the necessary adjustments. Take time to review your current teaching style and curriculum and decide if there are some things that you can do differently in order to better motivate your students. For example, maybe you can add more group activities to the class period, or perhaps you can use more visual aids to enhance your lectures. Try to be as creative as possible and make learning a fun experience for your students.

Show enthusiasm in the classroom. In order to motivate students, the teacher should be motivated as well. It is very important for teachers to get excited about the classroom lectures and activities, because this helps to gain the students' attention and keeps them interested in learning.

Tell your students that you have faith in them. Try to give your students challenging and achievable assignments to complete and provide them with the emotional support that they need to do well in class. And don’t be afraid to set high expectations for your class. Constantly remind your students that you believe in them.

Encourage your students to participate in class. Some students enjoy participating in class activities and discussions, while others may shy away from the attention. However, it is important that all students have an opportunity to participate in some kind of way. So try going around the classroom and calling on students one by one to answer questions and to complete various tasks.

Reward students for doing a good job in class. Students love to get rewarded for their good work and behavior. You can start out by rewarding your students with simple verbal praise such as “great job” or “keep up the good work.” There are also other ways to reward students, like giving them stickers, pencils, notepads, a set of crayons or a piece of gum (for small children). And for older students you may choose to give them gift certificates, books or exemptions from certain homework assignments.