MOTIVATING RELUCTANT LEARNERS€¦ · MOTIVATING RELUCTANT LEARNERS ENGAGING STUDENTS FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS Eric Toshalis, Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Lewis & Clark

MOTIVATING RELUCTANT LEARNERS ENGAGING STUDENTS FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Eric Toshalis, Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Lewis & Clark College Michael J. Nakkula, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania Moderated by Christopher Tate, Education Specialist, U.S. Department of Education September 12, 2013

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ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Michael J. Nakkula Prac(ce Professor and Department Chair University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Educa(on

Eric Toshalis Assistant Professor and Director of the Summer ML/HS MAT Program Lewis and Clark College Graduate School of Educa(on and Counseling

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•  Introduction •  Motivation •  Engagement •  Student Voice & Choice

OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION

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•  They don’t feel okay. •  They have a history of failure.

WHY MIGHT STUDENTS BE RELUCTANT TO LEARN?

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•  They don’t feel okay. •  They have a history of failure. •  They don’t feel known or included. •  The topic doesn’t interest them.


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•  They don’t feel okay. •  They have a history of failure. •  They don’t feel known or included. •  The topic doesn’t interest them. •  They are distracted. •  They don’t want to look dumb.


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•  They don’t feel okay. •  They have a history of failure. •  They don’t feel known or included. •  The topic doesn’t interest them. •  They are distracted. •  They don’t want to look dumb. •  The activity is too easy or too difficult. •  They don’t see how success is possible.


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•  They don’t feel okay. •  They have a history of failure. •  They don’t feel known or included. •  The topic doesn’t interest them. •  They are distracted. •  They don’t want to look dumb. •  The activity is too easy or too difficult. •  They don’t see how success is possible. •  They had no choice in the matter.


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•  Unmotivated •  Disengaged •  “Don’t care about learning” •  Defiant •  Oppositional •  Lazy •  Checked out •  Failure

OUR (MIS)PERCEPTIONS ABOUT RELUCTANT LEARNERS SOMETIMES PRODUCE LABELS LIKE:

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•  Unmotivated •  Disengaged •  “Don’t care about learning” •  Defiant •  Oppositional •  Lazy •  Checked out •  Failure

OUR (MIS)PERCEPTIONS ABOUT RELUCTANT LEARNERS SOMETIMES PRODUCE LABELS LIKE:

Such labels have important implica:ons for how educators and ins:tu:ons view reluctant students,

what opportuni:es are provided for them, and how such students learn to view themselves.

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•  Motivation is crucial for learning. ü  Attitudes, aspirations, and desires drive decision making.

WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US

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•  Engagement is necessary for achievement. ü  Actions make things happen.


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•  Engagement is necessary for achievement. ü  Actions make things happen.

•  Student voice promotes motivation and engagement. ü  Students test ideas and they connect with and distinguish

themselves from others through what they say and choose.


Voice

Action Focus

Expression Identity

Agency Independence

Influence

Desire Attitude

Engagement

KEY FACTORS IN POWERFUL LEARNING

Motivation

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MOTIVATION

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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task:

MOTIVATION: AN INTERNAL THOUGHT PROCESS

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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task: ü  Am I smart enough to do this? (mindset)


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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task: ü  Am I smart enough to do this? (mindset) ü  Is it important to me? (intrinsic motivation)


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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task: ü  Am I smart enough to do this? (mindset) ü  Is it important to me? (intrinsic motivation) ü  Am I capable of doing it? (skill development, competence)


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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task: ü  Am I smart enough to do this? (mindset) ü  Is it important to me? (intrinsic motivation) ü  Am I capable of doing it? (skill development, competence) ü  Will my relationships improve if I do it? (relatedness, connectedness)


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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task: ü  Am I smart enough to do this? (mindset) ü  Is it important to me? (intrinsic motivation) ü  Am I capable of doing it? (skill development, competence) ü  Will my relationships improve if I do it? (relatedness, connectedness) ü  Who is in control of it? (agency, autonomy)


