Motivating
Methods
***
Classroom Practices
That Support Student
Engagement
Barbara A. Marinak, PhD
Mount St. Mary’s University
The Southpaw
Judith Viorst
Dear Richard,
Don’t invite me to you birthday party because I’m not coming. And
give back the Disneyland sweatshirt I said you could wear. If I'm not
good enough to play on your team, I’m not good enough to be
friends with.
Your former friend,
Janet
P.S. I hope when you go to the dentist he finds 20 cavities.
Dear Janet,
Here is your stupid Disneyland sweatshirt, if that’s how you’re going
to be. I want my comic books back-finished or not. No girl has ever
played on the Mapes Street baseball team, and as long as I'm
captain, no girl ever will.
Your former friend,
Richard
P.S. I hope when you go for your checkup you need a tetanus shot.
Dear Richard,
I’m changing my goldfish's name from Richard to Stanley. Don't
count on my vote for class president next year. Just because I’m a
member of the ballet club doesn't mean I’m not a terrific ballplayer.
Your former friend,
Janet
P.S. I see you lost your first game 28-0.
Dear Janet,
I’m not saving any more seats for you on the bus. For all I care, you
can stand the whole way to school. Why don’t you just forget about
baseball and learn something nice- like knitting!
Your former friend,
Richard
P.S. Wait until Wednesday.
Dear Richard,
My father said I could call someone to go with us for a ride and hotfudge sundaes. In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t call you.
Your former friend,
Janet
P.S. I see you lost your second game, 34-0.
Dear Janet,
Remember when I took the laces out of my black and white sneakers
and gave them to you? I want them back.
Your former friend,
Richard
P.S. Wait until Friday.
Dear Richard,
Congratulations on your unbroken record. Eight straight losses-wow!
I understand you’re the laughing stock of New Jersey.
Your former friend,
Janet
P.S. Why don’t you and your team forget about baseball and learn
something nice like knitting maybe?
Dear Janet,
Here’s the silver horseback riding trophy that you gave me. I don’t
think I want to keep it anymore.
Your former friend,
Richard
P.S. I didn’t think you’d be the kind to kick a man when he’s down.
Dear Richard,
I wasn't kicking exactly. I was kicking back.
Your former friend,
Janet
P.S. In case you were wondering, my batting average is .345.
Dear Janet,
Alfie is having his tonsils out tomorrow. We might be able to let you
catch next week.
Richard
Dear Richard,
I pitch.
Janet
Dear Janet,
Joel is moving to Kansas and Danny sprained his wrist. How about a
permanent place in the outfield?
Richard
Dear Richard,
I pitch.
Janet
Dear Janet,
Ronnie caught the chicken pox and Leo broke his toe and Elwood
has these stupid violin lessons. I’ll give you first base, and that’s my
final offer.
Richard
Dear Richard,
Susan Reilly plays first base, Marilyn Jackson catches, Ethel Kahn
plays center field, I pitch. It’s a package deal.
Janet
P.S. Sorry about your 12-game losing streak.
Dear Janet,
Please! Not Marilyn Jackson.
Richard
Dear Richard,
Nobody ever said I was unreasonable. How about Lizzie Martindale
instead?
Janet
Dear Janet,
At least could you call your goldfish Richard again?
Your friend,
Richard
Today
•Consider motivation assessments
•Briefly summarize research findings
related to nurturing intrinsic reading
motivation and facilitating engagement
•Discuss methods for engaging reading
instruction
Assessments
• Me and My Reading Profile (K-2)
• Motivation to Read Profile-Revised (3-6)
• Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (6-12)
• Reader Self-Perception Scale 2 (7-10)
Regarding the RPs
• MMRP, MRP-R and the AMRP ae based on
expectancy value theory (Eccles, 1983).
• Assess self-concept about reading and value of
reading.
• MMPR also identified a third motivation
construct for very young readers…literacy
outloud.
Literacy Outloud in K-2
Practice Pausing
• Because young children are often exuberant
during reading instruction-- it is important to
practice pausing.
• Despite possessing the best intentions, young
children often “jump in” to help others.
• Not affording wait can make reading aloud
stressful and uncomfortable.
Literacy Outloud in K-2
Use Alternatives to Round Robin
Reading
•Reader’s Theater
•Guiding Questions
Guiding Questions
• Questions
• Read
• Tag
• Discuss
• Read to Support
Literacy Outloud in K-2
•The most important aspect of
supporting literacy outloud is not
pushing children beyond their
comfort or capacity.
