Student Motivation

Presented by: Allison Ivey & Angela Isenberg

Worst boss ever!!

Take 2 minutes to discuss at your table the WORST boss you ever had. What was the quality of your work like for that boss? Your effort?

Best boss ever!

Take 2 minutes to discuss at your table the BEST boss you ever had. What was the quality of your work like for that boss? Your effort?

Motivation
Expectancy times value equals motivation
Value-The degree to which an individual values the rewards that accompany success of the task. Expectancy-The degree to which an individual expects to be successful at any given task.

ExV=M

Being successful at motivating requires these basic beliefs:

All students are capable of learning when they have the academic and personal tools to be successful. Students are inherently motivated to learn, but unmotivated when the repeatedly fail. Learning requires risk taking so classrooms need to be a safe place physically and psychologically.

Basic Belief cont:

All students have basic needs to belong, to be competent, and to influence what happens to them. High self-esteem should not be a goal, but rather a result that comes with the mastery of a challenging tasks. High motivation in school often occurs when adults treat students with respect and dignity.

5 Key Processes that Motivate

Emphasizing Effort Creating Hope Respecting Power Building Relationships Expressing Enthusiasm

Emphasizing Effort
Build on mistakes or partially correct answers Encourage each student to improve one thing every day Show simple courtesy Ask for small things first Celebrate markers and endings

Emphasizing Effort
Allow the 3 Rs Redo Retake Revise
To encourage early effort, you might allow students to accumulate points in a bank account to cash in for credit later. Give slightly lower weighting to improved assignments than to on-time, first time efforts.

Emphasizing Effort
Separate effort from achievement when grading
Make a list of all the factors you use to determine a students grade. Then ask yourself which of these measures focus on what a student has learned and which focus more on how the student performs or behaves while learning.

What=Achievement grade How=Effort grade

Emphasizing Effort
Reframe unmotivated behavior to encourage effort
Find something positive to share with a student who is poorly motivated before focusing on the consequences.

Emphasizing Effort
Put the effort in writing so that it becomes a commitment
Develop some simple forms and have students use these to share the key details of commitments they make. Thank students for all of their ideas for increasing effort.

Emphasizing Effort
Give a reason for effort
Make a list of daily classroom obligations Practice giving these while providing a reason

Creating Hope
Show how achievement benefits their lives Ensure adequacy of basic skills Create challenges that can be mastered Acknowledge your mistakes Help students get and stay organized Collect supplies from students Focus on success

Creating Hope
Help students develop goals
6 steps to help students develop effective goals: 1. Decide on a goal you want to reach 2. Decide on a plan to attain this goal 3. Decide on a reward that you will give yourself when you achieve your goal 4. Check your plan with a parent, teacher, or trusted friend 5. Do each step in you plan , one at a time 6. Reward yourself

Creating Hope
Show proof that mastery matters After concluding a lesson, identify immediate, specific, and practical ways that students can use the information
Have each lesson or unit end with practical demonstration on how the content relates to their lives.

Creating Hope
Focus on the learning process:
1. Think about something you do or have done in which you are successful. 2. What was it about the situation that helped you succeed? Did other people help? What did they do? 3. What does it take to make you succeed? 4. What kinds of rules or procedures do you need to help you succeed?

Creating Hope
Give before you get
Think of all the things people do that make you enjoy being recognized or noticed. Which of these might your unmotivated students enjoy? Think of a salesperson you like. What characteristics do they have that make you return? Which of these characteristics might your unmotivated student find desirable?

Creating Hope
Encourage and support positive affirmations
Have students create inspirational posters for the classroom Share stories or quotes from inspirational books and have reflection or discussion time with students

Respecting Power
Involve students in developing procedures, rules and consequences Ask for an opinion Teach a lesson Give responsibility to direct and enforce Correct students (calmly, consistently, briefly, respectfully) Call parents with positive and negative feedback Show students they already have what it takes

Building Relationships
Emphasize and affirm the student Be open to student feedback Send notes to students Offer genuine compliments Give students non-contingent attention

Expressing Enthusiasm
Let students know you love being their teacher Share your love of the subject Be a lifelong learner Be lighthearted Arouse interest early Encourage drama as a form of expressing knowledge Be what you are teaching Use music Teach through food Use sports

What do students want?

They want to feel like they are more than part of a crowd, that their individual talents and abilities are respected and deemed worthy. They want teachers who are real people, who recognize them as human beings -- teachers who care about them -- not just their test performance.

What do students want?

They want to be challenged, not decimated. They want caretakers who
check on them regularly who support their individual learning who inform them individually of their progress who assign a variety of tasks that give them the opportunity to learn in modes that fit their individual styles and that are designed to meet their level of learning.

What do students want?

They like teachers who talk at their level, who can joke and take a joke, and who let them talk and learn with other students. They like clear, complete explanations and concrete examples, thorough (but brief) explanations of difficult concepts, and opportunities to have their questions answered.