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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task: ü  Am I smart enough to do this? (mindset) ü  Is it important to me? (intrinsic motivation) ü  Am I capable of doing it? (skill development, competence) ü  Will my relationships improve if I do it? (relatedness, connectedness) ü  Who is in control of it? (agency, autonomy) ü  What will I get out of it? (expectancy-value, future aspirations)


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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task: ü  Am I smart enough to do this? (mindset) ü  Is it important to me? (intrinsic motivation) ü  Am I capable of doing it? (skill development, competence) ü  Will my relationships improve if I do it? (relatedness, connectedness) ü  Who is in control of it? (agency, autonomy) ü  What will I get out of it? (expectancy-value, future aspirations) ü  What are the chances I will succeed? (expectancy-value)


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To get motivated, learners often read their situation by consciously or unconsciously posing a series of internal questions, the answers to which determine how much energy they will devote to a task: ü  Am I smart enough to do this? (mindset) ü  Is it important to me? (intrinsic motivation) ü  Am I capable of doing it? (skill development, competence) ü  Will my relationships improve if I do it? (relatedness, connectedness) ü  Who is in control of it? (agency, autonomy) ü  What will I get out of it? (expectancy-value, future aspirations) ü  What are the chances I will succeed? (expectancy-value) ü  What will others think of me when I do it? (social climate)


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•  Why should I try? The relationship between “care” and effort.

MINDSET MATTERS: DRAWING ON THE WORK OF CAROL DWECK

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•  Why should I try? The relationship between “care” and effort. –  The basic belief structure:

•  I’m good/not good at that because of my innate talent or who I am. •  I try/don’t try hard because I know what I’m good at and what I’m not.


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–  The mediated belief structure (we try when we care): •  I try hard at this because I care about it, because I’m interested. •  I don’t try, even though I know I can succeed, because I don’t care.


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–  The mediated belief structure (we try when we care): •  I try hard at this because I care about it, because I’m interested. •  I don’t try, even though I know I can succeed, because I don’t care.

–  The relationally mediated belief structure (we care when others care about us and our performance) •  I’m interested and capable of learning because I know others care

about me and my learning. •  I’m not interested because I don’t believe others care about or believe

in me.


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•  Expectancy-value theory & intrinsic motivators –  Students carry their history of success, failure, and relational

returns to each new academic challenge. Some are reluctant because they have few positive experiences to draw from.

–  Reluctance to engage can arise from a careful and rational risk assessment (i.e., Why try when I will likely fail or when the work doesn’t matter to me?).

–  To be motivated to participate in academic work, students must value the activity itself and believe that its result will be of some worth to them.

–  The strongest motivators are those that are internally derived.

LEARNERS HAVE TO VALUE IT TO WANT TO DO IT

Source: Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 109-132. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135153. 30

•  Expectancy-value theory & intrinsic motivators –  Students carry their history of success, failure, and relational

returns to each new academic challenge. Some are reluctant because they have few positive experiences to draw from.

–  Reluctance to engage can arise from a careful and rational risk assessment (i.e., Why try when I will likely fail or when the work doesn’t matter to me?).

–  To be motivated to participate in academic work, students must value the activity itself and believe that its result will be of some worth to them.

–  The strongest motivators are those that are internally derived.

LEARNERS HAVE TO VALUE IT TO WANT TO DO IT

Pre-learning activities, “little wins” along the way, regular encouragement and recognition (not empty praise), and

appeals to the students’ own interests and goals can help a lot. Source: Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 109-132. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135153. 31

ENGAGEMENT

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Before engaging academic activities, learners often wrestle with internal questions such as:

ü  Is the social context safe for me to take a risk? (pathways, avoidance behaviors, resistance, relationships)

ü  Will this help me reach my goals? (sense of purpose, future aspirations)

ü  What will happen when I ask for assistance? (help-seeking) ü  What skills should I use to sustain focus? (self-regulation) ü  Wait, what are we doing again? (distractions, multitasking)

