Motivating The Unmotivated Student - Ideas For Classroom Teachers

Toni Enloe
Jan 05, 2009

In 1989 it was predicted that by the year 2000 more than 65% of students in the US would be categorized as "at risk" (Center for Excellence, Furman University). America's Promise Alliance has stated that, "The number one predictor of whether you will be successful in life is whether you graduate from high school." The alliance has identified that more than 25% of students do not graduate and that the problem is even great among African- Americans and Latinos. It is important to identify these students before all hope is lost.

One or more of the following criteria may be used to identify those struggling students.

1. working two or more years below grade level in reading or math OR not meeting basic standards on the state test

2. participating in free or reduced lunch programs

3. having been suspended from school the previous year

4. having chronic absenteeism the previous year (15 or more days)

5. having been retained in a previous grade

6. struggling with the English language


Unintentionally, many of these students typically are:

  •   seated farther away from the teacher

  •   given less direct instruction (worksheets and book work)

  •   offered fewer opportunities to learn new material (too much time spent on remediation)

  •   asked to do less challenging work

  •   called on less often

  •   given less wait time

  •   questioned primarily at the knowledge/comprehension levels and rarely given the opportunity to extend that knowledge

  •   not prompted when they do not know the answer to a question

  •   given less praise

  •   rewarded for inappropriate behavior

  •   criticized more frequently

  •   given less feedback

  •   interrupted more often

  •   given less eye contact and other nonverbal communication of attention and responsiveness


In order to be willing to try, students must know:

1. the value of the class and subjects- the reasons they should learn it.
2. that they have a chance of succeeding.

Our job is to make our subject and class as interesting and relevant as possible and
to provide experiences that will boost self efficacy (confidence through competence), motivate them to try harder in academic areas, and reward them for putting forth their best efforts. Our classrooms should be inviting spaces where it is safe to learn and make mistakes.

Self- Esteem Activities/Practices:

1. Positive postcards - Teachers mail postcards to the home of the student to recognize an achievement, however small.
2. Adopt - A - Student - Identify a student needing additional adult support, and follow up with the student at the end of each week, after progress reports and/or report cards.

LEARNING-FOCUSED Connecting Strategies and Academic Activities That Motivate:

1. Collaborative pairs for review and summarizing

2. Essential Questions to set the focus (A question begs an answer.)

3. Acceleration and previewing strategies (builds confidence to learn new material)

4. Celebrations of small successes

5. Academic Fairs - Showcase exemplary work from EVERY student (creating for an audience).

6. Jigsaw activities

7. R.A.P. Club (Realistic Achievement Proven) - See September 22, LEARNING-FOCUSED Connections Newsletter


ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS

1. Have an activating strategy on the board for students to think about and complete, as they enter the classroom. Ex. How would life be different if...nothing ever decayed?

2. Have a student call on a fellow student if he/she needs help in answering your questions; return to him/her to repeat the correct answer.

3. Call the roll by having students answer with something dealing with your subject (Social Studies answer with name of a country, city, body of water, OR Science answer with a plant, invertebrate animal, etc.)

4. Question of the week: trivia or little-known fact in the subject area - Students put answers in a box, and the teacher draws until the correct answer is found. Ex. What is syzygy?

5. T-shirt designing - As a culminating activity for a unit of instruction, have students design t-shirts (on France, verbs, a book they read) and wear them on "Designer Outfit Day".

6. Dedicate your classroom to someone famous (Einstein, Lincoln, L. Hughes, Pythagoras, Van Gogh, R. Rogers...not Roy ?) or not so famous but important person. The students decide and justify their decision.

7. Assign "can-do" homework. There is nothing less motivating to a student than forcing himself to sit down to do the work and then finding out he cannot.

8. Agenda workshop. Teach students how to make the most of their assignment agendas.

9. Use colored paper for anything that is important. (Assists students with organization.)