Essential Motivation in the Classroom

by Ian Gilbert

Praise for the 1st is now one of my top five education books. .I was absorbed and uplifted by it and my own practice as a teacher will undoubtedly change as a result. Surely there can be no higher recommendation.' - Geoff Barton, Times Educational SupplementEssential Motivation in the Classroom is the definitive one-stop guide for teachers who want to know how to motivate children - and how children learn to motivate themselves. In the ten years since this book was first published, it has proven to be a best selling text that informs, inspires and amuses educationalist around the world.This fully updated and revised tenth anniversary edition continues to take the reader on a rollercoaster ride through the theories of teaching, learning and thinking. Ian Gilbert highlights the 'seven keys' of motivation, offering a range of strategies, ideas and insights to help learners become motivated from within.An entertaining and inspiring read, this book is full of useful, practical advice, ranging from motivational research from leading theorists to philosophical gems from Homer Simpson. Teachers in all sectors of education will find this book indispensable, helping them to change the culture of their classrooms and improve the effectiveness of their teaching.

Genres: Teaching, Education

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2002

About the author

Ian Gilbert is an educational innovator, award-winning writer, entrepreneur and inspirational speaker, delivering training to schools and colleges in the UK and Europe for the 'Independent Thinking' organisation, which he founded in 1994.

Reviews

[Matt Butler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I jumped through about half of this so don’t take it too seriously but this book wasn’t great. Quotes and jokes seemed to be included randomly every now and again with very little effect. I got a few good nuggets from it, but it felt very similar to other self-help books. I was hoping for a more in-depth breakdown combining practical advice and pedagogical theory on motivating children. Instead I got fluff, definitely not essential.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book to read if you're interested in teaching, you are a teacher or tutor, or you're just interested in how people are motivated to do what they do.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a load of rubbish -1*

I'm sick of reading pretentious, self-help guides. I want to read theory on motivation. I do not want to be motivated... Errrghghffhhfhfhghghghghgh...

[Mark Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Changed how I approached teaching. Inspirational.

[Rose]

I found this book thought-provoking, despite its short size, and a valuable repository of ideas and information, although I felt that parts of it would have benefited from better editing, and sometimes the author didn't quite make himself clear or give sufficiently practical examples. I also thought that his suggestions, and at times his attitudes, jarred slightly and seemed to miss the mark a little - using "Princess Diana" to sort out most of your class's questions and misunderstandings based on his/her strong interpersonal intelligence, and attempting to make children "buddy up" and promise they will help each other get Level 5s in SATs. While I appreciated some of the strategies he suggested for when it is "uncool" to try or succeed in school, I also thought that they would contribute to maintaining and worsening a climate/ethos of that kind (for example, accepting homework off a child outside lesson time just so they don't lose street cred by handing it in during the lesson - all well and good but I'd rather see strategies that also attacked the culture underlying the need for this than ones that essentially enable and perpetuate it).

I liked his suggestions for making concrete, visual pictures from concepts that seem difficult to make these pictures from - e.g. David Beckham as a red blood cell (before moving to Real Madrid and the US...) - and would have welcomed more ideas of this kind, especially for kinaesthetic means of learning. Those given often seemed a bit pointless - OK they got the children moving but seemed to relate only very superficially to what they were actually learning, and they may as well just have done star-jumps. Similarly some of the suggestions to incorporate naturalistic ways of learning seemed very strange to me - learning about the family in French? make it a family of rabbits! - and just as superficial. I'm more interested in how to open up learning using a range of techniques and approaches at a deeper level.

Overall, however, I found it a very interesting read and one I'll be taking many notes from. What I would love to see is a revised edition with some tighter editing and with closer attention paid to some of the examples given.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book a while back an a colleague is now reading it. The most important principle I was reminded of is that emotion drives behaviour. People can learn because they are enjoying learning or because they are stressed. The former is the healthier motivator and provides for long term effective learning.