ENGAGEMENT: THE DECISION TO DEVOTE ATTENTION AND ACT

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Before engaging academic activities, learners often wrestle with internal questions such as: ü  Is the social context safe for me to take a risk? (pathways,

avoidance behaviors, resistance, relationships)

ü Will this help me reach my goals? (sense of purpose, future aspirations)

ü  What will happen when I ask for assistance? (help-seeking) ü  What skills should I use to sustain focus? (self-regulation) ü  Wait, what are we doing again? (distractions, multitasking)


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avoidance behaviors, resistance, relationships) ü  Will this help me reach my goals? (sense of purpose, future

aspirations)

ü What will happen when I ask for assistance? (help-seeking)

ü  What skills should I use to sustain focus? (self-regulation) ü  Wait, what are we doing again? (distractions, multitasking)


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aspirations) ü  What will happen when I ask for assistance? (help-seeking)

ü What skills should I use to sustain focus? (self-regulation)

ü  Wait, what are we doing again? (distractions, multitasking)


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aspirations) ü  What will happen when I ask for assistance? (help-seeking) ü  What skills should I use to sustain focus? (self-regulation)

ü Wait, what are we doing again? (distractions, multitasking)


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aspirations) ü  What will happen when I ask for assistance? (help-seeking) ü  What skills should I use to sustain focus? (self-regulation) ü  Wait, what are we doing again? (distractions, multitasking)


For these reasons, engagement is as much about emotion and relationship as it is about cognition and attitude.

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•  Do students move from motivation to engagement, or from engagement to motivation?

•  Students take various social, intellectual, cultural, and psychological

pathways to learning. These diverse pathways influence how each individual student arrives at the task.

•  We misunderstand “reluctant learners” when we fail to account for their journey and their context, when we ignore “where they’re at.”

THE CHICKEN & EGG OF MOTIVATION & ENGAGEMENT

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•  Do students move from motivation to engagement, or from engagement to motivation? —  The answer: Yes!

•  Students take various social, intellectual, cultural, and psychological pathways to learning. These diverse pathways influence how each individual student arrives at the task.



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•  Students take various social, intellectual, cultural, and psychological pathways to learning. These diverse pathways influence how each individual student arrives at the task. —  Some need to get motivated before they’ll engage. — Others need to be engaged before they will generate motivation.



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•  Students take various social, intellectual, cultural, and psychological pathways to learning. These diverse pathways influence how each individual student arrives at the task. —  Some need to get motivated before they’ll engage. — Others need to be engaged before they will generate motivation.



Solution for the classroom: Get to know your students!

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•  Engagement and motivation are overlapping and integrated in the learner’s mind (and in the research)

•  Self-Determination Theory – Competence: learners need to feel “up to the task,” capable, and

skilled – Relatedness: learners need to feel positively connected to peers

and adults – Autonomy: learners need opportunities for independent decision

making and action •  When these three elements are present, a student’s reluctance to

engage will likely diminish.

PARSING THE DESIRE TO ENGAGE

Source: Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68. 43

•  Engagement and motivation are overlapping and integrated in the learner’s mind (and in the research)

•  Self-Determination Theory – Competence: learners need to feel “up to the task,” capable, and

skilled – Relatedness: learners need to feel positively connected to peers

and adults – Autonomy: learners need opportunities for independent decision

making and action •  When these three elements are present, a student’s reluctance to

engage will likely diminish.

PARSING THE DESIRE TO ENGAGE

Teachers can use this three-part theory as a quick formative assessment of the learner’s readiness to engage, and of the

classroom’s capacity to support that engagement. Source: Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation,

social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68. 44

•  All learners tend to be reluctant to apply themselves in alienating or marginalizing situations.

•  “Oppositional identities” are a myth. — Students of color, students from low-income settings, and English

learners value education at rates equal to or higher than White, middle class, native English speakers.

