Every classroom has a student or two have appears to be detached and unmotivated. The article titled "
5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Unmotivated Students" encourages teachers to examine themselves and their classroom atmosphere to expose the reason students may be distant. Students who lack motivation have no desire to learn or be in school. Motivation needs to be found within every heart of every student. Below are the five questions discussed in the article.
- How is your relationship with your students, really?
- How much choice do your students actually have?
- 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 u
s that extrinsic reinforcement can be motivating if the task is something easy. 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 really don't 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."
- Do your words contribute to a growth mindset or a fixed mindset?
- What are you doing to make your content relevant to students’ lives?
Great food for thought! definitely makes me look at how I reach and motivate my children.
ReplyDeleteAs a music teacher, I am always looking for more ways to interest my students in what they are learning and this definitely helps me delve into what I am doing that might interfere with their creativity.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very helpful article. It made me think about how I motivate students in my classroom. I really liked the part that said that we can't do anything about the outside negative influences on student motivation, but we can control what goes on inside of our classroom.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very helpful article. It made me think about how I motivate students in my classroom. I really liked the part that said that we can't do anything about the outside negative influences on student motivation, but we can control what goes on inside of our classroom.
ReplyDeleteGood to stop and think about my approach to motivating my students to learn. It's a daily challenge!
ReplyDelete