Motivation and Interest 

Motivation can give us the answer for many questions about human behavior. According to Pardo and Alonzo Tapia, motivation can be defined as "the set of cognitive and affective factors that influence the choice, initiation, direction, repetition and quality of an action". Motivation is a determinant factor in students performance, in addition to skills and knowledge. In order for students to achieve optimal performance in learning, it is necessary to have enough capacity to apply their skills, use effective learning strategies, and be motivated.

A teacher cannot be motivated for a student, that is something students must find for themselves, but what he or she can do is to directly help them develop skills that will help them to begin a task with energy and to complete it even when it becomes difficult.

To develop interest and motivation in class the beginning is important. An effective opening can serve several valuable purposes. It can focuses students' attention on what they are about to learn. It can also arouse students' curiosity, interest, plus it helps motivate them to become involved in the lesson.

The first 3 minutes of the lesson are essential to get students actively involve with the topic and the lesson. The beginning sets the tone for the rest of the class. It creates psychological readiness to engage learning and the willingness to work. Students of all ages approach the classroom with the question "What's in this lesson for me?".

Some strategies to get students attention in the beginnig of the class are:

• Learning begins before class starts
• Get the class actively involve in the lesson in the first 3 minutes
• Be sure to have everyone attention
• The opening must be connected to the main lesson
• Avoid beginning the class with routine, procedural tasks
• Pose a challenging question
• Present an interesting, relevant problem
• Display interest visual

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Bibliography

García Legazpe, Félix. Motivar para el aprendizaje desde la actividad orientadora. (2008) Ministerio de Educación de España. Madrid, España.

Walker Tileston, Donna. What Every Teacher Should Know About Student Motivation.(2010) Corwin Press. California. United States of America.

Partin, Ronald L. The Classroom Teacher's Survival Guide: Practical Strategies, Management Techniques and Reproducibles for New and Experienced Teachers. (2009) John Wiley and Sons. California, United States of America.