Motivation Matters
Motivation Matters covered what works, and what doesn’t work, to motivate students to do better in school. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: student motivation & engagement.
Science
Shock Treatment for Science Education?
I spent the holiday weekend at my parent's house in Richmond, Va., where my Dad raised an interesting (if not harebrained) theory about why students aren't motivated to study science. The real downfall of science education, he said, are all the safety regulations that prevent kids from "doing anything exciting." Some of his favorite childhood memories were formed while he was hunkered down over a chemistry set, where he would mix chemicals and perform experiments that sometimes resulted in a spontaneous combustion or a singed eyebrow. If science education were more like that, he argued, kids would be more interested. He went on to explain his favorite experiments, which mostly involved setting things on fire.
Education
New Motivation Matters Feature
We would like to introduce you to a new feature on our blog designed to help you read more about the subjects that interest you most. If you take a look over on the right-hand side of the blog, underneath the "Recent Entries" section, you'll notice a new section called "Categories." We've gone through and organized our past blog posts into subject areas, so that when you click on a category, you will see all the blog posts ever written in the history of Motivation Matters about that subject on one easy-to-read page. Since motivating students relates to a wide variety of subjects, our hope is that this feature will make it easier for you to find what you're looking for.
School & District Management
'The Teacher Can't Teach'
Education Week's Lesli Maxwell has written a number of heartbreaking, and sometimes inspiring, stories about schools in New Orleans this year, and her latest, 'The Hurricane Messed a Lot of Us Up,' is no exception.
Education
70 Years in the Classroom: One Teacher's Career
There's an AP story up this morning about Naomi May, who began teaching elementary school students when she was 18 years old and is still teaching today--70 years later. That's longer than a lot of people live! She's now 88 years old and has been in the classroom long enough to teach some of the grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren, of her first students.
School & District Management
MM Special: Q&A with the Atlantic Street Center
The Seattle-based nonprofit aims to help low-income families raise healthy, successful, academically eager children through a variety of services such as tutoring, study skills instruction, and cultural awareness workshops.
Recruitment & Retention
Research on Cash Incentives
A recent column in Education Week offers an update on the cash for test scores debate, which we have covered on several occasions in this blog.
Science
Science Lab Work: The Missing Ingredient for Motivation
As a science-challenged student in my younger years, I did everything I could to avoid taking difficult science classes even though I lived in a family of scientists (my father was a college chemistry professor and my older brother followed in his footsteps.)
Student Achievement
Survey Says: H.S. Students Don't Put Enough Time Into School
This week's poll on the Education Week homepage may be of particular interest to the readers of this blog. It asks the question, "Do U.S. students spend enough time and effort on academics in high school?" So far, out of 179 total responses, the overwhelming answer is no. Twenty-six voters (14 percent) said yes, while 153 voters (85 percent) said no.
Student Achievement
Comparing American, Chinese, and Indian Students
My colleague Andrew Trotter has written a story about a documentary called 2 Million Minutes that compares 6 high school students from three different countries--India, China, and the United States. As you might imagine, the documentary examines the steadfast dedication of the Indian and Chinese students in contrast to the relaxed attitude of the American students. It's worth noting that all of the students the documentary follows are bright students who are at the top of their class.
Science
"Their Favorite Subject is ... Math"
This article in the Orange County Register is an inspiring story about a man named Matthew Peterson who has created a series of educational computer games that teach elementary school children math skills. In the games, students use math concepts to help an animated penguin named Jiji overcome obstacles--like filling a ditch, building a bridge, or crossing a river, according to the article. The games rely on spatial-temporal reasoning, and do not require the use of language skills, making them a good fit for ESL students.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Appreciating What You Have
One of the greatest motivators for young people and adults alike, at least from this amateur philosopher's perspective, is an attitude in which you appreciate what you have and realize that many others are not as fortunate. I know that sounds very basic and maybe even a little corny, but in coaching this generation of middle and high school boys in lacrosse, I have come to the sad conclusion that most middle class and upper middle class kids don't truly appreciate what they have, whether it be natural athletic ability or a comfortable home to sleep in every night. They take things for granted, and as a consequence, they don't work as hard or they show up on the field with an attitude of entitlement that, quite frankly, irritates coaches like me beyond belief.
Education
Mainstreaming Spec. Ed. Students
Last week, we asked you which topics you'd like to see covered in Motivation Matters in 2008. We really appreciate all the helpful feedback, and in keeping with one commenter's request for more discussion of special education students, we'd like to direct your attention to this Wall Street Journal article available on edweek.org.
College & Workforce Readiness
Boosting Motivation with Smaller Classes
I read a story yesterday in The (Raleigh, N.C.) News and Observer about a new middle school program that selects a handful of overage eighth-grade students and puts them into accelerated classes aimed to get them back on track with their high school peers. Since the program targets students who are behind, I was interested to see how the program motivated typically under-performing students to work twice as hard as the average student to catch up.
Education
Study Says: Obnoxious Parents=Burnt Out Teachers
Tara Parker-Pope, the author of a new health blog at the New York Times, points to an interesting study of teachers in Germany. It suggests that overly demanding parents, not unruly students or long hours, might be the biggest reason why teachers lose their motivation to teach and eventually quit the profession.