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 This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: student motivation & engagement.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
Motivated by Emotions
Since I have started writing for this blog, I have read countless articles about student motivation, but I have never read something quite like what I came across today in The Arizona Republic. The article, "Student brains hold clues for instructors," argues that thoughts are triggered by emotions and consequently, by exploring the relationship between emotions and thought, teachers can effectively tap into student motivation levels.
Education
Playing Chess, Learning More
This story in the Baltimore Sun chronicles the growth of a chess club in the Baltimore public school system over the past few years. According to the article, the program has not only helped kids learn how to play chess and improve their concentration, it has also helped keep them out of trouble and improve their academic performance all-around. Here's what one of the chess coaches in the article had to say:
Recruitment & Retention
Learn and Earn Continued
The Learn & Earn program in Fulton County, Georgia that I reported on awhile back just finished up its 15-week pilot program, and this article in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution profiles one of the participants who found the program, which offered students $8 an hour for studying, successful.
Science
Online Ed. Grows, But Is that a Good Thing?
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about online education. It started when I read this article written by my colleague Andrew Trotter about a book which predicts that by 2019, 50 percent of all high school classes will be taught online. That same week, the poll on edweek.org asked readers "Is the trend toward delivery of education online education a positive development?" Not sure exactly what I felt about the subject, I decided not to vote, but to just watch and see how the question played out in our highly unscientific survey. In the end, out of 131 total responses, 87 (or 66%) of voters said yes, and 44 (or 33%) of voters said no.
Recruitment & Retention
Attendance Incentives
A story in The Houston Chronicle yesterday once again brought up the ever-controversial topic of student incentives. This time, though, the article focused on giving away prizes for perfect attendance, rather than high test scores. According to the article, under No Child Left Behind, the amount of federal funding each school receives is partly contingent on attendance rates, so even schools with attendance rates in the 96th percentile feel pressured to motivate kids to come to school more often, since even one percentage point could mean thousands more dollars in federal funding.
Science
Science Learning: A Thrilling Detective Story
This commentary on edweek.org starts with (for me at least) a counterintuitive sentence: "Kids love science." The author of the article, Ellen V. Futter, goes on to talk about how and why students turn away from science as they get to middle and high school. She presents suggestions for how educators can help fuel kids' enthusiasm for science and encourage them to continue studying science as they get older. One of the suggestions she made particularly hit home for me. She says:
Recruitment & Retention
Motivated by Money
Here's an article in The Christian-Science Monitor about using cash-incentive programs to motivate students. It talks about the programs in Baltimore and Fulton County, Ga., which I have wrriten about in the past, but also about a new program in Baltimore and D.C. that allows students to invest and manage money. Check it out.
Education
Motivated by a Sense of Community
As part of my beat here at Education Week, I cover rural school issues. I'm relatively new to this subject, and over the past month or so, I've been gathering as much information as possible about the challenges that rural schools face and ways to overcome them. This afternoon, I attended a Webinar put on by the Rural Schools and Community Trust called Engaging Students and Revitalizing Communities through Place-based Learning, which seemed particularly suited to share with you all.
Education
80 Acts of Kindness
This article in the Downers Grove Sun covers the story of an elementary school in suburban Illinois that decided to celebrate its 80th anniversary by giving back to the community. Over the course of the school year, students have been encouraged to complete 80 acts of kindness that benefit the community. Each charitable act is written down on an apple and added to the school's giving tree, which hangs in the gym.
Education
Cultivating Creativity
This story in the Tuscaloosa News hits on a lot of what we talk about here on Motivation Matters. The article tells the story of three high school students who won an international creativity and problem-solving competition while they were in elementary school and went on to found an organization that promotes those same values. Their project, THINK Organization LLC, promotes "creative thinking, deductive reasoning, public speaking, community involvement and teamwork." So far, the teens have headed a pilot program at an elementary school and hope to branch out to after-school programs and community organizations, like the YMCA.
Education
Separating Shy Students
There's an interesting discussion forming around this entry in the Mortarboard blog, which tracks education trends in the UK. In the post, James Wignall argues against the recommendations of a report about improving student behavior and attendance. The report suggests that one way to combat bullying is to provide a separate space for shy students, such as "quiet study rooms, indoor games rooms and separate playground areas for calm and boisterous activities."
Education
Curbing Bullying, Raising Motivation
Beyond all talk of education policy--assessment and standards and curriculum and teacher training, et cetera--there's something else that is extremely important to the success or failure of the average student: the social climate of school. It's pretty hard to do well academically if you're constantly worried about being bullied or teased, or if you don't feel safe in your classroom environment. At least, that's what Ayer Public Schools in Massachusetts is learning, according to this article in the Boston Globe.
Education
Treat Students Like Adults?
Apparently this is treat-kids-like-adults week on Motivation Matters because today, I'm going to point your attention to this editorial, "High schools shouldn't treat students like babies," on the Detroit News. The author of this opinion piece, Michael Williamson, specifically talks about issues that relate to Detroit students, but some of the changes he suggests are systemic in nature, rather than regional, so I thought it was worth noting. One particular point he made is something I've heard a lot of educators talk about recently. He says:
Education
Taking Away Tag
In continuing with yesterday's theme of overprotecting kids, this story in The Washington Post talks about an elementary school in Northern Virginia that has banned tag from the playground. This isn't the first time I've read about something like this--it seems to happen every spring, with administrators banning the game because of student injuries (both physical and emotional) and parents crying foul while nostalgically looking back on their recess experiences.