— Marginalized students are rarely if ever afraid of “acting White” by being academically successful.

— Rather, they often feel like they are unable to bring their full selves into culturally subtractive school settings so they sometimes disengage to preserve their sense of self-worth.

RELUCTANT LEARNERS ARE SOMETIMES RESISTANT

Source: Diamond, J. B. (2006). Are we barking up the wrong tree? Rethinking oppositional culture explanations for the Black/White achievement gap. The Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University. Retrieved from http://www.agi.harvard.edu/Search/download.php?id=79. 45

•  All learners tend to be reluctant to apply themselves in alienating or marginalizing situations.

•  “Oppositional identities” are a myth. — Students of color, students from low-income settings, and English

learners value education at rates equal to or higher than White, middle class, native English speakers.

— Marginalized students are rarely if ever afraid of “acting White” by being academically successful.

— Rather, they often feel like they are unable to bring their full selves into culturally subtractive school settings so they sometimes disengage to preserve their sense of self-worth.

RELUCTANT LEARNERS ARE SOMETIMES RESISTANT

If alienating school experiences can push students to reject what or who they feel has rejected them, teachers can reverse student reluctance

simply by identifying and removing these alienating experiences. Students may be the experts here!

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•  Reluctant learners often need to develop specific skill sets that help them to start an activity and stay on task despite inevitable distractions.

•  Like intelligence, the ability to manage distraction is something students develop over time.

•  Trying something new, attempting something difficult, confronting a challenge—these things require focus, and focus requires practice. — Multitasking can impede higher cognitive functioning. —  Extending time and creating quiet can help a great deal.

REGULATING THE SELF TO INITIATE AND SUSTAIN FOCUS

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•  Reluctant learners often need to develop specific skill sets that help them to start an activity and stay on task despite inevitable distractions.

•  Like intelligence, the ability to manage distraction is something students develop over time.

•  Trying something new, attempting something difficult, confronting a challenge—these things require focus, and focus requires practice. — Multitasking can impede higher cognitive functioning. —  Extending time and creating quiet can help a great deal.

REGULATING THE SELF TO INITIATE AND SUSTAIN FOCUS

A learner’s focus comes from her/his ability to self-regulate, and because self-regulation is a skillset,

it can—and should!—be taught. 48

Forethought

Performance Control

Self-‐Reflec:on

•  Goal seOng •  Strategic planning •  Self-‐efficacy

beliefs •  Intrinsic interest

•  ATen(on focusing •  Self-‐instruc(on •  Self-‐monitoring •  Help reques(ng

•  Self-‐evalua(on •  ATribu(on •  Self-‐reac(ons •  Adap(vity

Source: Zimmerman, B. J. (1990). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: An overview. Educational Psychologist, 25(1), 3-17.

THE CYCLICAL PROCESS OF SELF-REGULATION

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Forethought nonspecific distant goals, performance goal orienta(on, low

self-‐efficacy, disinterested

specific sequenced goals, learning goal orienta(on, high self-‐efficacy, intrinsically interested

Performance Control

unfocused plan, self-‐handicapping

strategies, outcome self-‐monitoring

focused on performance, self-‐instruc(on/imagery,

process self-‐monitoring

Self-‐Reflec:on

avoid self-‐evalua(on, ability aTribu(ons,

nega(ve self-‐reac(ons, non-‐

adap(ve

seek self-‐evalua(on, strategy/effort

aTribu(ons, posi(ve self-‐reac(ons,

adap(ve

Zimmerman, B. J. (1990). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: An overview. Educational Psychologist, 25(1), 3-17.

NAÏVE ≠ DISENGAGED OR UNMOTIVATED

50 Source: Zimmerman, B. J. (1990). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: An overview. Educational Psychologist, 25(1), 3-17.

•  Problems in self-regulation may be misread as disengagement or a lack of motivation.

LEARNING TO SEE PROBLEMS WITH STUDENTS’ SELF-REGULATION

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•  For example, how might we interpret the following student responses?


