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 This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: student motivation & engagement.
Education
Summer Slump? Maybe Not
Every year around this time, the debate over how harmful summer is to students' academic achievement pops up. But I would argue that although students may not be in class, taking notes and studying for tests, the three-month break provides a unique opportunity for kids to experience hands-on learning, which can often bring into focus what they've been learning about in school and re-energize them for a new school year in the fall.
Education
Political Apathy or Energy?
I'm very interested to see how the 2008 presidential election affects the motivation levels of students this year. As this article in The Washington Post talks about, the 18-24 age group is notorious for being politically apathetic, particularly those who haven't gone to college, but some are hopeful that that might change.
Assessment
Grades and Motivation: Good or Bad Match?
Here's a commentary up on edweek.org that once again tackles the question of how grades affect student motivation.
Education
Encouraging Students to Eat Their Greens
There's an AP story up today about the way one program in New Hampshire is motivating students to eat healthier. The program, called Early Sprouts and developed by Keene State College, works on the observation that kids are more likely to eat their vegetables if they have a hand in growing them.
Education
Beyond Electives
This commentary on edweek.org is a good example of how classes outside of a core curriculum can have a major impact on students' motivation levels in all classes. The author, Patrick Boyle, talks about how taking a few film classes in high school sparked a love for movies and opened the door to an interest in history and culture. He says:
Science
Teaching with Twitter
I recently finished writing a story about Twitter for Education Week's Digital Directions, which included a profile of one teacher in Silver Spring, Md., George Mayo, who is using Twitter with his students for a variety of projects.
Student Achievement
8th-Grade Grad. Ceremonies: Pros and Cons
This article in the New York Times debates the pros and cons of 8th-grade graduation ceremonies. In recent years, that benchmark has become more extravagant, says the article, which could send the wrong message to students by treating middle school graduation as an accomplishment and not an expectation. A blowout 8th-grade graduation could take away from the experience of high school graduation and make students think that finishing middle school is a sufficient level of education, some educators contend. But graduating from middle school is an accomplishment for some kids, opponents say, and recognizing that can be a strong motivator for some students.
Science
More Labs, Less Tests...and RSS
This story by the BBC about encouraging more students to study science by putting more emphasis on hands-on experiments and less on testing is an interesting follow-up to a few of the recent blog posts on Motivation Matters. It's a quick and interesting read.
Science
Gender Gap in Motivation?
This commentary, by Leonard Sax, makes an interesting point. He says:
Assessment
Does Testing Motivate Students?
Here's a story from The Seattle Times that tackles an important question: Does standardized testing motivate students? This year, on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, students passed in much higher numbers than predicted.
College & Workforce Readiness
Rudderless Youths
Debbie Viadero has a new story up on edweek.org about a book that explores the number of "rudderless youths" who go through high school and sometimes college without a clear sense of what they want to do with their lives afterwards.
Science
Elementary Experiments: Science Labs for 4th Graders
My colleague Sean Cavanagh, who covers math and science here at Education Week, recently wrote an article about science labs in elementary schools. According to the story, although science standards generally call for hands-on experiments even in the early grades, such lab work doesn't always happen because of time constraints and a lack of teacher training. But introducing students to science experiments at an early age not only helps reinforce scientific laws and concepts, but also increases students' enthusiasm for the subject, says the article.
Science
Technology's Role in Motivation
I just finished writing an article for Digital Directions about using digital video in the classroom. It was a fun article to write since all of the educators I spoke with about using digital media in the classroom were passionate and thoughtful speakers, which makes my job pretty easy. And it seems like every time I write about teachers who are using technology in their classes, student motivation is a topic that inevitably comes up. When I asked one art teacher in my story, Kristine Fontes, whether or not her students were more engaged when she used digital media, I think she summed it up pretty well with three words: "Are you kidding?"
Recruitment & Retention
Rewards for Grades: Is it Bribery?
This story, written by my colleague Erik Robelen, is about a study of student reward programs conducted by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, which found that such programs improved students' reading scores, but had no discernible effect on math performance. One interesting thing about this study was that it grouped together different kinds of incentives--from cash and MP3 players to certificates of merit.