Chapter 3 - One Size Does Not Fit All - The Eight Forces of Motivation

We all know that students are motivated in different ways.  In Chapter 3, Lavoie outlines 8 factors that motivate:

1. Gregariousness - the need to belong
2. Autonomy - the need for independence
3. Status - the need to be important
4. Inquisitiveness - the need to know
5. Aggression - the need to assert
6. Power - the need to control
7. Recognition - the need for acknowledgement
8. Affiliation - the need to associate and belong

Instead of reading my opinions on how this is important, let's hear it from Lavoie himself (please ignore the spanish captions, that is unless you speak spanish...)

Chapter 2 - The Motivating Classroom - Part II

The second half of Chapter 2 discusses the final 3 "C"s of the "6 C's of a Motivating Classroom."  To review, the first three were:
- Creativity
- Community
- Clarity

4. Coaching - For those of you that don't know, yes, I was once a football coach.  During my first teaching job interview, they asked, would you be willing to help coach, and I responded "I'll coach ballet, if you give me the job."  Well, thank goodness there wasn't a ballet team, so they put me on the football team.  I learned from being a football coach that the same motivational tactics used on the field, could also be used in the classroom.   A good coach does the following:

- wants all players to win
- knows all of his/her players
- uses players' strengths
- consistantly works on each player's weaknesses
- knows the opponent
- considers existing conditions
- applies and practices new skills
- constantly evaluates and assesses

Do you do all of these things as a teacher?  If not, take a look back at p. 79 - 83 for suggestions on how to better "coach" your students.  Especially of interest is from the bottom of p. 83 - 84 which talks about how skateboarders are motivated....very insightful.

5. Conferencing - A great way to make connections and be pro-active with your students is through one-on-one conferencing.  On p. 89 - 91 you will find tips on "Effective Teacher/Student Conferences."   Another aspect of student conferences not discussed in the book are "Class Meetings."  If you are not familiar with class meetings, this is a great way to make your students feel like they are a member of the class and that they have a say.  I used to schedule class meetings with my students once a month to discuss what they liked and didn't like about the class, the school, anything.  It's important to first set up some ground rules.  I used to use the following:

- You can't use anyone's name (students or teachers)
- Raise your hand to participate. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
- We can't change rules that we signed to agree under the student handbook and code of conduct.

 Of course they will all complain about how they want more for lunch, but you will also find out some insightful information about your students and maybe clear up some misconceptions.  Class Meetings should not take more than 5 minutes and I found to be most effective at the very end of class.  I also would tell my students that I would share their concerns with administration and the team.  If you need more information on how to run class meetings, please let me know.

6. Control - As children grow older they have more and more responsibility (or control) in their life.  For example, my son, who is 1 1/2, doesn't have control of anything.  From the clothes on his back, to when he can go to the bathroom, he can't control it.  But, like all humans, he wants some control.  So if he doesn't want to eat his greens or come inside after playing in the yard, he throws a fit.   Our students, although much older, are exactly the same.  They want control.  They want responsibilites.  They want freedom.  They want POWER!  Take a second to look back at p. 94 - 95 and review the "Characteristics of a Motivating Classroom" for some tips on how make your student feel like they have some control in class.

Chapter 2 - The Motivating Classroom

Chapter 2 reviews strategies and techniques that teachers can use in the classroom as a whole to motivate students.  These are organized as the “six C’s” of a motivating classroom.  With this Chapter including so much information, I’m going to break it into two posts. 

Creativity, Community, and Clarity

Creativity – If I’m watching a TV show and it’s about exciting as paint drying on the wall, what do you think I’m going to do?  Change the channel!  Kids can’t exactly change the channel in your classroom, but they can put their head down, zone out, or entertain themselves.  How do they usually entertain themselves?  By acting out, talking, and disrupting your lesson.  To keep kids engaged, we have to think “outside the box” sometimes and create lessons that they can relate to and use their creativity.  Think about it.  Adolescents today live in a world where all of life’s answers are just a click of a mouse, or a swipe of a touch-screen away.  Is that worksheet that you’ve been using for the last 5-10 years really going to get your kids excited about learning?   If the answer is no, then maybe you need to rethink how we can really reach our kids.

Community – I feel this entire section of the book (p. 55-72), is extremely beneficial to anyone who feels that their class isn’t really working according to their expectations.  The following list is the same list I forwarded to you in the e-mail this past week.  I have it in my office to glance at each day, to make sure I’m doing my best.  When you read this list, think about your favorite teacher and check off how many apply: 

·         Greet the students at the door of your classroom as you would a guest in your home.  Smile and make eye contact.  Call them by their preferred nickname (but don’t assume every William is “Bill” and every Robert is “Bob”).

·         Use attentive, active listening when talking to students, even during informal conversations. 

·         Attend school plays, games, and other activities that your students may be involved in.

·         Criticize in private; praise in public.

·         Circulate around the room in a natural nonthreatening manner; walk and talk.

·         Acknowledge student progress, accomplishments, efforts…and birthdays.

·         Inquire about their health after an absence.

·         Always avoid humiliation, ridicule, impatience, anger, or disappointment when dealing with students.

