Internal motivation is elusive and variable. Teachers are often charged with the overwhelming, and I feel unrealistic, task of developing internal motivation in all of their students. Of course we all want our students to love learning and enjoy coming to our class. We use 'hooks' and KWL charts to connect with their interests. But what do you do in middle school classroom when young people are developing their identity and look for approval from their peers?
One strategy I found useful was to have students fill out a Google Forms survey asking them about their interests and social networks. I like using google forms at the beginning of a semester to gather some information and let students share in a format in which they are already comfortable. I discovered that my students' interests ranged from snowboarding to drawing, listening to music to playing video games.
Based on this information, I chose a sports-related video to introduce a topic. The 'sporty' students were totally engaged, even offering to research a specific fact. However, another student put her head down because she had "no interest in the topic" and other students gave me blank looks when I asked them a question. What to do then? After the discussion, I had students begin working on their individual projects. With my prior knowledge, I was able to go over to the student who had put her head down and let her know that she could make her project all about music. That set her off and running. She was excited to do research, successfully completed her web map, and was certainly internally motivated. (On the other hand, the 'sporty' students who earlier showed a lot of enthusiasm, struggled greatly with independent work).
Lesson learned? You can't please everyone all the time, and frankly, we teachers shouldn't have to. I like this article which suggests that, sometimes, it's just about getting the work done. Students don't always have to be creating the most unique/best/innovative work. Yes, we should keep our expectations high and support students to achieve their goals. But we also need to feel okay about 'good enough' and not get burned out from the constant strive for perfection.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Project Based Learning
Project based learning (PBL) is certainly not a new concept, but with the greater focus on personalized learning plans and differentiated instruction, I think it can serve a variety of purposes. But what does this actually look like in the classroom?
I teach an Elective course for 8th graders on the topic of creating with technology, so my perspective may be of limited scope. However, the creativity, problem-solving and peer-to-peer learning I have observed in my students may be a point of inspiration for many. For example, I have students with Asperger's who are not only designing their own fully functioning (and fun!) games, but continuously helping each other out. I have students with ADHD who can stay on task to make their robots move and dance. Of course, I also have students who get 'lost' or feel stuck when they can't think of what to do next. In these times, I try to have faith in the process and be supportive without 'coming to the rescue.' I may ask them, "What are you interested in?" or remind them that this kind of deep thinking can be frustrating. However, I do believe it's essential for them to struggle and work it out for themselves.
Currently, my students are working in seven different software platforms and each student's project is self-selected. Am I an expert on any of these platforms? Nope. My strategy is to seek out basic tutorials and try them out myself, and then let students figure things out. I often say "I don't know, let's find out together," or I suggest that they google their question. I also greatly encourage them to ask each other for help, and this type of peer to peer learning is so meaningful and creates an environment of shared responsibility. I am still struggling with the grading process and am thinking about the ideas presented by Matt Weyers and Jen Dole in the Edutopia article, "Matching PBL With Traditional Grading."
My overall goals are for my students to take ownership of their learning and to be empowered through creative design. It's certainly not a perfect system, but I have seen tremendous outcomes, and the experience has, I hope, encouraged an internal motivation to learn.
I teach an Elective course for 8th graders on the topic of creating with technology, so my perspective may be of limited scope. However, the creativity, problem-solving and peer-to-peer learning I have observed in my students may be a point of inspiration for many. For example, I have students with Asperger's who are not only designing their own fully functioning (and fun!) games, but continuously helping each other out. I have students with ADHD who can stay on task to make their robots move and dance. Of course, I also have students who get 'lost' or feel stuck when they can't think of what to do next. In these times, I try to have faith in the process and be supportive without 'coming to the rescue.' I may ask them, "What are you interested in?" or remind them that this kind of deep thinking can be frustrating. However, I do believe it's essential for them to struggle and work it out for themselves.
Currently, my students are working in seven different software platforms and each student's project is self-selected. Am I an expert on any of these platforms? Nope. My strategy is to seek out basic tutorials and try them out myself, and then let students figure things out. I often say "I don't know, let's find out together," or I suggest that they google their question. I also greatly encourage them to ask each other for help, and this type of peer to peer learning is so meaningful and creates an environment of shared responsibility. I am still struggling with the grading process and am thinking about the ideas presented by Matt Weyers and Jen Dole in the Edutopia article, "Matching PBL With Traditional Grading."
My overall goals are for my students to take ownership of their learning and to be empowered through creative design. It's certainly not a perfect system, but I have seen tremendous outcomes, and the experience has, I hope, encouraged an internal motivation to learn.
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