Some students scoff at the icebreaker activities that their teachers initiate because they believe the activities are childish, but these activities can provide lasting benefits for the students throughout the semester. According to Karin Kirk of the Science Education Resource Center at Carlton College, students who feel comfortable in the classroom and have a sense of belonging are more confident about their academic success and achieve more. Icebreaker activities, such as having the students share an odd or amusing fact about themselves, can reduce the social anxiety that students feel in the classroom and make them more comfortable.
Students often respond well to a role model. Role models can be anyone from a successful peer to a guest speaker in a classroom. Invite a guest speaker, such as someone who works in the field related to your subject, to discuss career opportunities in the field and the importance of doing well in school. The speaker can then facilitate a class discussion about the topic or initiate an activity related to their topic. Many students state that their decision about their future career was sparked by a powerful role model, such as a speaker or a teacher.
Student motivation is tied to their level of interest in the task as well as their perceived level of control over the task, according to the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Students often become disengaged or unmotivated when they believe that the task is too difficult or boring. Assign group activities for difficult concepts. Students sometimes find group activities more interesting, and they benefit from the positive social pressure to do well and contribute to the group.
If you teach a subject that many students find less interesting, such as math or economics, for example, find ways to apply it to the students' lives and make it more interesting. Students are also more engaged by hands-on activities that allow them to explore concepts on their own. Instead of just lecturing about the stock market, for example, assign each student a hypothetical amount of money to "purchase" a stock. Then have them track the stock's progress over a financial quarter. Although the money isn't real, students will compete to choose stocks and make money.