“I am motivated to acquire new levels of knowledge or deepen my existing knowledge in a significant way”.
Love for learning simply means a passion for learning, a desire to learn for learning’s sake. The motivating force is curiosity that makes one seek out new information. Love of learning is the desire to deepen the information. This is a strength which all teachers would like to see in their students and parents want to encourage in their children. So the primary role of a teacher is to the capture curiosity and ignite the internal fires of learning.
This is an easy task as children are born with a natural curiosity & love to ask questions all the time. As Francis Bacon said” Who questions much, shall learn much and retain much”. If teachers succeed in giving the love of learning to students, the learning itself is sure to follow.
Here are a few tips on how to instil this love for learning in children.
1) Help children discover what they like, what interests them, what they are passionate about. Talk to them about their desire and what excites them the most. It was Leonardo-da-Vinci who said “study without desire spoils the memory, it retains nothing that it takes in”. For example, if you know that one of your students loves trucks, make him interested in reading books on this topic. Provide him the resources, the links where he can explore this topic widely. This ensures that learning becomes exciting & helps the child discover on his/her own.
2) Teachers should incorporate movement interaction and tactile experiences in the classroom. In other words provide them a hands on learning experience. I am sure you all have heard about the saying “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”. So teachers have to make learning an adventure, a fun activity. If you are teaching about aquatic animals, a visit to the aquarium is a fun & interesting experience. Similarly students who act out a word problem in mathematics, or a play in English are more likely to answer correctly as they retain this experience longer in their memory.
3) Learning should never be a chore, it should be fun. This fun element can be brought in through songs and music, academic games ,art projects and brain breaks (Silly activities). Some examples of these are bingo, word searches, sudoko, model making, story telling, songs on environment, water cycle etc.
4) Teachers have to be enthusiastic and passionate about their subject & their teaching. Only then can they engage students & spark their interest in learning. Teachers can share their passion with the students & be role models.
5) Teachers have to find out the learning style of their students, determine which is best suited for the students to learn effectively. There are as we know mainly 3 learning styles, Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. Visual Style is one in which learners process the information through writing or in images – (by seeing). Auditory style is one in which learners like to hear information (by listening), Kinesthetic learners learner through touch & movement (by experiencing).
6) Ask the children, a lot of open ended questions -Why, How, What would happen to etc. This will help children to think deeply and encourage them to read more. The lecture method of past is no longer valid. Today it is more of open discussions and interactions. The more you question, the better will be the spark of ignition.
7) Finally, as a teacher, as a parent you need to be supportive & encouraging. When learning is associated with anxiety & pressure to get a good grade, learning does not happen. Children lose their love for learning. So motivate, encourage support & instil a love for learning. Teach your students this “Don’t study to earn, study to learn”.