Training tips

The ability to take initiative is a priceless skill that is highly valued by employers.
Which didactic tips can be used to boost initiative?

Hint 1

Achievable goals encourage people to take initiative. Especially if the goal is based on what your students think is important.
Your students will be more motivated to complete their work and will go beyond what you expect if you always link the classroom instruction to their end goals.
Students should always keep their goals in mind when they go to work.
The ability to think with a goal in mind will enable your students to adapt their learning and working style and show more initiative in the future!

Hint 2

Stimulating initiative requires more than just letting students work in groups. Most of the group work can be done by one or two students, with the others sitting back and agreeing. That’s why it’s important to give students a way to rate their teammates on how helpful they were in completing the tasks.
Students are more likely to take the initiative if they are honest about this process, so as not to disappoint you, their team, and even themselves. The students will be motivated by this kind of pressure to do better and avoid being seen as a “weak link” in the team.
The students will also be motivated to do their best work by promoting this kind of collaboration.

Hint 3

In the classroom and in the workplace, independence is closely linked to taking initiative.
Students will have to learn to manage their time and work effectively, without someone constantly present to keep them focused.
Allowing students to work independently shows them that you trust them to get the work done. You also give them practice in making decisions about how much time to spend on certain aspects of the assignment. Giving students responsibility for their own learning makes them more accountable and motivated to prove they can be trusted.

Learn more here

Hint 4

In a classroom or at work, your students are bound to experience periods of “downtime” after completing a project or task. It is during these periods that the initiative can slacken. If students finish their work faster than others, they may not know what to do next.

To help your students stay productive and proactive, it’s a good idea to address these issues before they arise!
You can help students stay productive by giving them “extra” tasks throughout the semester. This can range from answering a question in their diary to completing an extra worksheet. Whatever the task, the important thing is that it relates to what you teach in class and rewards students for their effort.

Consider using bonus questions. For students who finish grading faster than others, you can make certain quizzes or tests more interesting by adding a bonus question. Open-ended questions such as “What else do you know about the topic?” can work well.

By getting students to actively participate, you can help them be more productive. That’s what I call showing initiative!

Hint 5

By explaining why students should learn what is being taught, some teachers hope to encourage initiative.
While it can be tempting to dictate what’s important, sometimes it’s better to let students make those connections themselves.

Think about questions like these that remain related to the topic you’re teaching:

• Why are we learning this?
• How might someone apply this information/skill in their career?
• When was the last time you saw someone use this skill/information?

Hint 6

Encourage students to organize social events or other community activities. For example: encourage students to organize mentoring programs or for example school clean-up days.

Hint 7

Link taking/showing initiative to their work. As “homework,” instruct your students to observe their workplace and point out any problems or ways to improve things. They should prepare a short presentation or assignment in which they describe and describe the problem or issue they are dealing with and what their solution is.

Hint 8

Instruct your students to observe themselves at work and document or record how often they show initiative. All without being asked.
Then get together as a class and talk about the things the students have come up with unsolicited.
This is intended to motivate them to show initiative at work and it gives them a different view of what can be considered initiative.