MOTIVATING
RELUCTANT LEARNERS
•Please DO NOW:
–Please list and/or
explain all the
factors that impact
a child’s
achievement in
school.
–List 5 factors
Today’s Essential Question:
 How do we motivate reluctant
learners?
– What are the reasons behind some students’
reluctance to learn?
– What are the special challenges of motivating
socially and economically disadvantaged
students?
– How does race and ethnicity affect how
students respond to instruction and
opportunities to learn?
– What really works with reluctant learners?
CLOSING ACHIVEMENT GAPS…
• “We focus on what schools can do,
recognizing that many of the reasons for a
young person’s disengagement from school
lie far beyond school.”
– Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students’ Motivation to
Learn , The National Research Council, 2003.
GROUP
Source:
Emetric,
Oct 2011
Grade 112010
Grade 112011
Overall
73.3
78.3
Asian
36.4
57
Black
37.5
44.4
40
57.1
IEP
24.3
14.3
Title 1
37.3
45.9
Hispanic
SCHOOL BASED FACTORS
THAT INFLUENCE
ACHIEVEMENT
• Curriculum rigor, teacher experience & attendance, teacher
preparation, class size, technology-assisted instruction, and
school safety (Barton)
• Teacher expectations (Landsman, Kuykendall, Tatum, McMillan,
Aronson, Fordham & Ogbu, Hale)
• Comprehensive Literacy Focus (Darwin, Fleischman, Gallagher,
Allington, Tatum, Ivey, Fisher)
• Teaching strategies & curriculum choices (Kunjufu, Hale,
Kuykendall, Ladson-Billings, Tatum)
• School Connectedness (Landsman, Morre, Simmons, Blum)
What are the reasons behind some
students’ reluctance to learn?
• Self-efficacy, a person’s belief about his or her capability
to accomplish meaningful tasks, directly affects his or her
motivation to learn.
– Lack of relevance
-Lack of challenge
– Fear of failure
-Desire for attention
– Peer concern
-Emotional distress
– Learning problems
-Expression of anger
Think/Ink/ Pair- Write 4 lines: How do the
decisions a teacher makes in the classroom
influence the factors that influence selfefficacy?
Classroom Practices that Influence Motivation (Dolezal, Welsh, Vincent, 2003)
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Teacher comments tie success to effort, not ability. Effort creates ability.
Environment in which working together and improving is stressed over winning
Displays of student work and accomplishments
Scaffolding for struggling students
Positive and specific feedback
Activation of prior knowledge before new material
Monitoring students behavior and attentiveness
Source: Motivating
Established routines and procedures
Reluctant Learners,
Correct level of difficulty- not too low or high
from the ERS, 2004.
Positive classroom and approaches
Well planned and paced lessons
Learning to learn is emphasized over simply completing a task
Inspiring, energetic instructional practices
“A large and growing body of literature is available on the determinants of
motivation....in classroom situations, achievement motivation is a product between
student characteristics and instructional practices.”-Okolo, Bahr, and Gardner,
1995
What are the special challenges of motivating
socially and economically disadvantaged students?
“Engaging adolescents cognitively and emotionally in school and academic work is a challenge
regardless of the social or economic status of the student or the location of the schools.
Adolescents are too old and too independent to follow teachers’ demands mindlessly, and many
are too young, inexperienced, or uninformed to fully appreciate the value of succeeding in
school. Academic motivation decreases steadily from the early grades of elementary school into
high school, and disengagement from coursework is common at the high school level.
Students living in low-income communities are not alone in being less than enthusiastic about
schoolwork. But when students from advantaged backgrounds become disengaged, even though
they learn less than they could, they usually get by or they get second chances; most eventually
graduate and move on to other opportunities. In contrast, students from disadvantaged
backgrounds..are less likely to graduate and face severely limited opportunities. In addition to
having greater burdens and distractions, the consequences of being unengaged or dropping out of
school are more serious for youth who do not have the social and other resources to cushion the
effects of academic failure. Their failure to acquire the basic skills needed to function in adult
society, whether or not they complete high school, dramatically increases their risks of
unemployment, poverty, poor health, and involvement in the criminal justice system.”
-Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students’ Motivation to Learn, 2003.
LET’S PLAY JEOPARDY
Based on the research of Dr. Ruby K. Payne
“Here is a simple fact:
Wide, abundant reading
is the surest route out of
poverty and the
limitations that impose
themselves on the less
literate. Reading
changes everything.”
-Mike Schmoker
Hidden rules of poverty
for 100.
If you are born into poverty, you better start reading
A- True
B- False
True – An education is the
key to getting out, and
staying out, of poverty
Hidden rules of poverty
for 200
The family structure in poverty tends to be
A. patriarchal (headed by the father)
B. matriarchal (headed by the mother)
C. depends on who has the money
B - matriarchal
Hidden rules of poverty
for 300.
When a child has not had access to appropriate role models, which
of these is NOT a way to provide emotional support for that child:
A – Establishing long-term relationships by mentoring through a
charismatic adult
B- Teaching goal setting
C- The “Do as I say, not as I do” approach
D. Role modeling provided by teachers,
administrators, and staff
C
Hidden rules of poverty for 400
What is the driving force for people living in
poverty?
