Slumped body postures, rolled eyes, non-compliant phrases, and incompletion of assigned tasks are some of the many behaviors of a reluctant student. You may find several students in the classroom who just don't seem to develop any interest in studies. They would put their heads down, not answer questions, refuse to cooperate while learning, and won't deliver their tasks on time.
Are you struggling to teach students like these? Reluctant students could be difficult to teach due to their behavior. Their learning preferences and attitude differs from usual students, and they are not eager to grasp concepts within the time frame or in how they are presented to them.
Let's explore what causes reluctance to learn amongst students and how you can overcome it with effective tutoring.
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How Can Tutors Encourage Reluctant Students?
It is challenging for teachers to understand reluctant students' behavior and re-engage them in their studies. Many tutors often find themselves in a tough spot when they cannot build the interest of unwilling learners or impart knowledge and moral values necessary for learning.
Although no magic bullets can lure students into studying, specific principles and frameworks can spark every student's intrinsic motivation to learn. Here are some of the constructive ways you can help reluctant pupils:
Get to Know your Students
Understanding his behavioral aspects is the first essential step to transforming a reluctant student into a responsible learner. There are many instances where students hate their tutors before even interacting with them. It can be due to multiple reasons; the tutor was chosen by the parent or legal guardian of the student without asking about their choice. Or the student had a bitter past relationship with their teacher, making them look up to you as another annoying adult ordering them to do things.
Therefore, the only solution to this problem is breaking the ice between yourself and the unwilling learner. All you need to do is get to know them before diving into the teaching process. You can start by introducing yourself and your plans while requesting them to do the same. Moreover, you can lighten the mood by knowing about their hobbies, favorite movies, books, music, or anything they like to do in the past.
This will make your student trust you as you would have them comfortable. Following that, tutors can find common ground with their students, which would help them devise constructive plans to pull off an effective studying strategy. After befriending them, you can quickly build the next lesson around your new student's favorite theme. Not only will this engage them in their studies, but it will also build a strong relationship with your students.
Motivate the Students to Have Learning Goals
A common reason why many students are unconcerned about their studies is that they are unaware of their career goals. As a result, they do not care about studying and becoming a certified and skilled professional to reach phenomenal heights. As a tutor teaching university students, it is your prime responsibility to enlighten students about how necessary it is to educate yourself to succeed. It would be best to give them adequate exposure to inspire them to choose a fruitful career.
Keeping that in mind, the best way to help reluctant students is by motivating them to have learning goals. It is an excellent way to attract students towards studies as they will have a direction towards which they can work and emerge successful. You can start by encouraging them to set smaller goals that are easier to achieve. As a result, they can celebrate their achievements more often, motivating them to keep their spirits high and continue learning. Once their learning process becomes smooth and consistent, you can push them to set bigger learning goals.
Have Buy-In Policy
A significant step to engage unwilling students is to have a buy-in policy. It means that you start involving your students in the decision-making processes. You might be wondering how that can be done. For better clarity, here's an example; you can ask your student to administer a part of the lesson or weigh in on an upcoming assignment. Doing little things like these can do wonders in re-engaging unconcerned pupils. When the students know that they matter and their contribution has come standing in the classroom (especially when that classroom is virtual), they are more likely to engage in the educational process.
Build an Interactive Lesson
The key to conducting a smooth and effective first lesson is building an interactive session. You should not be the only one vocalizing in the classroom. Your students will instantly lose interest if you keep delivering long, in-depth lectures for hours in every class. It is because the average human focus in listening to someone is not more than twenty minutes. Anything more than that may be a waste of time and energy.
Introduce and Experiment with New Teaching Methods
Another common reason for classrooms filled with unwilling students is that teachers have tutors who often have a dull method. They are using basic and outdated strategies to lecture students. Not only do students yawn during such classes, but it also makes them lose interest. Therefore, you should brush aside the idea of feeding chunks of information with fewer to no interactive activities in between. It is a useless teaching approach if you are thinking of delivering full-length lectures on a topic.