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—  “I just do what my teacher tells me.”


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—  “I just do what my teacher tells me.” —  “If I’m having difficulty motivating myself to complete my homework, I

just work harder.”


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just work harder.” —  “I can multitask and still do fine.”


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just work harder.” —  “I can multitask and still do fine.” —  “I don’t feel like it.”


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just work harder.” —  “I can multitask and still do fine.” —  “I don’t feel like it.” —  “This is stupid.”


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just work harder.” —  “I can multitask and still do fine.” —  “I don’t feel like it.” —  “This is stupid.” —  “I don’t understand.”


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just work harder.” —  “I can multitask and still do fine.” —  “I don’t feel like it.” —  “This is stupid.” —  “I don’t understand.” —  “F[orget] you!”


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just work harder.” —  “I can multitask and still do fine.” —  “I don’t feel like it.” —  “This is stupid.” —  “I don’t understand.” —  “F[orget] you!”


Sharing with students our own struggles and strategies to initiate and sustain attention can help them

normalize their own difficulties and improve their skills. 60

•  To protect self-worth, students who are insecure about their ability to achieve may develop strategies that deflect attention from their capabilities and offer escapes from being labeled as stupid. — Competitive environments frequently exacerbate these trends.

RELUCTANCE TO ENGAGE MAY BE AVOIDANCE

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Source: Turner, J. C., Midgley, C., Meyer, D. K., Gheen, M., Anderman, E. M., & Kang, Y. (2002). The classroom environment and students’ reports of avoidance behaviors in mathematics: A multi-method study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(1), 88-106.


•  Examples of avoidance behaviors include: —  purposely dodging opportunities to seek help, —  resisting new knowledge or novel approaches to academic work, —  and purposefully withdrawing effort.


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•  These avoidance strategies may protect students from negative judgments by others, but they are also likely to undermine performance.


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•  These avoidance strategies may protect students from negative judgments by others, but they are also likely to undermine performance.


To reduce avoidance behaviors, educators should stress mastery more than performance as the primary goal of academic work.

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•  Students try to manage how they are perceived by others. –  No one wants to look stupid! –  Everyone wants to avoid failing publicly.

RELUCTANT LEARNERS MAY BE SELF-HANDICAPPING

65 Source: Urdan, T., & Midgley, C. (2001). Academic self-handicapping: What we know, what more there is to learn. Educational Psychology Review, 13(2), 115-138.


•  If students believe that they are going to fail, they often create obstacles and excuses to justify their failures or to deflect others’ attention toward external circumstances rather than innate ability.





•  These self-handicapping strategies include: –  procrastinating or fooling around –  getting involved in too many activities or becoming

over-involved with friends or romantic partners –  illness, shyness, or moodiness –  drug or alcohol use –  lack of sleep





•  These self-handicapping strategies include: –  procrastinating or fooling around –  getting involved in too many activities or becoming

over-involved with friends or romantic partners –  illness, shyness, or moodiness –  drug or alcohol use –  lack of sleep


Explicitly teaching students about these tendencies can help them identify problems and choose different behaviors for themselves.


VOICE & CHOICE

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•  Learners need venues for voice and opportunities for choice to fully invest in academic activity.

•  To generate motivation and make the decision to engage, students want to know: —  Do I get to say what I think? Will others listen? —  Will I be allowed to choose what I do? Will that choice matter? —  Are my contributions and critiques invited here? Will my ideas

be integrated into what we study and how we study it? —  How much of what we do will I get to control? —  Will I be able to influence what happens to me and to others? —  Will I be able to claim a sense of ownership over the final

product? Will it be “mine”?

