It is the start of a new quarter...another opportunity to re-start our batteries and motivate students to engage in their own education. Here are five questions to ask yourself about motivating your students.
1. HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR STUDENTS, REALLY? Multiple studies have shown a significant connection between student motivation and the quality of the teacher-student relationship. A good teacher-student relationship provides students with a sense of stability and safety, which sets the stage for more academic risk-taking. So what kind of relationship do you have with your least motivated students? How well do you really know them? Do you have conversations with them about the things they care about? Or have you more or less given up on them? My response: At first, I’m thinking I do pretty well in this area. I teach mini lessons, I look for signs of disengagement or fatigue. When I think about my less-motivated kids, I offer support and choices. It is really important for me to build a rapport with my students. Yes, I am there to transmit information and to “do” fun things like Funglish and brain teasers—even have an open discussion or two. It is important to create boundaries and expectations, while at the same time giving students some autonomy and ownership. How we can do better: Just becoming more aware of the value of relationships is the most important step. From there, consider one of these resources:
2. HOW MUCH CHOICE DO YOUR STUDENTS ACTUALLY HAVE? Study after study points to choice as a major factor in motivation. Most of us have probably heard this, but we may not have fully embraced it. After all, providing choice can be messy, with students completing different tasks at different rates, making it hard to be consistent with grading. It can also mean a lot more prep work: If you’re going to give students three different options for an assignment that means you have to prepare all three options ahead of time. Or do you? Isn’t that kind of prep work more in line with worksheet-oriented teaching, where students are doing low-level work that was largely prepared by the teacher? If students are engaged in more long-term, authentic, creative projects, it’s much easier to provide them with choices, because we aren’t constantly trying to provide them with new busywork every day. My response: I am pretty good about letting students choose topics for projects, but I also require a lot of seat work as well. When it comes to long term assignments that require research or a strict structure, support is extremely important. It’s a good idea to divide the students into different groups. One day you might be creating a thesis statement with a homogenous group. Another day might be heterogenous groups evaluating research sources. I provide sources at different reading levels. I model how to write a thesis statement. I might even help a student write the thesis statement or assist in compiling their research. I have also differentiated the output. Maybe all the student can do is create a PowerPoint or make a poster. Criteria has to flexible enough to allow that diversity in ability. I could allow students more input on the larger assignments I give them. If students take a more active role in their own learning, they might be more engaged. How we can do better: There are lots of ways you can allow more choice in your classroom without having to completely overhaul your way of doing things. Even adding a small amount of choice to what students already have is an improvement. Consider letting them choose:
3. ARE YOU RELYING HEAVILY ON CARROTS AND STICKS…OR JOLLY RANCHERS? Many, many teachers count on rewards (“carrots”) and punishments (“sticks”) to motivate students. And those who study motivation tell us that extrinsic reinforcement can be motivating if the task is something easy: If you’re trying to get students to clean up the classroom quickly, for example, offering class points toward a party can get them to speed up. But for tasks that require creativity and complex thought, extrinsic rewards actually reduce motivation. In your class, how much of your motivational approach is extrinsic? How often do you use grades, treats, privileges or punishments to prod students into doing something they don’t really want to do, something they have no real interest in? If extrinsic reinforcement is your primary approach, you may actually be killing off any natural motivation students might have otherwise had. My response: I have used rewards like Jolly Ranchers, pizza parties, etc. I did those things because they worked—a little. But they can backfire. When you put a price tag on good behavior by offering rewards, your students will demand higher and more frequent payments. Rewards, you see, are not only ineffective in the long term, but they weaken over time. If you’ve used rewards in the past, you’ve experienced this. What is exciting and fun at first, like extra recess, becomes boring and not a big deal after a while. Therefore, you have to continue to increase the payment or the frequency of the reward. There’s a difference between getting kids to do what you want and truly, deeply motivating them. How we can do better: Try to catch yourself the next time you’re about to tie a challenging activity to a reward or consequence. When introducing a task, try focusing on its inherent interest or value, or how much students are going to learn, rather than on a separate reward or grade. Consider the difference in these two statements:
4. DO YOUR WORDS CONTRIBUTE TO A GROWTH MINDSET OR A FIXED MINDSET? What could be wrong with saying “You’re so smart”? It’s nice, right? It boosts their confidence, no? Well, it’s more complicated than that. Students are motivated to persist at a challenging task when they believe they can get better at it. That requires them to have a growth mindset, a belief that their intelligence and abilities can be developed with effort. Teachers can have an impact on this mindset with the things we say to students. So when we say “You’re so smart,” “You have natural math ability,” or “You’re a great writer,” we are telling the student it’s their natural ability that got them where they are. We’re contributing to a fixed mindset. And that’s not motivating. My response: A few years ago all of our staff professional development focused on the growth mindset. One of the biggest obstacles students at our school face are overcoming the years of being told negative things about their efforts or developing a set of beliefs about their own limitations. We need to model this as well. On those days when we feel defeated or bogged down with so many demands, stop and check the internal dialog—is it positive or negative? When students are frustrated or defeated are we instilling a positive mindset? Learning takes practice. Growth takes time. How we can do better:
5. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MAKE YOUR CONTENT RELEVANT TO STUDENTS’ LIVES? I think this is another one of those principles that’s been around for so long, we assume we’re doing it more than we actually are. But showing students how the content relates to their lives really does make a difference. When students believe they are doing something authentic, something that will improve their lives or have some kind of impact, they are naturally motivated. So how are you doing in this area? Do you regularly provide opportunities for students to connect what they’re learning to the world they currently live in? My response: I got pretty lazy about this. I have some gimmicks like word of the day, or door buster warm-ups. But I often cut corners on making my material relevant. I am often much more focused on getting through content and tasks than I on making it meaningful. How we can do better:
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE This is a great time to reflect on how to increase the relevance, timeliness and engagement this school year. We struggle against many factors to motivate our students. Let's just make sure our instructional decisions don't provide more grist for the mill (of negative self-talk or school work disconnected from real life.) So pick one area and start there. Make a small adjustment this week and see what happens. Share in the comments where you think you could improve, then come back and tell me what changes made a difference. To solve a problem as complicated as student motivation, there is no magic bullet; instead we’ll need a set of tools that we blend and refine over time. This is a process that will definitely be slower and more frustrating than a single, easy solution, but we’re professionals. This is our craft. We can do this. -30-
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These Halloween minute to win it games are super fun! They’re perfect for a party, a school event or just some fun at home with the kids. The whole family will have a blast playing these together.
I recently asked my high school students if they still go to libraries. They actually chuckled! As we all know, the internet provides a vast amount of information for reading, viewing, research, etc.--but does that mean the printed book has gone the way of the dinosaurs?
Having a library card gives children an introduction to responsibility that will follow them throughout life. At as early as 4 years old, children become eligible to apply for a library card with permission of a legal guardian. Libraries are great places to spend hours exploring. I can remember being a small child, plopping myself in the children's section and pulling book after book down from the shelf to "evaluate." Many libraries don't put a limit on the number of books children can borrow. Can you think of a more cost effective way to open your child's mind to a world of knowledge? With a library card comes the wonderful privilege of borrowing books. However, this privilege comes with a set of social expectations to be upheld. Children learn to share, respect the properties of others, and good citizenship. Taking children to the library at a young age (and often) helps them learn what resources are offered there long before they'll need them. By the time children enter middle school, they probably already have experienced a research project or two. The older they get, the more time and labor intensive projects become. If can be hard to know where to start when it comes to research, but the library can take away most of the stress of where to look. Some libraries have access to databases that are very specific and very expensive. More than just books, the library offers all kinds of services! Most libraries have extensive collections of movies, audiobooks, music CDs and sometimes other items as well. Aside from the physical items being offered, most libraries have spaces that are used for various community events--tutors, clubs, community groups. Most of these activities are child-friendly, so they can be a great way to get your child out of the house and involved in your community. There are other benefits of taking children to the library. Every library is different--visit several. As a child, I regularly visited Dolton Public Library, South Holland Public Library and Riverdale Public Library. It was an adventure to explore each of their collections. The earlier a child is exposed, the more they will get out of it. Allowing children to explore their own topics of interests is key to making them lifelong learners. The benefits of our public libraries should not be allowed to go extinct. After all, according to Albert Einstein, "the only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library." |
AuthorI have been teaching since 1996. I became a special education teacher in 2013. I currently work at a therapeutic day school in suburban Chicago. Archives
May 2022
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