Student Motivation and My Latest Song Crush

If there's one issue that probably provides some of my greatest challenges as a teacher, it would probably be dealing with student motivation: either encouraging it and keeping it intact, or trying desperately to overcome what often appears to be a lack of it.  Learning anything obviously requires some sort of interest or investment in order for it to sink in.  Even if material or concepts are disliked, a recognition of the value of what one is doing is essential in order to see growth and progress.  This really shouldn't be a foreign concept to anyone.

Almost every day, I'll sit down with students who appear to need some help only to encounter a shrug, a vague expression, or the expression that they don't know what to do or understand why they need to do this in the first place.  The easy thing would surely be to lay blame on these students and tell myself that I tried and quickly move on to someone more interested.  More often than not, though, I have to remind myself that there must be some reason for this detachment and I need to figure that out.  Easier said than done.

I came across an article on Edutopia that addresses four strategies for improving student motivation.  I don't wish to simply repeat everything from the summary, but I do have a few quick thoughts:

1.  Providing students with freedom of choice (organizational, procedural, and cognitive.

I think most people would agree that having some kind of input is a good thing.  It reinforces the belief that you are an active participant in the classroom and not simply a passive observer.  Knowing that your perspectives will be heard and considered can go a long way towards convincing someone that they belong.  I appreciated the distinction provided between different kinds of choice.  Organizational choice, for instance, focuses on structure for things like seating plans, group makeup, and classroom rules.  Procedural choice would mean that students can have a greater say in approaching how they're handling course work and even the very form that some of this work takes.

Cognitive choice, though, requires a greater investment on the part of the learning community.  With this third level of choice, learning becomes very student-driven with a particular emphasis on forming their own assessments, sharing what they have learned along with how they discovered their answer, and a focus on PBL (project-based learning).

2.  Giving critical feedback to build competence instead of simple praise.

I agree with the idea that sometimes we are too quick to give praise.  A quick "nice try" and the everyone-gets-a-medal movement haven't done much to add to a willingness to look more deeply at what we are doing and how we can make improvements.

I was intrigued by the strategy of "plussing" where instead of only critiquing and pointing out where mistakes were made, positive suggestions are also offered.  Pixar uses this strategy which is based on improvisation: accepting all offers on the table and making sure that you are making your partner/team look good.  It can be really easy as a teacher to notice mistakes and I can see where this can be a more than a little disheartening, especially if you are already struggling with something.  I like the idea of asking students "What if..." as a way to get them more involved and see where they can add to what has already been done.

3.  Building high quality relationships with students.

This is pretty straightforward: I can't really expect students to buy in to what I offer as a teacher if I'm not willing to buy-in to them.  The need to be friendly and provide encouragement, taking an interest in what matters to students, and remaining positive in spite of frustrations will help to convince kids that they want to be in the classroom.

I love hearing when my students say they enjoy being in my classroom.  Any teacher would love to hear that.  It also crushes me when I hear the opposite and end up feeling like I've dropped the ball somewhere.  I won't lie and say that there have been some students who have not been challenging.  No teacher (at least not one that I've seen) can reach absolutely everyone.  Seeing students for who they are, though, will go a long way to at least helping as many kids as possible.

4.  Making efforts to address relevance of new learning.

Self-reflection is probably one of the things that I've struggled with the most.  I regularly think about how my day went on the drive home or when I talk with my colleagues.  This isn't to be boastful or to brag about how amazing I am as an educator.  However, I don't always give my students to chance to think for themselves about the potential significance of their own learning.  "Why do we have to do this?" is so often asked and the answer I usually give is that it's in the curriculum.  I need to step up my efforts in this area.

Having students generate their own connections through personal reflection and discussion brings their own perspective into the mix in a way that I don't always appreciate.

Principal Skinner is never wrong.

Now, this is all well and good but the question that remains for me if dealing with student apathy and the occasional instance when kids just don't care.

Some suggest that we teachers need to continue to hold all students to high standards.  Others suggest that we need to praise mistakes, build on existing strengths, and challenge the so-called 'failure mentality.'  There are number of other options that emphasize giving a choice of assignments, and incorporating student interests into assessments.  

Either way you look at it, the battle continues.


