Enhancing the Engagement and
Motivation of Our Reluctant Learners
DVMSAC Fall Conference 2007
Barbara Moore Williams,M.Ed.
Education and Diversity Consultant
moorwill@verizonmail,com
Expectations for the Day
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As you enter……
Write on the yellow paper your
expectation for our time together today.
Share with your “shoulder” partner.
Let’s hear a few of these.
Who Am I?
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Mother / Wife
Teacher- over 35 years
Instructional coach- 20 years
Director of Professional Development
 School District of Philadelphia
Owner of Barbara Moore Williams & Associates- staff
developers
ABD Educational Leadership Doctorate Program- St.
Joseph’s University
Activist
Agenda
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Introductions
Expectations
Motivation Theories /Background
S K I F A R- The motivation acronym
Final Thoughts
In the room?
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Teachers?
Principals?
Support personnel (coaches,etc.?)
Central office administrators?
Board members?
Parents?
Other?
What Motivates You?
1.
2.
3.
4.
What motivated you to attend today?
What motivates you to work?
What motivates you to play?
What motivates you to learn something
new… difficult?
Turn to you shoulder partner to discuss one.
What do you already know/do?
On the back of the packet, draw a line down
the center of the page. On the left make a
short list of strategies you have tried (or you
already know) to motivate reluctant learners.
I have tried
New ideas
Motivation is
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Complex
Physical and psychological
Unique to each and every person
Context-sensitive
Not fully understood
Qualities of Motivation
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Energizes behaviors
Directs behaviors
Enables persistence towards a goal
Exists in varying strengths
Motivation is a prerequisite to learning
The Usual Question
How can I motivate the students
who don’t want to learn?
What were some other questions?
The answer….
You can’t really motivate another
human being to want to learn!
All human beings are already encoded to
learn.
It’s in the genetic makeup.
Unmotivated… or?
We do have students who are…
 frustrated
 confused
 have learned helplessness…
masking as “unmotivated”.
The Real Question
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Rather than ask,
“How can we motivate students in our
classrooms?”
we should ask,
“ In what ways is the brain naturally
motivated?”
… and then create conditions to foster natural
motivation to occur
What is motivation ?
Motivation is an internal state or
condition (sometimes described as a
need, desire, or want) that serves to
activate or energize behavior and give it
direction (internal state or condition that
activates behavior and gives it
direction)
Theories of Motivation
Many…..
 Needs theories
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Maslow’s /Glasser hierarchy of needs
Process theories
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Expectancy Theory
Goal Setting Theory
Explanations of Motivation
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The source of motivation
Extrinsic (outside the person)
Intrinsic- (internal to the person)
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Body/physical
Mind/mental
Transpersonal/spiritual
Humanistic Theory - Basic Needs
Glasser/Maslow
All behavior represents our best attempt at
any moment to satisfy our basic needs or
genetic instruction.
Survival/Safety
Self
Belonging and Connecting
Other
Power or Competence
Growth
Freedom/Self actualization
Fun
Process Time
What happens to the innate
motivation to learn /engage?
In school…
You are too slow!
Why can’t you
get this right?
Openness
to
learn
You would
understand
if you were
listening!
Self Portraits
From experiences we begin to think we are …
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Smart, quick, good,etc.
or
Stupid
 Slow
 Lazy
 Careless
 Sloppy
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Misconception of the Some
“Unmotivated” Students
Effort (control)
Vs.
Ability( no control)
What do your “unmotivated” students think?
How can you change that?
Behavior Has a Purpose
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All behavior, even behavior we don’t
understand, is purposeful. The purpose
is to feel better, keep our internal scales
balanced.
What looks strange…even defiant may
be a sane response to a perceived
“dangerous” situation.
Motivation from the Inside Out
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Powerful instructions that are built into
our genetic structure drive our behavior.
The outside world, including all rewards
and punishments, only provide us with
information. It does not make us do
anything.
Rewards and punishments can lead to a
“learned helplessness”.
An acronym …
….to help you remember how to create the atmosphere where all
students are motivated to learn
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S
K
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F
A
R
S =Success
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Who hasn’t heard,
“Success breeds Success”?
Why?
The brain remembers… feelings and emotions are
attached to achievement… makes us want to repeat
whatever brought on that good feeling.
Our reluctant learners need to feel success EACH
DAY!
S= Success Strategies
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Differentiate so that the work is “just right” for
the student (not too hard/ not too easy)
Promote perceptions of competence and
control.
Maintain high expectations for all
Provide multiple opportunities and scaffolding
for success
Use 5-10 second wait time (“think time”) and
other brain-friendly response strategies
Strategies to Insure Success of ALL
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Thumbs up/down with explanations
All write/draw an answer
“Turn to your neighbor and________”
Numbered Heads Together
Jigsaw-make sure they have equal chance
for success- pre-read, different level of
materials/same content
Line-ups (to answer questions/discuss)
K= Knowledge of Results
Until we really know what we want to
achieve, it is impossible to know how to
get there and….
impossible to to know when we have
succeeded.
Knowledge of Results
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Set goals- provide frequent checks and
support. Have students record them.
Provide rubrics with model student work.
Provide explicit feedback that is timely and
specific
Give non-judgmental approval
Have students keep learning logs
Student-led report card conferences
I Interest
The brain loves….
novelty, fun, surprise, intrigue
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Provide vividness in examples,
language, strategies
Make life experience connections
Plan surprise activities
Provide choice
Process Time
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Take a moment to go back to the three
ideas SKI and add “new ideas” to your
list on the back of the packet.
Find someone “across the room”…..
meet them and share your list.
F= Feeling Tone
Brain research tells us…
our senses focus on information.
If information is meaningful with an emotional
hook;
you pay attention !!!!!!
Feeling Tone
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Shake their hands at the door
Provide an open and positive atmosphere
Use motivational sayings
Use encouraging verbal and non- verbal
behavior
Make sure each student feels that he/she is
valued member of the learning community
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Smile before Christmas
A=Anxiety
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Emotional arousal occurs when a small
set of structures in the unconscious part
of the brain determines that a stimulus
is important.
Anxiety
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has a strong impact on attention and
memory
is an emotion that can effect learning
positively or negatively.
A=Anxiety
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Not too much… not too little
Reasonable length of time for task
Insist on engagement
Use expectation phrases like…
“In five minutes I expect the group to have at
least 3 answers.”
Give the midterm in the beginning of the
semester
R= Relationship of
Activity to Reward
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When the activity itself is rewarding, it
produces a situation where motivation is
intrinsic.
The activity will always achieve the goal and
motivation will compound it.
We must find ways to make the activity
rewarding or we will resort to extrinsic
rewards that further diminish the importance
of learning for learning’s sake.
Relation of Activity
to Reward(intrinsic and extrinsic)
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Choice
Use their interests
Scaffold learning
Make sure meaning and sense happen
Personal notes /Positive phone calls
Ask them “How does it feel to know/be able to
do…?”
“I”- messages
So what can you do to recapture the
innate motivation to learn?
Position yourself as a educator who..
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assumes that everyone is naturally
motivated to learn
assumes your job is to uncover that natural
motivation to learn
supports students in experiencing success
provides structure to support them in
identifying and achieving goals
Something to Ponder…
I have come to a frightening
conclusion that I am the decisive
element in the classroom.
As a teacher, I possess tremendous
power to make a (student’s) life
miserable or joyous.
I can be the tool of torture or
an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response
that decides whether a crisis will be escalated
or de-escalated,
and a (student)
humanized or dehumanized.
Haim Ginot