Kathy Stevens offers advice to parents and teachers of boys on how to motivate them to learn. Her advice ranges from positive reinforcement, time trades, and organization of study space. While I was in high school, much of these techniques were commonly used to motivate all learners to engage; however, it seemed to me that often the educator or parent would not be consistent with rewards and structure - expecting the student to maintain the routine without the external "motivation" or support.
As a student, I remember these strategies and their effectiveness; however, I also remember how short lived this success was because the parent or teacher would grow tired of maintaining the rewards, expecting me to maintain focus because of the success I felt not the rewards or structure provided. Unfortunately, I lacked such intrinsic motivation and would quickly stop working once the rewards disappeared.
As a grown man I don't desire or need such structure to meet my goals and achieve at a high level. I look back at my teenage self with a bit of disgust, for I truly believe I short changed myself and my family by my immaturity, lack of focus, and laziness. Yet, I also believe that I am unable to truly empathize with my past self as he is so foreign to me now. I forget why I was so disengaged with school, but I do certainly remember the stress, fear, and anxiety I carried within myself from sixth through twelfth grade. School was not a place that I felt "at home". There were many times I can remember fading in and out of lessons, wanting to pay attention, but more often than not finding myself in some ridiculous day dream only to realize I missed the assignment, lecture, and substance of the class. I was often too embarrassed to ask my teacher or peers for help or the assignment that I missed. I hid this fear in an I-don't-care attitude.
As a teacher at and all boys school I do what I can to help students who may fade in and out or the lesson have the ability to get back on track without asking too many questions. I like to review and give all the handouts for a particular unit to students before I teach the first lesson. I like to review and have posted the learning targets of each lesson. I like to check in with students who seem checked out to make sure that they can have their questions answered without having to ask them ...
I'm not completely convinced that this lack of focus is reserved primarily for boys, but I do know that many students check out easily and may feel uncomfortable asking questions that reveal this. Anything we can do to give students access to information outside of lesson time can help keep an entire class on track with less anxiety.
As a student, I remember these strategies and their effectiveness; however, I also remember how short lived this success was because the parent or teacher would grow tired of maintaining the rewards, expecting me to maintain focus because of the success I felt not the rewards or structure provided. Unfortunately, I lacked such intrinsic motivation and would quickly stop working once the rewards disappeared.
As a grown man I don't desire or need such structure to meet my goals and achieve at a high level. I look back at my teenage self with a bit of disgust, for I truly believe I short changed myself and my family by my immaturity, lack of focus, and laziness. Yet, I also believe that I am unable to truly empathize with my past self as he is so foreign to me now. I forget why I was so disengaged with school, but I do certainly remember the stress, fear, and anxiety I carried within myself from sixth through twelfth grade. School was not a place that I felt "at home". There were many times I can remember fading in and out of lessons, wanting to pay attention, but more often than not finding myself in some ridiculous day dream only to realize I missed the assignment, lecture, and substance of the class. I was often too embarrassed to ask my teacher or peers for help or the assignment that I missed. I hid this fear in an I-don't-care attitude.
As a teacher at and all boys school I do what I can to help students who may fade in and out or the lesson have the ability to get back on track without asking too many questions. I like to review and give all the handouts for a particular unit to students before I teach the first lesson. I like to review and have posted the learning targets of each lesson. I like to check in with students who seem checked out to make sure that they can have their questions answered without having to ask them ...
I'm not completely convinced that this lack of focus is reserved primarily for boys, but I do know that many students check out easily and may feel uncomfortable asking questions that reveal this. Anything we can do to give students access to information outside of lesson time can help keep an entire class on track with less anxiety.
The sample strategies you have listed above (introductory handout, review learning goals, checking in with students) are a few ways of reaching your diverse learners. I love to hear that you are doing these things with your students. As I'm sure you know, the more diverse the methods for delivering instruction, the more likely you will reach your larger audience. Front-loading new terms and concepts prior to teaching enables students to make meaningful connections. Tapping into any prior knowledge they may have on a topic before starting a lesson is also essential for creating meaning. Providing students with opportunities to work in groups and discuss ideas together is effective; students are often more open to hearing what peers say than adults. Students also need to have opportunities to demonstrate what they have learned in various ways (drawing, graphing, written summary, verbal summary, skit, PowerPoint presentation, etc.). Not only does this address the multiple intelligences of our students, this provides them with a rich and stimulating learning environment, enabling them to broaden their skill-set and identify methods that work best for them. And, finding ways to incorporate student "choice" in how they demonstrate and participate in learning is a sure motivator. I have found this especially true with male students. Choice is empowering!
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, Dave. :)
ReplyDeletePS- Shaila likes the pink background.