Motivation is an essential ingredient when it comes to learning executive function strategies. Let’s face it — learning executive function strategies is hard work. Plus we are often asking students to try strategies in areas where they may have failed in the past. To boost our students’ executive functions, we need to motivate them to apply the strategies we are teaching.
The question is, how do we motivate our students? It’s a challenging question for many teachers, not to mention parents or even the students themselves. And, if we want our students to ultimately become self-motivated, how do we get there?
In the video below, we explore the different kinds of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. These two kinds of motivation are connected, and when we examine how extrinsic motivation becomes intrinsic motivation, we can develop strategies to engage our students and help them stay motivated even in challenging times. (Here are a few other easy strategies to try!)
If you’d like to learn more about the relationship between executive function and motivation, join me for my presentation at this year’s Summer Summit, “Motivation, Procrastination, and Goal Setting: Promoting Independent Learning in Students” on August 4th. Hope to see you there!
- Michael Greschler, M.Ed., SMARTS Director
SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum: smarts-ef.org
Research Institute for Learning and Development: researchild.org
The Institute for Learning and Development: ildlex.org