Personality development is a unique set of behaviors and attitudes that set one person apart from others. It’s the distinguishing factor that has one student more compliant than the other or has one as the class’s fun maker while another has to be pushed to contribute in class.
So you might wonder if the personality development of your students can be influenced to improve their performance.
Well, yes.
Personality development depends on the following fundamental factors.
Heredity
Ever had an issue related to anger with a student, called their parents, and experienced a similar angry reaction? It results from the fact that parents pass down traits to their children in a biological process known as heredity.
Heredity is the genetic inheritance that everyone receives during conception. The genes from the parents’ chromosomes join to determine the traits of the offspring.
Environmental
The surroundings in which an individual grows influence their personality development. The environment includes all the external influences that affect the nature and development of an individual’s personality.
It includes parental care, the society in which the child grows up, the school he/she attends, and basically, every aspect of their surroundings. Children raised in tough neighborhoods tend to be more resilient than those born with a silver spoon. Those who come from dysfunctional homes are likely to be closed off emotionally.
How to Motivate Students to Success Through Personality Development
The fact that a student’s personality is not just affected by their genetic composition makes it possible to develop a more success-oriented character. A motivation that lasts is ingrained in their personality.
Students spend approximately six-plus hours a day in school. It means that their experience in school plays a significant part in shaping their personality and launching a prosperous future This is why teachers need to find positive ways for their student personality development while they are at this stage of their lives.
Here are five ways to achieve this change in your students.
Build the Confidence of the Students
Humans crave praise and recognition. It is reassuring. Appreciate the efforts of your students and reward them publicly. Moreover, encourage your students to be their authentic selves by building their confidence.
Motivate them to live to their full potential using positive affirmations and if need be correct them gracefully. This is especially needed when you are fighting the impulse to interrupt them and correct every little mistake. Instead of making them better it kills their self-esteem and turns them into yes-people.
Challenge them in a reasonable and attainable way. If someone scored a C encourage them to get an A, don’t expect an overnight A from a D student.
Stir Their Curiosity
Promote a growth mindset in your students as opposed to a fixed mindset. A growth mindset believes that anything can be learned and any skill can be acquired while a fixed mindset is all about stagnation and staying in the comfort zone.
Challenge your students to learn more than they know. Hold debates on various topics and discussions using open-ended questions. Lead your students to expand their minds and explore multiple fields of study. Encourage in and out-of-topic questions at the end of each class.
Encouraging your students to adopt a broad mindset opens the door to acquiring various skills, builds their confidence, and makes learning more than just grades and graduation.
Locus of Control
Give your students a sense of control. There is a difference between giving guidance and controlling. Dictating what your students are supposed to do can make them feel trapped.
Make your students feel part of what happens in the classroom. For instance, give an assignment but let the students decide what type. It keeps them engaged and motivated to do more, and ultimately, it improves their performance.
When it comes to solving problems, guide your students through the process but let it feel like the solution comes from them. It equips them with decision-making skills and gives them the confidence that they are smart.
Encourage Self-reflection
No one understands you better than yourself; in the same way, you cannot know your students more than they know themselves.
Sometimes, they may be so overwhelmed by the expectations of their parents, friends, and siblings that they forget who they truly are and why they want to succeed.
Create time in the timetable for your students to introspect and learn about their true nature and why they would want to succeed. Encourage them to build a mental picture of the person they would want to be.
Let the students practice the self-reflection by themselves. It gives them the feeling that they are in charge of creating their objectives and goals. With this comes more motivation to succeed that is rooted deep within them.
Give a Variety of Challenges
Students come with a variety of strengths, ideas, and approaches to solving problems. While some may be interested in learning history from morning to evening, others may have other interests. Students skilled outside books are demotivated when beaten continuously in class work by other students.
Give them a chance to shine in the activities they are good at. Knowing that they are also winners improves their self-esteem and motivates them to put more effort in class work.
Having your students try out different activities also makes them aware of where their strengths lie. It opens their eyes to the career path they should follow and you as their teacher can best guide them toward this path.
Wrap up
Finally, students are in school not just to earn papers but to grow and develop into competent CEOs, artists, surgeons, athletes, teachers, politicians, and every other career out there. The school is supposed to sharpen every student’s mind and make the most out of them. It can be achieved by boosting their confidence and making them believe in their ability to achieve success.
The growth mind is achieved by learning, so encourage them to seek knowledge in all areas. Be diverse and give your students a chance to explore their interests while giving them ownership of their learning. Encourage them to regularly look inwards and become aware of their true nature.
The workload to shape students, however, does not solely lie on teachers. It would be senseless to encourage a kid to spread their wings in school and later have the parents restrict them to develop a defined character. Parents have a role to play. They should apply the same tips at home so that the child’s development is reinforced both at home and in school.
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