Latest Song Crush

When we bought our new minivan a few months ago, we were given a year of free satellite radio.  My two favorite stations have been those allowing me to relive the 80s and the 90s.  I came across this gem a little while ago and it has successfully lodged itself into my brain.  I certainly wasn't the biggest fan of Duran Duran as a kid, but I find it interesting just how much I gravitate to these little reminders of a time not so long ago.

~Mr.T

Here We Go Again...

Well.  Not much to say here that hasn't already been said.  So... here's a picture!

If I'm being honest, and I really should be here, I think that I'm more occupied with trying to come up with something insightful or entertaining to impress other people with instead of just writing.  This is a blog that not many people will see, and more especially when I'm not even working on it.  I need to practice what I preach to my students and just get into the habit of reflecting and getting my thoughts out there.  I won't promise that they'll be in any logical significance or order, but if the goal is to write then I will have at least achieved that.  

What's Your Star Wars Number?

I can't really begin to describe just how absolutely psyched I was to see Star Wars Episode VII.  From the moment they first announced the project in 2012, I was thrilled to be able to see a new, updated effort to revive a franchise that I have loved since I was very young.  I have vague memories of seeing bits and pieces of Episode IV as kid when Super Channel was more of a thing.  It just stuck with me and I grew up loving those movies, and ultimately felt the disappointment that many other fans experienced with the Prequel Trilogy.  I enjoyed them, but not in the same way, and Episode VII represented a chance to rekindle that feeling of wonder and amazement that I remember feeling as a kid.  And boy... did it live up to the hype.  

I bought my tickets for opening night a full two months before the release and had a countdown in my classroom where I eagerly ticked down every single day.  By the time opening night arrived, I couldn't stand the thought of having a terrible seat and waited with a few friends for over 2 hours outside the theatre (so worth it).  From the moment the lights dimmed until the credits began to roll, I couldn't help but feel like they had done what they set out to do.  I was excited and overwhelmed, in fact, that even though I got home quite late in the evening I couldn't fall asleep and just sat in my living room trying to process all the excitement, anticipation, and new questions that I had.  Two days later I saw it again.  And again.  And ultimately enough to tie my previous record for most theatrical viewings of a film, which remains at 5.

Excessive?  Perhaps.  Do I regret it, though?  I think you know the answer.  And only 321 days until Star Wars: Rogue One! (Yes... I have another countdown up...)

The Witness on PS4: I Want That!

With limited time and a more discerning eye, I'm often on the lookout for new gaming experiences that will be different from the standard fallbacks that so often dominate the industry (looking at you, CoD).  This is a new release that has really caught my eye, and I'm actually thinking about incorporating some of this into future blogging just for the heck of it.

Here's a trailer.

I can't say if it's necessarily featured in the game, but I'm also really liking the music.  Something about a good cello evokes a certain grandness that I've always enjoyed.  The song can be found here.

Project-Based Learning: I survived!

At the beginning of the school year, our middle school team was able to take advantage of a two-day session that gave us an introduction to Project-Based Learning, or PBL.  At the time, I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about it... I liked the idea of seeing kids take ownership over their own learning but I wondered how successful some would be with the lack of traditional structure.

A colleague and I came up with the idea of focusing on the Age of Exploration and having kids plan out their own voyage to the New World, based on the context of being in Europe/Spain shortly after the return of Columbus from his first journey to the Americas in 1492-1493.  We would supplement their traditional learning about what happened with story excerpts to help paint a clearer picture of what life at sea would have been like at the end of the 15th century, have students write their own journal entries documenting and describing the experience, and ultimately pitch their proposal the Catholic monarchs of Spain.

Having tried the idea and processed the successes and failures, I can at least say that I'm not a PBL noob.  I played around with a new approach and learned some things about how I need to approach this context in the future, as well as how I can more effectively foster that understanding within my classroom.  I suppose it's a good thing that I didn't feel like I was so done with it, and I've actually been thinking a fair amount about how I can improve the project moving forward.

I don't always take the chance to play in the classroom.  I still worry more than I should on whether or not I've sufficiently covered required content and just how much of a balance I can have between student and teacher-directed learning.  I'm glad, though, that I tried.

I Bought a New Minivan

Pretty self-explanatory, but it's the first brand new vehicle that I've ever owned.  It was definitely time to put our previous van, a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan, out of it's misery.  After putting nearly 150,000 kms on it, the time felt right.

So I got me one of these bad boys...

In my defence, minivans are very different from when I was a kid.  They're cool now... right?

~Mr.T