As a young teacher, who is eager to find always
something good and rewarding, I like to improve myself more and more. I always
like to share the pieces of information with others. So, I also like to learn
from someone's experience. In this post, I will put up something I found on
Facebook that my colleague published.
As the title says, it is about what a good
teacher should do in every situation in order to attract students and to
motivate them to achieve more.This constructive text is written by Larry
Ferlazzo.
Among the many challenges
teachers face, often the most difficult is how to engage students who seem
unreachable, who resist learning activities, or who disrupt them for others.
This is also one of the challenges that skilled teachers have some control
over. In my nine years of teaching high school, I've found that one of the best
approaches to engaging challenging students is to develop their intrinsic
motivation. The root of intrinsic is the Latin intrinsecus, a combination
of two words meaning within and alongside. It's likely that
our students are intrinsically motivated—just
motivated to follow their own interests, not to do what we want them to do.
Teachers' challenge is to work alongside our students, to know their interests
and goals, and to develop trusting relationships that help students connect
their learning to their goals in a way that motivates from within. How can
teachers do this? It's helpful to consider this question in three parts: What
skilled teachers think, what they say, and what they do.
What Skilled Teachers Can Think
What we think guides how we view the world,
including how we view challenging students. Developing and maintaining three
mind-sets will help teachers maintain their equilibrium in the face of behavior
or resistance to learning from certain students that would ordinarily knock us
off balance.
1. Remember that authoritative beats
authoritarian.
Being authoritarian means wielding power
unilaterally to control someone, demanding obedience without giving any
explanation for why one's orders are important. Being authoritative, on the
other hand, means demonstrating control, but doing so relationally through
listening and explaining. Studies of effective parenting have found that
children view parents who use an authoritative style as legitimate authority
figures; such children are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior. The
opposite is true for children of authoritarian parents (University of New Hampshire,
2012). It's not too much of a stretch to apply this finding to teachers and
students. As you interact with students, frequently ask yourself which of these
two styles you use. Do you want to always lead with your mouth—or with your
ears? Bring this authoritative-authoritarian question to bear on your classroom
practices. In terms of instruction, are you always the sage on stage? Do you
have students periodically evaluate your class and you as a teacher—and
seriously consider their feedback? Do you explain to students why you teach the
way you do? When a student's behavior is causing a problem, do you control the
behavior at any cost, or do you try to find out what's going on with that
student? Opting for the authoritative style will make students more likely to
respect your authority—and probably more eager to cooperate.
2. Believe that everyone can grow.
Many teachers are familiar with Carol Dweck's
distinction between a "growth" mind-set and a "fixed" one.
When we have a growth mind-set, we believe that everyone has the inner power to
grow and change. We see mistakes as opportunities to learn. Holding a fixed
mind-set leads us to believe that people's traits—such as intelligence—are
immutable. A mistake on the part of someone we believe is unintelligent seems
to validate that belief. Which mind-set we hold makes a tremendous difference.
In one study, a researcher measured teachers' mind-sets at the beginning of the
year. In classes led by teachers who showed fixed mind-sets, few students with
learning challenges advanced academically during the year. But in classes taught by those with growth mind-sets, many
previously low-performing students made gains (Dweck, 2010). Teachers
with a fixed mind-set tend to immediately and permanently place students into
categories. They place the primary responsibility for overcoming learning
challenges on the students. Those with a growth mind-set consider responding to
a student's challenges to be the joint responsibility of the student and the
educator. Teachers aren't superhuman. There are some things we cannot
accomplish. But we must ask ourselves whether we too readily write off students
who try our patience as "incapable," or some similar adjective,
without considering whether differentiating instruction for these students
might spur change and growth.One of my students had never written an essay in
his school career. He was intent on maintaining that record during our unit on
writing persuasive essays. Because I knew two of his passions were football and
video games, I told him that as long as he used the writing techniques we'd
studied, he could write an essay on why his favorite football team was better
than its rival or on why he particularly liked one video game. He ended up
writing an essay on both topics.
3. Understand that power isn't a finite
pie.
The power isn't a finite pie. If I share the
power I have, that doesn't mean I'll have less. In fact, the pie will get
bigger as more possibilities are created for everyone. Power struggles are at
the root of much misbehavior. William Glasser (1988) believes that students
have a basic need for power and that 95 percent of classroom management issues
occur as a result of students trying to fulfill this need. Having more power
actually helps students learn. Giving students
choices—about their homework, assignments, how they're grouped, and so on—leads
to higher levels of student engagement and achievement (Sparks, 2010). Remembering that power isn't
finite helps us see that asking students for ideas on what might help them feel
more engaged isn't a sign of weakness, but of strength. So is seeking advice
from students' parents or from teachers in other classes in which challenged
learners show more success. Over the years, I've gained great insight and
become a more effective teacher by asking parents, "Tell me about a time
in your child's life when he or she was learning a lot and working hard in
school. What was his or her teacher doing then?"
What Skilled Teachers Can Say
4. Give positive messages.
Positive messages are essential to motivation. Subtle
shifts in teacher language infuse positive messages throughout our
interactions. Here are three practices I've found helpful. Use positive framing.
