Without the interest, a student will not want to get involved in an activity, and even if they do partake, they will not give it their all. Therefore, you must develop interest in order to help them gain competence.
Take an interest in them
Sit your students down one by one and ask them what interests them. If possible, you can aim to make them all happy by creating a plan that will involve all of their interests. However, if you cannot do this, then sometimes just taking an interest in them is enough to gain their interest.
When you take an interest in your students and try to find out what they want, reiterate that you plan all your activities to what your students want. This means that even if they aren’t partaking in an interest at this moment, they will do in the future.
Students will then be more interested in every activity that is planned.
Encourage discussions
Whether it be in the classroom or whilst you are out partaking in the activity, encourage discussions where the student is the centre of attention. Allow them to speak alone, and then encourage their train of thought.
This can develop your student’s interest because, as mentioned above, if you take an interest in them, they will be interested in activities that you plan.
Allow students to share experiences from home or their community, this way they can grow their confidence, and if they feel as though you have helped their confidence grow, then they will be interested in what you have to say, and interested in activities that you plan.
Take the time
Take time out of your schedule to show your interest in your students. If one of them has said that they will be playing football for the school team after school, then attend the match. Show that you aren’t just saying you are interested in them.
Whilst you are watching, the student will be eager to succeed and will work harder than they have ever worked before. This will follow through to the next time you ask them to partake in an activity that they have not shown too much interest in before.
Utilise Family
This is one way to develop interest in your students, but it may be the most time-consuming. Of course, you want a good relationship with your student’s parents but you can gain this from outside the classroom.
For example, if you know that one of your student’s mothers owns a hair salon, and then next time you are in town, walk past the shop. Then you can pop in and have a chat. Talk about their child’s interest levels.The hope is that they will go home and they will try to develop their child’s interest in your activities. You will then have a two-pronged attack on developing their interest.
