The article commented on how teachers ranked motivation as their primary concern. This is true throughout all academic areas, certainly reading. I agree that "self-perceived competence and task value" greatly impact motivation and task engagement. Those who believe they are good readers, typically ARE good readers and therefore do not struggle with reading in the way that an "unmotivated" struggling reader does. The reading surveys discussed in the article would seem to benefit teachers in making instructional decisions and recommendations to students. The specific suggestions given for categories with low scores could be easily implemented into classroom practices.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Motivating Students
Motivating Students... Maybe this is too simplistic, but this is my philosophy...
We ALL are motivated by something. We graduated from high school to get a diploma to go to college to get a job to feel a sense of accomplishment and earn a pay check... Without a diploma, degree, sense of accomplishment or pay check, most of us would have changed paths and gone a new direction. In fact, some of us did.
To truly motivate students, we must know what THEY want ... short term... AND...long term goals. In many cases, we must help them set these goals by helping them to see their potential and the impact that current decisions make on future possibilities.
I once asked a first grader, whose teacher was beyond frustrated, what he would like to work toward... His teacher had been offering matchbox cars and candy, but he was never able to earn either. He said to me very matter of fact, "I'd like to sit in the teacher chair and eat lunch with the teacher". The teacher said if he'd stay on task and display appropriate behavior that she would gladly allow him to sit in her chair. (She was not willing to offer a lunch date just yet. ) When I went back to visit, she reported that there had ben a big improvement in motivation and behavior and that she simply had to remind him of the expectations to remain in her chair. She even reported that she had added the option of eating lunch with her on Fridays as his BIG reward. Now, this is a simple example of an immediate reward to RESHAPE behavior.
Motivating children to read is a little more complicated but certainly related. When we are asked to do something that is hard, we are more willing to persevere when we have a motivator helping us through the tough times. The important thing to remember is that we are not all motivated by candy or matchbox cars. Some of us simply are motivated by time and attention... We must KNOW our students to know what motivates them to work through the hard times. I seriously doubt most of us would continue to teach in these very challenging times without the motivator of a paycheck, confirmation through our progress monitoring, individual stories of success, etc. We are all motivating to "keep on keeping on" by some extrinsic or intrinsic motivator. The challenge is knowing the specific motivators for our children.
SIDE NOTE: Rewards and Bribes are DIFFERENT... Bribery is the inducement to do something that is WRONG... A reward simply encourages good decisions and appropriate behaviors.
We ALL are motivated by something. We graduated from high school to get a diploma to go to college to get a job to feel a sense of accomplishment and earn a pay check... Without a diploma, degree, sense of accomplishment or pay check, most of us would have changed paths and gone a new direction. In fact, some of us did.
To truly motivate students, we must know what THEY want ... short term... AND...long term goals. In many cases, we must help them set these goals by helping them to see their potential and the impact that current decisions make on future possibilities.
I once asked a first grader, whose teacher was beyond frustrated, what he would like to work toward... His teacher had been offering matchbox cars and candy, but he was never able to earn either. He said to me very matter of fact, "I'd like to sit in the teacher chair and eat lunch with the teacher". The teacher said if he'd stay on task and display appropriate behavior that she would gladly allow him to sit in her chair. (She was not willing to offer a lunch date just yet. ) When I went back to visit, she reported that there had ben a big improvement in motivation and behavior and that she simply had to remind him of the expectations to remain in her chair. She even reported that she had added the option of eating lunch with her on Fridays as his BIG reward. Now, this is a simple example of an immediate reward to RESHAPE behavior.
Motivating children to read is a little more complicated but certainly related. When we are asked to do something that is hard, we are more willing to persevere when we have a motivator helping us through the tough times. The important thing to remember is that we are not all motivated by candy or matchbox cars. Some of us simply are motivated by time and attention... We must KNOW our students to know what motivates them to work through the hard times. I seriously doubt most of us would continue to teach in these very challenging times without the motivator of a paycheck, confirmation through our progress monitoring, individual stories of success, etc. We are all motivating to "keep on keeping on" by some extrinsic or intrinsic motivator. The challenge is knowing the specific motivators for our children.
SIDE NOTE: Rewards and Bribes are DIFFERENT... Bribery is the inducement to do something that is WRONG... A reward simply encourages good decisions and appropriate behaviors.
When Older Students Can't Read by Louisa C. Moats
After the first week of my reading endorsement class and VBS each night, I am just now getting back to my blog...at 1:40 am!
Article: When Older Students Can't Read by Louisa C. Moats
This article was certainly thought provoking with many confirmations of what I already know and experience as a teacher. I was saddened to see that the adult illiteracy rate in the US is 37%, but I was encouraged to read that we can impact the reading difficulties with commitment and applying "best practices supported by reading research". Specifically, the article cites Torgesen in saying, "Reading intervention that is grounded in research imparts to older readers the skills they missed in primary grades and can bring them to grade level in one to two years." Much of the article went on to reiterated the importance of implementing reading interventions with fidelity...the way they were researched and proven effective. It has been my experience that teachers either do not see the importance of implementing a program with fidelity or have not been given the resources to actually follow an intervention the way it was researched. I especially appreciated the way Moats geared the techniques and strategies to older children. In addition,each of the categories described how good readers perform, as well as the probable cause for poor readers' difficulties. The content in this article could easily be used to guide a teacher in making instructional decisions.
Article: When Older Students Can't Read by Louisa C. Moats
This article was certainly thought provoking with many confirmations of what I already know and experience as a teacher. I was saddened to see that the adult illiteracy rate in the US is 37%, but I was encouraged to read that we can impact the reading difficulties with commitment and applying "best practices supported by reading research". Specifically, the article cites Torgesen in saying, "Reading intervention that is grounded in research imparts to older readers the skills they missed in primary grades and can bring them to grade level in one to two years." Much of the article went on to reiterated the importance of implementing reading interventions with fidelity...the way they were researched and proven effective. It has been my experience that teachers either do not see the importance of implementing a program with fidelity or have not been given the resources to actually follow an intervention the way it was researched. I especially appreciated the way Moats geared the techniques and strategies to older children. In addition,each of the categories described how good readers perform, as well as the probable cause for poor readers' difficulties. The content in this article could easily be used to guide a teacher in making instructional decisions.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Now that wasn't so hard...
Our first assignment for the Reading Endorsement class was to create a blog. I did it! Check back for some actual info from our article review...
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