trouble motivating students

[scarycurlgirl]

I think you should aim to produce a "positive learning environment". You will see an improvement in their motivation if students have the following:
1) An understanding of what they are to achieve in the short term (end of lesson), medium term (by next week) and long term (by the end of the term) [n.b. in the UK, a semester is called a term!]
2) An understanding of exactly what they need to do to achieve these goals.
3) An active role in assessing their own performance ("What do you think was wrong with that?" "How could you make that better?" "What was different between what you played and what X played?" etc etc)
4) Receiving praise when due and sanction when necessary, coupled with an understanding of how to get praise, what behaviour will attract sanction and what those sanctions will be.

Targets, assessment, praises and sanctions will differ according to who you are teaching. For example, I am currently teaching the trumpet to three highly excitable 8 year olds with little self control! We set targets for the lesson and when they achieve that target, they get a sticker of a smiley face on thier music. Smiley faces won't work for all students, and in the same way self-assessment is limited for younger students as their self-awareness is more limited. It's horses for courses really. You need to base it on an understanding of your student's individual needs.

You may think I'm talking lefty, liberal rubbish, but this is a proven way of improving learner motivation. And I know from personal experience that basing "motivation" on pure fear is a hellish way to learn! And you may think "Well hell, I already know this!", but it's nice to see that someone thinks your techniques are pretty cool.

Liz xx

[The Glidd]

In my experience competition is something that really sets the kids on fire. I have high note contests with the kids at ends of lessons, to push their registers. I even got beat once by a 7th grader who pulled a double C out of his rear.

I hate him.

But the kids mostly like to know that they're getting better at something. Really, I think most of them couldn't care less about the trumpet, or music, or a good sound. You have to package all these concepts into a general approach where the beginner feels like they're getting better and learning at least something. Also, they have to like you as a teacher. I am cool, so I retain a ton of students. If you are a tool, what ten year old would want to take lessons from you?

Of course, some kids should just stick to watching TV all day.