What drives you to do something? What drives learners?
Often, we expect our learners to share our enthusiasm for a topic, and they just do not seem to muster or exude the same level of excitement. Sometimes they do not even show up!

Motivation is a complex topic that has been studied in many contexts and has many variables. However, there are a few things we can do to make stronger connections for students to motivate them to learn.

• Motivation can determine, direct, and sustain what students do to learn. Consider the acronym WIIFM (what’s in it for me?). You can use WIIFM as a helpful lens to think about your students. After you have ascertained their prior knowledge, you are better able to frame new learning in the context of their experiences and past learning.

• Always consider why your learners would be interested in learning something. What is the relevance for them? How will it connect to future activities in their course or beyond? This may mean shifting your understanding of why students are enrolled in your course. They might not be there to learn for learning’s sake, but perhaps to further their employability trajectory, for instance. We should not pander to this, but it is important to be mindful of the different motivations for learning, and attempt to find creative ways to make learning meaningful for every student.