Rigor is creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels,
each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels,
and each student demonstrates learning at high levels (Blackburn, 2008).

Monday, October 8, 2012

My students don't care!

Too often, we see students who just to seem to care.  They just aren't motivated!  But that's a myth...all students are motivated, just not by what we want them to be motivated!  The key is to look beyond the surface and determine their motivating factors.

Students are motivated by two things:  value and success.  So if they don't seem motivated, either they don't see the relevance of the subject, or they aren't interest in the types of learning activities, or they haven't connected with the teacher.  That's the value aspect.

Students also need to feel successful.  Many times, we teach students who have never been successful in an academic setting.  So we need to provide opportunities for them to experience success.  Giving them questions for which there is no wrong answer is one option, and chunking larger assignments into small bites is another. 

Remember, value and success.  That's the formula for motivating students!

1 comment:

  1. How about spanking students in order to motivate them? That's what my fourth grade teacher did. Boy did it motivate me.

    ReplyDelete

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