Motivation

Sometimes after a long day of class, many students want to go back to their room and sleep the day away. They know they have work that is due the next day, but they just don't feel like doing it. Maybe they don't know the consequences that will come to them if it is not done, or maybe they just don't really care. Most young students need some type of motivation in order to succeed. Motivation can come from anywhere. A student could be motivated for personal satisfaction, pleasing their parents, or just the fact if they get their work done, they can hang out the rest of the day. The key to being successful is being a hard worker, and usually motivation drives us to do better.

Some of the motivation tools I used were Weighing Consequences and the Course Matrix. I used Weighing Consequences for my American History and also my Statistics class. Next Tuesday, I have a Math exam and a history paper due. Both of these are a significant part of my grade, and if I don't give both of them the attention needed, my grades will suffer. Weighing the consequences allows me visually see the task I have at hand. This helps me because I am a visual and Kinesthetic learner. Being able to see what you need to do in front of you makes it a lot easier to complete the task. With weighing the consequences, I wrote down my situation and consequences that follow it. Then I wrote what the assessment was, and came up with a plan. My plan was to finish the history paper by Thursday or Friday at the latest. Then I will have the weekend and Monday night to study for the exam. Knowing the consequences I will encounter if I do not do this step properly has motivated me to divide the time evenly.

I also used Course Matrix for my American History class, as well as my Earth Science class. The course Matrix is beneficial to my style of learning because it breaks down the responsibilities that I have for each of these classes, and allows me to visually see and know my motivators for each responsibility (visual and kinesthetic). The course matrix divides the responsibility into different categories. These categories include Attending class, managing your workload, managing your time, taking effective notes, Reading effectively, and preparing for exams. My motivators for these categories come from personal benefit, needing a required GPA, and keeping my parents proud and spending their money wisely. All of these are different types of motivators that are used every day. Motivation is a key to success. If you stay motivated, you are bound to succeed.