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Bob Foster - Science and Maths tuition in Bristol and on the internet.
Confidence building, motivation, exam practice, time management for teenagers: advice for parents on how to help.
t: 0117 230 5090 m: 07989412319; email     [New - online tuition & support]


How to get motivated!

This section is for you if you don't feel motivated to learn.

Here's a list of reasons not to be motivated to learn Science - click on them to get some advice: Some links will open a page on my School Success website.

I'm not really motivated to learn anything.
I don't find science interesting.
I've got a bad teacher.
It's hard to learn.
There's too much to learn.
I'm no good at anything anyway.

I'm not really motivated to learn anything.

It would help if you had goals that you believed in. Read the Motivation section in my School Success website.
Success breed success - sometimes you need a little bit of 'success' to get you going. So put some effort into achieving just one good result - have a read about what I say about being successful.
Do things one small step at a time. If you're like me, I get lazy and unmotivated regularly! One of the ways that works for me is an important time-management idea. It's simply to do things in very small steps or bursts. Split the learning tasks down into tiny chunks; do one for a few minutes, have a break, do another. Sometimes you'll find that just getting going solves the problem - you get on a role and keep going.

I don't find science interesting.

How successful do you need to be? OK - here's the bottom line: you may simply have to get interested 'enough' to get the grades you need. What grades do you need to get in order to do what you want after GCSEs? You need to have an ambition. What will happen if you don't get the grades you need? Also, being able to learn about something that you're not really interested in is good practice for the real world. You'll certainly have to learn things you don't want to then! That's part of the world of work.
If you can learn this, you can learn anything! Like I was saying above, think of it as a challenge - 'I'm going to learn this even though it doesn't interest me'. If you eventually get to a job interview, think of how an employer will respond if you show that you can focus and learn even when you're not interested. That's a useful skill to have.
Learn to be curious. The best way is to find a way to become more interested. Science is all about the world and how it works, so think about how it relates to the real world. Look up some of the great web sites that I list.

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I've got a bad teacher.

Be independent. Yes, a poor teacher, or one that you don't get along with, can be de-motivating. The key is to take control of your learning. Why let someone else put you off an interesting subject? Take a look at the Keys to success page on my School Success website.

It's hard to learn.

Get help! Make sure you have the recommended text books - not just revise guides. And get a copy of the syllabus you're studying. Hire a tutor (like me :-) )
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There's too much to learn.

Know exactly what you have to learn. Get a copy of your syllabus and your own copy of the recommended text books.
Learn how to learn effectively. There's a lot to learn in science, so you need to have good learning strategies. Use the study skills on my schoolsuccess.co.uk website.
Use basic time-management techniques. Learn in small, manageable chunks. Learn one small topic at a time rather than giving yourself, say, half an hour. I say more about this on the time management page at www.schoolsuccess.co.uk

I'm no good at anything anyway.

Don't say that! It's not true anyway. And the more you say it, the more likely it'll be to become true. You can be good at anything if you study and learn in the best way for you. Fact.
Find out how you can be good. Use the study skills at schoolsuccess.co.uk.

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