"Loss framed" messages (if you do this, then something bad will
happen to you) don't have the persuasive advantage that they're often thought
to have. "Positive framed messages" (if you do this, these good
things will happen) are more effective (Dean, 2010). I've had more success
talking with students about how changing their behavior will help them achieve
their goals (such as graduating from high school or going to college) than I've
had threatening them with negative consequences. Positive messages that connect
students' current actions to broader student-identified hopes or goals are
different from "if-then" statements focused on what teachers want
students to do ("If you don't get out of your seat without permission,
then you'll get extra credit"). As Daniel Pink (2009) notes, such
extrinsic manipulations don't develop students' higher-order thinking skills or
long-term commitments to change. Say
"yes." Avoidant instruction is language that emphasizes
what people should not do ("Don't walk on the grass." "Don't
chew gum"). Some researchers (British Psychological Society, 2010) believe
that a more effective way to get a desired behavior is to emphasize what you
want people to do. For example, if a student asks to go the restroom, but the
timing isn't right, rather than saying no, I try to say, "Yes, you can. I
just need you to wait a few minutes." Or if a student is talking at an
inappropriate time, instead of saying, "Don't talk!" I sometimes go
over and tell that learner, "I see you have a lot of energy today. We'll
be breaking into small groups later and you'll have plenty of time to talk
then. I'd appreciate your listening now." Say
"please" and "thank you." People are more
likely to comply with a task (and do so more quickly) if someone asks them
instead of tells them (Yong, 2010). I've found that "Can you please sit
down?" is more effective than "Sit down!" Saying thank you
provides immediate positive reinforcement to students. Research (Sutton, 2010)
shows that people who are thanked by authority figures are more likely to
cooperate, feel valued, and exhibit self-confidence.
5. Apologize.
Teachers are human, and we make plenty of
mistakes. There is no reason why we shouldn't apologize when we do. But saying,
"I'm sorry," may not be enough. I often use the "regret, reason,
and remedy" formula recommended by Dorothy Armstrong (2009). For example,
one afternoon my students Omar and Quang were paired up in my class but were
sitting passively while everyone else focused on the task at hand. I said
sharply, "Come on now, get working!" A few minutes later, I said
simply to the two boys, "I'm sorry I barked at you earlier. I was
frustrated that you weren't doing what I'd asked you to do. I'll try to show
more patience in the future." They clearly focused more energy on their
work after this apology.
What Skilled Teachers Can Do
6. Be flexible.
Being flexible might be the most important thing
teachers can "do" to help students who challenge us—in fact all
students—to get past whatever challenges of their own they confront. Three
practices help me differentiate instruction and classroom management in a way
that helps everyone. Help them get started.
Psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik identified the Zeigarnik Effect: Once people start
doing something, they tend to want to finish it (Dean, 2011). If we get a
disengaged or anxious student started, that's half the battle. For a task
that's likely to challenge some students, present a variety of ways to get
started: a menu of questions, the option to create a visual representation of a
concept, a chance to work with a partner. Encourage students to launch
themselves by just answering the first question or the easiest one. Help postpone tempting distractions. Making a conscious decision to postpone giving in to
temptation can reduce a desire that's getting in the way of a goal (Society for
Personality and Social Psychology, 2012). My student Mai was frequently using
her cell phone to text message during class. I didn't want to take her phone
away, so I made a deal with her—she could text in my classroom during two
specific times: from the moment she entered the room until the bell rang and as
soon as the lunch bell rang. Since we made that deal, Mai hardly ever uses her
cell phone during class. Even more significant, she hardly ever uses it during
our agreed-on times. Acknowledge stress. As most of us know from experience, people tend to
have less self-control when they're under stress (Szalavitz, 2012). When a
student is demonstrating self-control issues in my class, I often learn through
a conversation with him or her that this student is going through family
disruptions or similar problems. Sometimes, just providing students an
opportunity to vent worries can have a positive effect.
7. Set the right climate.
Pink (2009) and other researchers have found that
extrinsic rewards work in the short term for mechanical tasks that don't
require much higher-order thinking, but they don't produce true motivation for
work that requires higher-order thinking and creativity. However, everyone
needs "baseline rewards"—conditions that provide adequate
compensation for one's presence and effort. At school, baseline rewards might
include fair grading, a caring teacher, engaging lessons, and a clean
classroom. If such needs aren't met, Pink (2009) notes, the student will focus
on "the unfairness of her situation and the anxiety of her circumstance. …
You'll get neither the predictability of extrinsic motivation nor the weirdness
of intrinsic motivation. You'll get very little motivation at all".
8. Teach life lessons.
These simple, engaging activities help
students see how it's in their short-term and long-term interest to try their
best. For example, a lesson might highlight how the learning process physically
alters the brain. This particular lesson encourages a growth mind-set. It was
eye-opening to one of my students who had claimed, "We're all born smart
or dumb and stay that way." In terms of keeping up kids' motivation, the
times throughout the year when I refer back to these concepts and reflect on how
they apply to learning struggles are as important as the initial lessons.
What We Can Always Do
Consistently implementing
these practices is easier said than done—and is probably impossible
unless you're Mother Teresa. But most teachers already do something that makes
all these practices flow more naturally, and that we can do more intensely with
conscious effort—we build relationships with students. Caring relationships
with teachers helps students build resilience. By fostering these
relationships, we learn about students' interests and goals, which are fuel for
motivation. On Fridays, my students write short reflections about the week. One
Friday, I asked them to write about the most important thing they'd learned in
class that week. One student wrote, "I didn't really learn anything
important this week, but that's OK because Mr. Ferlazzo tried his best."
Although I wasn't that thrilled with the first part of his comment, there's an
important message in the second half. Even if we can't always think, say, and
do the ideal thing to strengthen struggling students' motivation, there's
always something we can do to meet them halfway. We can try our best.
I hope that the information will be rewarding and helpful for teachers, especially for those ones who do not have a lot of experience in teaching process.
Best regards
Rade