It's high time to spice things up if you want your students to pay attention and be enthusiastic about taking their studies seriously. The best way to do so is by introducing and experimenting with new teaching methods with your students. For instance, you can come up with peer activities, group learning schemes, healthy debates, and constructive Q&As. Once you start making little innovations in your teaching process, your students will begin to speak about their difficulties while learning instead of waiting for things to become more complicated.
Therefore, it is better to deliver a short lecture and reserve more time for interacting with students through Q&As, normal conversations, or anything that leads to student-teacher dialogues. You will see that your reluctant pupils will start participating and enjoying the lecture.
Reward your Students
We all love to be appreciated in some way when we outperform ourselves. Similar is the case with students. They expect rewards and praise from their tutors for improved student learning and performance. Therefore, you must reward your students regularly through gifts, extra attention, or even a little praise. It will motivate them to continue their hustle and prevent themselves from deviating from the right path.
Talk to your Student's Parents
Many students turn reluctant due to several factors. There could be several factors that you should know, like traumas, medical conditions, or other learning difficulties which are hindering the student's learning process. Therefore, it is better to talk to the parent of your students to understand them better. You should not hesitate to have regular meetings and open communication with your student's parents. This way, you can get to the bottom of why the student is non-interested in studying.
After discussing a student's issues with their parent or legal guardian, you can develop practical solutions to engage them in their studies. Moreover, you can also conduct necessary research about a student's condition through relevant books or by surfing the internet. It will not only help you come up with improved teaching strategies but also aid in giving effective tips to students' parents. Parents can apply a few tricks at home with their kids to make them engage in their studies.
Make the Learning Experience Fun and Exciting
The best way to attract students towards learning is by making the learning experience fun and exciting. You should devise unusual yet effective strategies to dazzle the classroom environment. Here are some ways to do so:
- You should deliver the lecture engagingly by adding humor, storytelling, and other effective emotions.
- Take random quizzes to grab the attention of students.
- Tutors should ensure they spare some time for interaction with students.
- Talk about topics other than course.
- Step outside the classroom with your students occasionally to avoid burnout.
- Take regular surveys and polls to see how effective your teaching method is.
Never Compare your Students to Themselves
The biggest mistake you can make as a tutor is to compare your students amongst themselves or someone else. Several tutors often weigh different students regarding their academic performance, behavior, or other aspects. It makes the student lose confidence, self-esteem, and interest in studying. It is because you unintentionally end up making them feel that they are being looked down upon by comparing them with someone better than them. Following that, it is best to understand that every student has their own hidden talent, skill, and expertise. You should be able to find and polish that talent to make students excel in their walk of life. Comparing students and forcing them to become someone they are not is a grave mistake.
Always Be Ready to Support your Students
A vital aspect of making your students engage in studies is always supporting them. If you dream of fixing an unconcerned student, get ready to face excessive tantrums. Therefore, it is indispensable to have exceptional patience and positivity to bring your students back to light. It would be best to have the temperament to support your students through thick and thin. There will be several instances where your students will be unbothered, failing to meet your expectations. However, this is where your role will play. You should stay positive and continue your hard work and support for them.
Ask for Feedback
You can make your students return to education by improving your teaching style and delivering thoroughly structured lessons. However, it is important to evaluate whether your improved teaching strategies are working. It can only be achieved by regularly asking for feedback from your students so that you are aware of how they feel about your teaching methods. No matter how confident you feel in your teaching style, only your students can give an accurate review of your lecture. It will also allow you to improve and make yourself better. It will also help bridge the gap between you and your students as they will understand that you care for their constructive learning, making them invest their attention and focus in their studies.
In a Nutshell
Dealing with a reluctant student is not easy for every teacher. It will help if you curate a different, innovative, and smart strategy to help slow students build interest in studies. Remember, you need to become a positive, patient, understanding, and supportive tutor if you want an unbothered student to become responsible. The key to helping reluctant students excel in their studies is understanding every learner individually and drawing up a teaching framework according to their aptitude.
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Join the Superprof community and share your knowledge with interested and motivated students.
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