A- financial, political, and social connections
B- survival, relationships, and entertainment
C- work and achievement
B
Hidden rules of poverty for 500
Which socio-economic class believes that destiny is
controlled by good choices we make now?
A- poverty
B- middle class
C- wealthy
B
People in poverty believe in fate. There is not much
that can be done to mitigate chance.
The wealthy believe they have an obligation to share
with those less fortunate (Noblesse oblige)
Hidden rules of poverty for 600
All of the behaviors listed below can be considered “behaviors
related to poverty” except for one. Which one?
A. Laughing while disciplined
B. Making inappropriate or vulgar comments
C. Physical fighting
D. Following directions
D
A saves face
B shows reliance on the casual
register of language
C shows a “real man” behavior
Registers of language for
100
All standardized tests are written in the formal register of
language (includes: complete sentences and standard word
choice acceptable at work and school ).
People living in poverty use an incomplete sentence syntax along
with a more general word choice that is not as specific
The register of language that people living in poverty use is
called:
A. Frozen
B. Casual
C. Intimate
B- Casual
Frozen- Prayers, vows, etc
INTIMATE- Between lovers or twins
Registers of language for
200
The formal register of language can be
acquired through random exposure to it
A. True
B. False
B- it needs to be
directly taught
Registers of language for
300
A speaker using the casual-register discourse
pattern
A. “Beats around the bush” before making a
point
B. Gets straight to the point
C. Cannot ever make a point
A-This is why writing can be so difficult
for students living in poverty.
Registers of language for
400
Support systems for students living in poverty can
include all of these EXCEPT:
A. Teaching students to take their fights off-campus so that they
don’t get in trouble at school
B. Teaching students how to use positive self-talk
C. Teaching students how to plan and set goals
D. Teaching students how to access information that their parents
should really be teaching them
A- fighting is the way to resolve problems for
people living in poverty. People living in middle
class are taught to use words
The cycle of poverty
for 100
In generational poverty (when the family has lived in
poverty for at least two generations), which of these is
NOT one of the primary roles of a “real man”:
A. Be a provider
B. Physically work hard
C. Be a fighter
D. Be a lover
A – Being a provider is a middle class value
The cycle of poverty
for 200
Which of these is NOT a characteristic of generational
poverty?
A. A job is about making enough money to survive and is rarely
about finding the ultimate “career”
B. No matter what else is happening, the TV set is ON
C. Discipline involves punishment. The purpose of this
punishment is to help children CHANGE their behaviors
D. Most of what occurs in their lives is reactive and “in the
moment.” Little thought is given to planning ahead.
C-
the purpose is about penance and
forgiveness, not change
The cycle of poverty
for 300
Most people who live in poverty do not believe they are
poor, even when they are on welfare.
A- True
B- False
A- Although this is a generalization, often they
do not believe they are “poor” and can be
offended if they are referred to as such. There is
a similar mindset among the most wealthy.
Literacy and
Closing Gaps
“Here is a simple fact: Wide, abundant reading is the surest route out of poverty
and the limitations that impose themselves on the less literate.”- Mike Schmoker
“Caring teachers with high expectations helped me read my way out. They
helped me push against the currents of the environment in which I lived. They
did not limit their aspirations for me because my pants were too short. They did
not lower expectations for me because my lunch application told them I lived
below the poverty line. Instead, they required me to read the basal textbooks, as
well as the local newspaper, historical documents, poetry, and literature. These
teachers had Harvard dreams for students living in hellish conditions. Literacy
was thrust upon me in rich and meaningful ways, not because I was a wonderful
student, but because the teachers believed I deserved nothing less. I was a young
adolescent being apprenticed towards success. Literacy, based on concepts of
culture, community, and caring, was the vehicle to that success.”
- Alfred Tatum
Implications for Teaching
Children of Poverty
“When it comes to closing achievement gaps, big
interventions are not always big enough- and small
interventions can yield surprising results”- Nisbett,
ASCD, Nov 2010
•Think/Ink/ Pair- Write 4 lines: What are some
things that I can do that can minimize the
negative effects of a culture of poverty?
Implications for Teaching
Children of Poverty
– No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship. School
connectedness refers to an academic environment in which students
believe that adults in the school care about their learning and about them
as individuals.
– Assign students a mentor who help him or her explore a variety of issues
related to school adjustment.
– Ask students to write about their most important values- sports, school
achievement, family, and so on. “Reluctant learners need to feel that they
are heard, that their stories, their voices, their questions, and their
contributions matter.” ( Landsman, Moore, and Simmons, ASCD, 2008.)
– Students who believe that ability is a matter of hard work get higher
grades than students who believe their ability is fixed from birth.
EMPHASIZE EFFORT OVER SMARTNESS. TEACH KIDS THEIR
INTELLIGENCE IS UNDER THEIR OWN CONTROL.
How does race and ethnicity affect how students respond to
instruction and opportunities to learn?