MOTIVATING AND ENGAGING RELUCTANT LEARNERS THROUGH VOICE AND CHOICE

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THE SPECTRUM OF STUDENT VOICE ORIENTED ACTIVITY

24 Motivation, Engagement, and Student Voice: The Students at the Center Series

sources on the left side but are more often seen as

leaders of change on the right. The middle areas are

where activities blend these orientations in ways that

recognize students as stakeholders while providing

opportunities for them to collaborate with, but not

yet lead, adults to achieve specific goals. The headers

(e.g., expression, consultation) signify what students

do at each level. Moving from left to right, their voices

are more included, formalized, and empowered. This

corresponds to the shading on the bottom ramp

in which the expectations of adults and students

gradually transform depending on the position.

At the left side of the student voice spectrum,

students are provided with opportunities to express

themselves. Whether those opportunities involve

sharing opinions, creating art, performing theater,

signing petitions, or even publishing op-ed pieces in

the local paper, the point is that students are given

public outlets for their perspectives. When those

opportunities are not formalized and students’

perspectives are not incorporated in any substantive

way, these examples of student voice tend to be

expressions only. When students are asked for their

opinion or invited to provide feedback on some aspect

of their school or community, they are understood

to be functioning as consultants. When adults want

to know what youth think in order to inform later

decision making, they may use surveys, focus groups,

or informal conversations to gauge adolescents’

perspectives.

Consulted more than empowered, these are still

examples of student voice because they provide

youth with a chance to formally declare their opinions

about something in the hope they will be considered

FIGURE 3

THE SPECTRUM OF STUDENT VOICE ORIENTED ACTIVITY

Students articulating

their perspectivesStudents involved as stakeholders

Students directing

collective activities

Students as data

sources Students as collaboratorsStudents as leaders of

change

Expression Consultation Participation Partnership Activism Leadership

Volunteering

opinions, creating

art, celebrating,

complaining, praising,

objecting

Being asked for their

opinion, providing

feedback, serving

on a focus group,

completing a survey

Attending meetings

or events in which

decisions are made,

frequent inclusion

when issues are

framed and actions

planned

Formalized role in

decision making,

standard operations

require (not just

invite) student

involvement, adults

are trained in how to

work collaboratively

with youth partners

Identifying problems,

generating solutions,

organizing responses,

agitating and/or

educating for change

both in and outside of

school contexts

(Co-)Planning,

making decisions and

accepting significant

responsibility for

outcomes, (co-)

guiding group

processes, (co-)

conducting activities

Most student voice activity in schools/

classrooms resides at this end of the

spectrum.The need for adults to share authority, demonstrate

trust, protect against co-optation, learn from students,

and handle disagreement increases from left to right.

Students’ influence, responsibility, and decision-making

roles increase from left to right.

71 Source: Toshalis, E., & Nakkula, M. J. (2012). Motivation, engagement and student voice. Retrieved from http://www.studentsatthecenter.org/sites/scl.dl-dev.com/files/Motivation%20Engagement%20Student%20Voice_0.pdf

•  Place-based learning •  Project-based learning •  Expeditionary learning •  Inquiry-based instruction •  Problem-posing pedagogies •  Student-led parent-teacher conferences •  Student-led class meetings •  Participatory-action research •  Student activism

EXAMPLES OF APPROACHES THAT PRIORITIZE STUDENT VOICE

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•  “Solve two of the following five problems.” •  “Select one of these three essay test questions that you want to

answer.” •  “Pick a topic you want to explore more deeply.”

EXAMPLES OF TEACHING TECHNIQUES THAT PRIORITIZE STUDENT CHOICE

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answer.” •  “Pick a topic you want to explore more deeply.” •  “Decide which role you want to play in today’s group activity.” •  “Select which assignments of yours most demonstrate your growth as

a learner in this class and prepare to share them with your parent(s) and me.”


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answer.” •  “Pick a topic you want to explore more deeply.” •  “Decide which role you want to play in today’s group activity.” •  “Select which assignments of yours most demonstrate your growth as

a learner in this class and prepare to share them with your parent(s) and me.”

•  “For our next ‘free Friday,’ which topic do you most want to investigate as a group, and how would you like to investigate it?”

