Motivation is a combination of all the theories presented in our text. Although the social cognitive and cognitive theories are the most popular in academic circles, the humanism and socialcultural theories seem more helpful in determining basic motivation. All children have the potential to learn to a certain level. That level obviously is not the same for each child. Humans are a product of their enviroment. If one lays down with pigs one will get up smelling like a hog.
As a teacher I have the power to make or break a students day. Do I foster an attitude of acceptance and how important I think each student is or do I tear a student down and demean or demoralize her. It is a frighting task that can only be fulfilled by remembering childrenhave a sociocultural background. Did they go hungry over the weekend? Did they have a coat to wear to school? Did Dad get drunk last night? It goes on an on!
I need to learn everthing I can about each student. I need to provide a safe, positive enviroment for each student. I need to be positive and reward all students for small success because it will foster more and bigger success. When Michael had a little success his whole attitude changed. That which gets rewarded gets repeated. a student who believes she is getting better will get better.
I think the point of the chapter was less about the teacher being aware of the student's background and more of the teacher being able to make the student aware of the factors that affect them. This is all about agency because some of the most effective motivation is internalized but many students need to learn that internalization.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rebekah. The chapter focused a lot on how students motivate themselves and engage with what they are learning. At the same time I agree with Noel. You have to know how your students learn and how they set goals for themselves so you may know how to specifically motivate and encourage them.
ReplyDeleteI too find the humanism approach very helpful in the classroom setting. I did not however take the approach down to the realization where you provide that, "Humans are a product of their environment. If one lays down with pigs one will get up smelling like a hog". That is so very true though. It a great perspective to have when considering the various situations of our students and their home lives. This is something that I would like to utilize when in my own classroom.
ReplyDeleteOn the current TEAM evaluation rubric - teachers are evaluated based on their knowledge and understanding of students. This falls under the domain of "instruction" and is titled "teacher knowledge of students" - a level 5 teacher - so an exemplary teacher would indicate, in evaluations the following habits: 1 - "Teacher practices display understanding of each student's anticipated learning difficulties." 2 - "Teacher practices regularly incorporate student interests and cultural heritage." 3 - "Teacher regularly provides differentiated instruction methods and content to ensure children have the opportunity to master what is being taught." (These are taken from the 2013-14 TEAM rubric which can be found here: http://team-tn.org/assets/misc/GeneralEducatorRubric_FINAL_13-14.pdf.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I say all that because for me it is interesting to consider Noel's comments about knowing what is going on with students personally, but also how knowing your students will come out in a professional evaluation. I am not the best at knowing my students and what is going on with them at home. In my class I can be so math objective focused, that I forget my students are people, not just brains I need to push.
I agree with your comment Noel. After class today, I realize that the way we interact with our children can help motivate a child. As it was said in class today "A student that doesn't like you, isn't going to learn from you."Getting to know the child on a deeper level will help to create a bond and let the child know that you have their best interest at heart, which will then allow the child to trust you. Also, knowing the child better will also allow you to be able to teach them in the way that suites them best. The combination of trust and personal teaching style will definitely help in getting a child engaged, and hopefully increasing their motivation.
ReplyDeleteHaley makes an excellent point about evaluation. Yes, we want to do our job and do it well and have that reflected in our regular evaluations, but sometimes how we interact with our students cannot be seen by a few classroom observations. Building relationships with students means talking with them in the hallway, cafeteria and at sporting events. It's asking how the game went or what their weekend was like. I can echo the sentiment expressed by so many others...knowing your students and what they need (academically, personally, and emotionally) makes you a better teacher no matter how you deliver the content in the classroom. When they see you as a human genuinely interested in their lives, it will change the way they see you as a teacher.
ReplyDelete