Article Analysis: Another Inconvenient Truth: Race and Ethnicity
Matter -Hawlye and Nieto, ASCD, 2010
• Examining some common nonproductive beliefs:
– To be fair to all students, one should be color-blind and ignore
racial differences.
– One can build student self esteem by reducing academic rigor.
– Teaching should be adapted to students’ learning styles.
– Students must have good basic skills before teachers can engage
them in complex learning activities.
– Teachers cannot significantly influence student learning when
there is a background of poverty.
– There is no role for youth culture in academic classrooms.
– Discussions of race and ethnicity are too controversial to be held in
classrooms.
– Families of minority kids do not value education and therefore do
not attend school events.
How does race and ethnicity affect how
students respond to instruction and
opportunities to learn?
“We need to recognize an
inconvenient truth- that when it comes
to maximizing learning opportunities
and outcomes for students from
racially mixed backgrounds, race and
ethnicity matter. Race and ethnicity
influence teaching and learning in two
important ways. They affect how
students respond to instruction and
curriculum and they influence
teachers’ assumptions about how
much students are capable of
learning.” Hawlye and Nieto, ASCD,
2010
• Think/Ink/ Pair- Write
4 lines: Do I need to…
• Re-think any of my
instructional strategies
• Re-think my curriculum
choices
• Re-think my assumptions
• Re-think anything???
…. in order to maximize
learning opportunities for
my students from racially
mixed backgrounds.
What really works with
reluctant learners?
• NINE POWERFUL PRACTICES- RUBY PAYNE
– Build Relationships of Respect
• The teacher calls me by my name; answers my questions; talks to
me respectfully; notices me and says hi; helps me when I need
help
– Make Beginning Learning Relational (Learning is Social)
• Introduce new learning through pairs
• Notice kids who are alone and react immediately
– Teach Students to Speak in the Formal Register
– Assess Each Students Resources- Financial, Emotional, Mental,
Spiritual, Physical, Support systems, Relationships and role models,
Knowledge of unspoken rules
– Teach the Hidden Rules of School
• “You don’t use the same set of rules in basketball that you use in
football. It’s the same with school and other parts of your life.
The rules of school are different from the rules out of school, so
let’s make sure we know them.”
– Monitor Progress and Plan Interventions
• Use instructional strategies that have the highest
payoff
– Translate the Concrete into the Abstract
• Use stories, analogies, visual representations to make
connections between something concrete they
understand and an idea
– Teach Students How to Ask Questions
• Write to learn
– Forge Relationships with Parents
• Meet parents one on one first; explain what will happen
in a large meeting, and end a meeting with one on one
• Don’t use “educationese” with parents
• Make sure parents know that people at the school care
about their child. Communicate this early.
• Whenever possible, be visible in the community where
the student lives
“Educators can be a huge gift to students living in poverty. In many
instances, education is the tool that gives a child life choices. A
teacher or administrator who establishes mutual respect, cares
enough to make sure a students knows how to survive school, and
gives the students the necessary skills is providing a gift that will keep
affecting lives from one generation to the next.”- Ruby Payne
WHAT REALLY WORKS?
Engaging Schools: Fostering HS Students' Motivation to
Learn
– Increase student engagement
• Activate prior knowledge, interests, culture, and real-world experiences
• Vary instruction
• Use strategies that actively engage the learner
• Appropriate challenge level
• Allow native language to help master and complete tasks
– Use ongoing classroom assessment of students’ understanding and skills
– Work with colleagues to refine and assess teaching practices on student learning. Hold
each other accountable
– Provide support to help students meet challenging standards
• Scaffold learning, model, re-teach, and provide many opportunities for practice
• Help students set and meet short term goals in order to meet long term challenging
standards
• Students must experience success if they are to develop stamina for learning
– Create strong relationships between teachers and all students
• Build small learning communities
• Model behaviors of trust and respect and refuse to tolerate disrespectful behavior
• Form supportive personal relationships with students
– Create opportunities for low-achieving students to interact with and develop
friendships with more academically successful peers.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM
HERE?
• Think/Ink/ Share- Three things I heard
today that seem to really help hard to reach
students…
• Keep the conversation going–
–
–
–
Google sites/blog
Study Group- PLC
Resources
http://blogs.mbgsd.org/mfloreck/november-pdsucceeding-with-at-risk-students/
WHAT WE CAN DO
• “Taking it to the Streets”.
•
“Individual teachers can’t control tax
structures or national trends. We
can’t fix broken homes. We can’t
revamp our economic system to make
things more equitable. However we
can…..inspire students with our own
fire, motivations, research, and ideas.
We can give students confidence in
their ability and their future. And we
can create classrooms that are so
vibrant, so full of life and laughter,
with such high expectations and such
a clear connection to the world, that
even the most reluctant learner will
be tempted to join in….By focusing
on what we CAN do, we can reach
many learners who appear to have
given up.” - Landsman, 2008
– My attempt to create a
classroom “so vibrant, so full of
life and laughter, with such
high expectations and such a
clear connection to the
world…”
– What can YOU do?
• TICKET OUT THE
DOOR: Write 4 lines.
What can I do that I’m not
already doing to help my
most reluctant and at risk
learners engage? Dear
Deb…