Why should they care?

A model for motivation

Expectancy Your expectation about your ability to

accomplish the task Am I capable and prepared to do this?

Value Your perception of the degree to which

the task is worthwhile for you Is this worth my time and effort to

achieve? What will I get out of this?

Increasing Expectancy

Balance of challenge and support Not too easy, not too hard

Teach the process Modeling Teach the steps

Time & Materials Provide adequate time Make sure students have access to

necessary materials

Increasing Expectancy

Support Express sincere confidence in students’

abilities Give specific, sincere praise Truly care – and communicate that you care Be available to answer questions Provide timely feedback

Smaller, more frequent assessments are more motivating than a few that are high stakes

Increasing Value

Show relevance How does this connect to your life?

Allow for choices Provide opportunities for collaboration

I don’t have to do this alone My work matters to other people

Use extrinsic rewards judiciously Extrinsic motivation tends to be short-lived Can motivate in the short-term to create

success that can result in intrinsic motivation

If you want students to be motivated . . . Build relationships with and among your

students Provide a balance of challenge and

support Provide plentiful opportunities for

success Success breeds success!

Teach well Make the content relevant

Find out what matters to your students

Keep in mind . . .

Students are driven by two competing feelings: striving for success vs. fear of failure

“Over time, students become either success oriented or failure avoidant. When students become failure avoidant, motivation is difficult. In fact, students may choose to fail with dignity to protect their ego.”

In other words, your students have already created a school-identity for themselves before they enter your classroom. For most kids, it’s not that they don’t care – it’s that they don’t want to fail.

Emotions, the Amygdala and the Teenage Brain

Any information received by the brain travels first to the amygdala

The amygdala holds emotional memory - it tells you how you feel about things

In the teenage brain, the amygdala is developing faster than the frontal lobes

So, teenagers tend to be reactive not reflective

Therefore . . .

If there is an assault to their sense of self or

another pressing concern of an emotional nature

The teenage brain become unavailable! Your job is to capture their interest and

their hearts. ENGAGEMENT – helping them care,

capturing interest Engagement Attention

Learning

So what do worksheets have to do with it?

Worksheets themselves are neutral – neither inherently motivating or inherently de-motivating

They can be worthwhile learning tools – or not.Students can perceive them as doable -- or not.

The key is to INCREASE their VALUE.

Increasing Value Figure out where the worksheet fits

in the learning process.

Possible roles of worksheets Skill building Practice Review Performance

A common problem is treating a worksheet as the goal – instead of a stepping stone.

Jazzing up worksheets Play music while students work Play games with worksheets –

Use the exercises as questions in a game Share the worksheet – each student does one

problem and passes it on Teacher gives the answers (but some are

wrong – students have to find them) Do worksheets in pairs Let students choose from a selection of

WS Make WS part of a roleplay or simulation Contextualize the WS

Other Ideas

Establish the role and purpose of the WS – tie it to a meaningful, proficiency-based goal

Use worksheets as pre- and post- tests; if students show competency, they don’t have to do the WS

Move beyond the WS and let the students know when you’re doing it – see if students can perform in a different context

Alternate between grading and completion

Discuss

What role do worksheets play in your classroom?

How motivated do students seem to be to do worksheets? Why?

What value does your mentor perceive in worksheets?

What value do you perceive in worksheets?

What value do your students perceive in worksheets?

Look at the sample WS

What are some roles it could play? How could you increase the value? How could you increase student

expectancy for success? How could you “jazz it up”?