·         Use their names when writing comments on assignments.  (“Great improvement, Jenn.”)

When I read this, I think of Mrs. Groseclose, my 6^th grade English teacher, and the best teacher I ever had.  You worked for Mrs. G. because you knew she cared about you.  You knew she cared about you because she did all of the things on this list. 

Clarity – Understanding the rules and expectations of the community.  It’s one thing to explain the rules, have them up in the room, and put them in the syllabus.  It’s another to continuously teach our students the rules and expectations.  We expect all of our students to come in and have an understanding of the basic laws and manners of society.  A lot of our kids don’t have those expectations for the other 16 or 17 hours-a-day outside of school.  The only structure they have is here at Jackson.  Why do you think they come every day?  It’s because even though they might not like the rules, they like to know that there rules.  Take a minute to review “Effective Classroom Rules” on p. 74 and “Giving Effective Instructions” on p. 76.   We know all of these things already, but if we don’t review it once a while and self-reflect, we tend to develop bad habits. 

*One more note:  If you are having trouble posting on the blog, it’s important to know you have to have a g-mail account.  It takes all of 30 seconds to sign up and you can do it by clicking here: mail.­google.­com/­mail/­signup

The Motivation Breakthrough - Chapter 1

Hello SJMS,

Every two weeks I will be posting a short review and some things to think about as you read "The Motivation Breakthrough" by Richard LaVoie.  Hopefully all of you have all read Chapter 1 by now, but in case you havn't please go back, read Chapter 1 and review the notes below:  If you would like to comment or ask any questions, please feel free to join my blog and post as we go. 

As you know I believe motivation is a very powerful thing.  Last year when I came to Jackson, I wanted to do something to really motivate our students to come to school during the SOLs and give 100%.  What do our students love?  FOOD! and what kind of food do they love more than anything?  TAKIS!!!  So we ordered 500 bags of Takis.  Our students love wrestling, so we had WWE Superstar, Sheamus come and talk to them about how they can "Be a Star."  This year, we want to go bigger and better, as you are reading this book, think of new ways that we can motivate our students and share. 

Chapter 1: Student Motivation: What It Is and What It Is Not

Five Myths about Motivation:

 1. That _(Insert Name)_....Nothing motivates that kid!

 TRUTH - All Human Behavior is Motivated - Our students may not be motivated to do what we want them to do, but they are all motivated.  For example: When I was an 8th grader I was motivated to drive my parents crazy, so when I was a real jerk to all of my teachers (it's true, and yes, I know I'm getting my payback). 

2. That kid!  One day he's motivated, the next day he's not!

TRUTH - Motivation is a constant - Example: Kids are motivated to please their teachers.  Some days they have bad days, but the next day they start over, or want to start over (sometimes we need to initiate this). If you don't don't believe this, then you need to work on building positive relationships with your students. 

3. Give him something that will motivate him. 

TRUTH - When I heard this, my first thought was what a waste of money on all of those Takis!  Not necessarily true.  What Lavoie is trying to say is that reward systems can break down over time and are not effective long term.  This reminds me of one of my favorite things when I was in school: Book It!  You read seven or eight books and you got a free pizza from Pizza Hut!  For me it was the greatest thing ever.  I was going to read the books anyway, now I get free pizza too! It only motivated kids who would probably be motivated anyway.  Overall, the program didn't work because we just ended up with a bunch of fat kids who lied and said they read a bunch of books and still didn't like to read.  We want to motivate our students to be self-motivated. 

4.   Competition: The Great Motivator.

TRUTH - When I was a kid playing little league baseball,  I could have cared less about winning or losing.  Why?  We stunk!  We were the worst team in the league and we knew it.  We only won two games in three years!  Kids are only motivated by competitiion if they feel they can win.  Lavoie says that "kids who act bad sometimes act bad because they've been put in a position to look bad or dumb."  To truly motivate, we need to even the playing field and make sure all students can see success.

5. Punishment is an Effective Motivator.

TRUTH - Punishment doesn't eliminate behavior, it only repressses it.  It models agression for our students.  It does not generalize to other settings.  For example, if we are trying to teach our students to walk quietly through Valley View Mall?  Probably not.  Most importantly, punishment is only effective as long as the threat of punishment exists.  If you tell your child to stop throwing food, or they won't get to eat, you better be prepared to watch them starve. 

The 6th Myth - Performance Inconsistancy:

He's so lazy, he won't even try.

Yes, we have students who are lazy, but most of the time we're talking about learned helplessness.  Lavoie tells the story of the elephant in the zoo.  When the elephant was just a little baby, he had a chain put around his foot to keep him tied down.  The elephant would walk in circles, but couldn 't pull out the chain.  As he grew older, he could have easily pulled out the chain,  but didn't because he had been taught that he couldn't.  This is learned helplessness,and we have a lot of students who fit this category.  It takes time, positive reinforcement,and patience to reteach these students that they can learn.  As Lavoie says, "We have to teach our kids to "pull the chain.""

I'm not going to put them all down here, but please review "Teaching Strategies to Motivate the Student with ADD."  It's p.46 - 50, and I think these strategies can apply to all of our students.