How to motivate students? It is a difficult question to answer. Each student has their own currency that will get them to work harder. For some it is the approval of their parents and others all it takes is a piece of candy. The problem is that not every student responds to the same bribe as much as the inspirational teacher movies like “Stand and Deliver” and “Dangerous Minds” would like us to believe. For me the best movie that I ever saw that portrayed a motivational teacher in the classroom the most realistically was “To Sir with Love” starring Sydney Poitier. The teacher in this film does not want to be there and struggles trying to teach the flunking students the textbook stuff. He is finally successful when he looks at what the students are dealing with outside of school and what the students will be doing with the rest of their lives after leaving the school. With this knowledge Poitier is able to teach the kids things that are relevant to their world and that they are interested in. I am not saying that composition is something that can be ignored just because I kid may or may not use it later on.
Writing is something that everyone uses in some form or another whether they attend college or take a job straight out of high school. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that perhaps motivation comes from the teacher taking the time to understand what the students are dealing with outside of the classroom and trying to show them how what they are learning fits in to the rest of their life. Yes, grammar is important but is it important to know all of the specific rules or to know how to use the language in an effective way? Will being able to diagram and name each part of the sentence help them with their writing as much as learning how the different parts can be manipulated to create a better piece of writing? Of course there is no way to objectively test a good piece of writing as we talked about this week, good writing all depends upon how the reader defines good writing. There have been a few times that I have assigned essays and after reading the essays wondered if perhaps I did not explain it clearly. It is hard to tell if it is my explanation or the students not listening when one or two papers are correct and the others are way off. Another route I have taken with assignments is letting the students decide what they want to do to show they have comprehended the topic, but there are times when I cannot do this because we have to write a persuasive paper at least once and an analysis paper at least once according to the TEKS. I think having a voice in the classroom helps to motivate students, but I am in a situation now where I am trying to figure out how to make them understand that I value their opinions I just cannot always listen to them or use them. How can I create a relationship built on respect in which we are all working together towards the same goal without losing control of the classroom?
Elaine, you bring up some very good points. Motivating students in ANY discipline, even when they're taking courses that directly relate to their majors, is difficult. One way is certainly to become invested in their interests, though I would say that even the lesson from Sydney Poitier is a little simplistic. In reality, when you try to know your students' problems outside class, it often leads to them feeling like you're their "friend," and they recoil when you have to critique their papers. They often do not understand that, as teachers, we can like them--even empathize with them--but still critique their work.
ReplyDeleteSo some professional distance is useful, but you don’t have to be authoritarian to gain it. I'm using the work "critique" above for a reason, and I think that's where your key lies. On the first day of class, I always talk to my students about the difference between “critique” and “criticism.” Almost all of them have taken art courses, and I borrow this term and its implementation from art, so it’s easy for them to make the conceptual leap. A “critique” differs from “criticism” in that 1) it comes from a place of mutual respect between the critique-er and the artist/writer, and 2) the critique-er is trying to help the artist/writer achieve the artist/writer’s goals. They are working together to make the document better. In this way, you become their guide, or their team member, instead of just the person who criticizes their work.
Of course, putting a grade on things complicates this relationship, but that’s something I’ll discuss in my own blog post, so I won’t rant about it here.
Hi, Elaine...
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Chalice said about detachment, critique, and guidance. It is exceptionally difficult to motivate students who don't want to be there. While I never had to motivate students, I did have one work assignment where I had to bring up the level of competence of a writing team from dismal to average--and I felt that it would have been better to replace the team instead of trying to teach them. Luckily for the writers, this wasn't my call to make. What I did was to define the minimum goals that the writers needed to achieve in their outputs (they were writing proposals). These goals were specific and measurable from the baseline I established.
In your case, perhaps it would help to have the students define their own specific and measurable objectives? In this way, they'd at least have some feeling of ownership over their learning. I'm not sure how practical this would be to implement--or evaluate--but it would help with morale if this was a problem.
Wow Elaine, your post is quite thought-provoking. I do believe that you're a bit hard on yourself here though. My guess is that with the questions you are asking the points that you are raising, you're an EXCELLENT instructor. That you're taking the time to get to know your students, learn their individual interests and issues; this is important to me, too, and it saddens me how few teachers take the time to do just this.
ReplyDeleteAh, if only there were a sure-fire way to motivate students! I reckon all of us would use it. Students are as diverse as we are at least, and what works for some won't work for others. You've brought up a solution; I also like to think that passion in the classroom is another great tool. Students are victims of dull, soulless teacher-husks often; if the teacher is truly passionate about what s/he is doing, surely s/he will find an appropriate way for this to rub off on some of the students.
All of us make mistakes in assigning our class activities here and there. ("Damn it class, can't you all read my mind???") That's what the following semester is for - to iron out those kinks the next time 'round.