Nurturing Intrinsic Reading
Motivation…For All!
•Choice
•Challenge
•Collaboration
•Authenticity
Choice
• Choice has been identified as a powerful force
for nurturing motivation.
• Studies indicate that motivation increases when
students believe they have some autonomy or
control over their own learning.
(Jang, Reeve, & Deci, 2010; Rettig &
Hendricks, 2000; Skinner & Belmont, 1993).
Challenge
• Studies have found that the most motivated
students are those who are engaged in
challenging tasks.
• These are tasks that allow them to collaborate,
make new discoveries, and reorganize their
thinking.
(Optiz & Ford, 2013; Turner & Paris, 1995)
Challenge
•Reduce frontloading/pausing
• Increase searching, reading, and
representing
•Challenge ≠ length
•Challenge = text complexity
Collaboration
• It is important to support a wide variety of
collaborative efforts.
• When control is shared, students begin to
take responsibility for critical literacy
decisions.
(Optiz & Ford, 2013; Turner & Paris, 1995)
Authenticity
• Authentic reading, writing and discussion
experiences are like those that are
encountered in the day-to-day lives of
people, as opposed to school-like activities
such as completing worksheets or
answering teacher-posed questions.
(Gambrell, 2012)
Authenticity
• According to Purcell-Gates (2002), reading,
writing, and discussion should involve
meaningful, purposeful and functional
experiences that motivate and engage
students.
Effective and Engaging Methods
• Honor All Print
• Your Life in
Books
• Text Impression
• +2
• Teacher’s
Reading Log
Honor All Print
Your Life in Books
• Your Life in Books promotes wide reading by
encouraging children to connect books with
important events and people in their lives.
• Your Life in Books is a reminder of the
important role reading plays in their lives.
• Prominently displaying this special collection
celebrates each child’s individual
accomplishment.
Dr. M’s Life in Books
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel was one
of the first books my mother shared with me. I
loved it because they were building a house
down the street at the time. I could enjoy Mike
and his steam shovel and then go watch the
real thing in action!
Dr. M’s Life in Books
• Harriet the Spy is the first chapter book I remember
reading. I loved it. I read and reread it. I began “people
watching” and keeping a journal about what I saw.
• I read Nicholas and Alexandra the summer before I began
high school. It was a romantic epic that I could not put
down. What a great love story! After reading Nicholas
and Alexandra, I read other books about Russian history.
I still reread this book every summer. It is not summer
until I read Nicholas and Alexandra.
Text Impression
Antarctic
Text Impression
Antarctic
African
Text Impression
Antarctic
African
one
Text Impression
Antarctic
African
one
rookery
Text Impression
Antarctic
African
one
rookery
herd
• Group on land is a waddle or colony
• Nesting group is a rookery
• A group of babies is a crèche
• A group in the water is a raft
Text Impression
Antarctic
African
one
rookery
herd
kindergarten
Learn More!!
+2
Fortune’s Bones
+2
• http://www.fortunestory.org/fortune/who.asp
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/fort
unes-bones-connecticut-funeral_n_3825367.html
Winter’s Tail
+2…or more!
• http://www.seewinter.com/winter/winters_sto
ry/winters-tails
• http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=winter'
s+tail&FORM=VIRE8#view=detail&mid=F2A576
C6458DFEA8C455F2A576C6458DFEA8C455
• http://www.hanger.com/prosthetics/experienc
e/patientprofiles/winterthedolphin/Pages/Wint
ersGel.aspx
Nubs
+2
Nubs on Facebook and the Web
The Adventures of Sojourner
+2 or more!
+3
Curiosity Tweets!
Runnin' Down a
Dream
I'm healthy &
heading West.
Latest pics from
travels on Mars.
May 30
+2
Cams and Simulations
Teacher’s Reading Log
• Teacher’s Reading Log invites readers into
your thinking about text. Maintaining a
teacher’s reading log makes your
metacognition public and allows you to model
the wide variety of ways we respond to text.
Tornadoes
Tornadoes by Seymour Simon
This book is fascinating and frightening at the
same time. I learned from Tornadoes that the
United States has had two F5 tornadoes. One
was in Missouri in 1925 and the other was in
Texas in 1997. However, Tornadoes was
published in 1999. I learned from weather.com
that since 1999, the U.S. has had another F5
tornado. In 2011, an F5 tornado hit Joplin,
Missouri.
Good teaching is forever being on the cutting
edge of a child’s competence.
Jerome Bruner