--Interest+Assessments

=Student Interest can have a very large impact on Motivation and Engagement of students.=

Interest is simply that which engages the attention, curiosity, and involvement of a student. We know that, but how do we first find out what best engages a student, and how do we put that to use in our classrooms? Here is a start at interest assessments or profiles. Interest profiles for students come in many shapes and forms, but what is most important is identifying what context will motivate students to learn.

What are the interests of students which are most useful for teachers? We aren't necessarily talking about a student's interest in motorcycles, unless you're teaching simple machines, but more about a student's preferences in how they learn, what kinds of groups they're working in, the kinds of books they like to read, possible career interests, and so on. Students can be asked, part way through a unit of study in a class, how they'd like to continue-which path would they like to follow for further study.