•  “Looking at the clock, there are many good options here, each with its pros and cons. How do you think we should spend the next 20 minutes of class?”


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Voice

Action Focus

Expression Identity

Agency Independence

Influence

Desire Attitude

Engagement

KEY FACTORS IN POWERFUL LEARNING

Motivation

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•  Co-construct safe(r) academic spaces that encourage inquiry, exploration, curiosity, creativity, connection, and risk-taking.

•  Make mastery of content and skills (not performance and competition) the goal of academic work.

TAKEAWAY PRACTICES FOR MOTIVATING, ENGAGING, AND VOICE-ORIENTED CLASSROOMS

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•  Emphasize effort, not intelligence. •  Treat mistakes and stumbles as necessary and hopeful signs

of progress. •  Make your praise specific, sincere, and spare. You don’t have to

evaluate to encourage.


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•  Emphasize effort, not intelligence. •  Treat mistakes and stumbles as necessary and hopeful signs

of progress. •  Make your praise specific, sincere, and spare. You don’t have to

evaluate to encourage. •  Group students heterogeneously and practice differentiation. •  Demonstrate what they’ll get out of it, where it will take them,

why it’s important, why they should care. •  Don’t spoon-feed—show students they can do it.


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•  When in doubt, provide rigor over remediation. •  First challenge, then support/scaffold, then check progress,

then fade and observe, then celebrate (then repeat).

TAKEAWAY PRACTICES FOR MOTIVATING, ENGAGING, AND VOICE-ORIENTED CLASSROOMS (CONTINUED)

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then fade and observe, then celebrate (then repeat). •  Assess formatively and authentically—think outside the

worksheet. •  Give students plenty of opportunities to express their voice

and make a choice—they‘ll start to care if they feel it’s theirs.


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then fade and observe, then celebrate (then repeat). •  Assess formatively and authentically—think outside the

worksheet. •  Give students plenty of opportunities to express their voice

and make a choice—they‘ll start to care if they feel it’s theirs. •  Recognize avoidance and withdrawal behaviors as reactions to

an environment rather than rejections of learning. •  Build, repair, and sustain relationships. Stay connected! •  Be enthusiastic!


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•  Type your questions in the chat pod on the lower left-hand side of the webinar platform.

•  Make sure “Q&A Session” is selected in the “To” field.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

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•  Full paper, executive summary, and professional development toolkit: http://www.studentsatthecenter.org/topics/motivation-engagement-and-student-voice

•  Nakkula, M. J., & Toshalis, E. (2006). Understanding youth: Adolescent development for educators. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

•  Understanding-Youth.com •  Eric’s faculty page at Lewis & Clark •  Mike's faculty page at the University of Pennsylvania

HELPFUL RESOURCES

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

Eric Toshalis Assistant Professor and Director of the Summer ML/HS MAT Program Graduate School of Educa(on and Counseling Lewis and Clark College Office: (503) 768-‐6117 [email protected] Michael Nakkula Prac(ce Professor and Department Chair Graduate School of Educa(on University of Pennsylvania Office: (215) 898-‐5195 [email protected]

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SCHOOL TURNAROUND LEARNING COMMUNITY

•  Keep an eye out for the upcoming collaborative discussion on today’s topic!

•  The recording of today’s webinar will be posted on ED’s online learning community: http://www.schoolturnaroundsupport.org/

•  You do not need to be a member to download the recording, but membership is free and joining the Secondary Schools Group gives you access to a wealth of helpful resources, including those mentioned during today’s webinar.

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TEL 617.728.4446 FAX 617.728.4857 [email protected] 88 Broad Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02110 122 C Street, NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001 WWW.JFF.ORG

Office of Elementary & Secondary Education TEL 1.800.872.5327 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202 www.ed.gov

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Documents

MOTIVATING RELUCTANT LEARNERS€¦ · MOTIVATING RELUCTANT LEARNERS ENGAGING STUDENTS FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS Eric Toshalis, Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Lewis & Clark