When trying to think of a student is not very motivated to read is hard because I think my CT does a great job of providing an ample amount of time for students to pick the books of their choice and then be able to have reading time for read the books of their choice. Instead of just having reading time when the student has to sit and their desk and is being punished. Regarding the highly motivated lietacy student, she enjoys reading and writing and tends to finish her other work quickly in order to spend more time reading. She has a very high reading level and I think that she enjoys being able to read chapter books when most of the students are still reading pciturebooks. I also see her as not as social, more mature, than most of the other students in her class. When it is time to be working silently she is able to read to herself unlike most of the other students.
Regarding the lower literacy student, I think his main motivation is that he would rather enjoy getting a laugh out of his classmates than reading or working. I think that because he is one of the lower level reading students he does not feel as comfortable with reading and would rather act as the "cool kid" than the "dumb reader." I do think that he wants to become a better reading and writer but I also think he has not figured out what tools to use to become successful.
The student I see that is the most motivated the majority of the time is a girl who is naturally talented at all subjects, has a positive attitude, and is always willing to assist the teacher in any way she can. Some of her classmates think she is the teacher's pet or a tattle tale at times because she often knows what she and her classmates should be doing, so when someone breaks the norm, she tells a teacher because she is trying to be helpful. She is a naturally good reader which has helped her in all subjects, but she is having difficulty with counting down/subtraction. As opposed to being frustrated that she has difficulty, she seems to feel left out when she sees her classmates get the concept quicker. She usually then just tried harder to think about the math problem so she can figure it out and join the rest of her classmates, but lately she has been giving up. When she gets to a point on her math worksheet where she is stuck, she will ask my CT if she needs anything taken to the office or if there is anything she can help do. My CT assumes her work is done since every time before that she has been the first one done with everything, so my CT will let her run errands, help clean, etc. Now that we are on to her escape plan, we are more aware of it, and we try to encourage her thinking by referencing her to a classmate who can help her, being accessible to her so she can ask us questions, or just giving her time to sit and think the equation out.
ReplyDeleteA student who isn't as motivated is also a girl who shows little to no interest in school, who needs more direction and explanation for new material, and is very independent. She refuses to ask for help, but she will raise her hand and tell us we need to help her (which she really means tell her the answers), and she fights with any classmates to offer her help. She tries to bully other kids into giving her the answers, or she simply copies their paper regardless if they are aware of it or not. At Christmas time when her mom came in to volunteer, the mom really didn't have glowing things to say about school, school work, or her own experience of school. She complained a lot about the desks, the dirty floor, the long amounts of time it took for students to follow a direction, and so on. So my CT has expressed to the MSU intern the expression "the apple doesn't [seem to] fall far from the tree" in this particular case. Her mom isn't very encouraging for her to do exceptionally well in school, which gives the daughter the impression that school doesn't really matter and there isn't much need to try hard.
My CT has tried to incorporate material that is interesting to the students, both the motivated and the unmotivated students, to promote fun and exciting learning. I like this thought as it does encourage all the students.
When thinking about motivation in my classroom I first thought about my head teacher. She is a very motivating individual. She makes all of the lesson plans exciting and engaging for the children as well as supports the children so that they feel they are capable of completing the given task.
ReplyDeleteI found that there is one individual child in my class who seems very motivated in all subject areas. I think this is because she is an above achiever in all areas and therefore has a high self confidence in the classroom. I notice her motivation when she has completed a task and is asking for more to do as well as when she does not understand a task she will ask multiple questions for clarification.
As for an unmotivated student in my class I find him to have no motivation not because he has lack of skill, but because he is bored. He sits and stares or will play with objects in his pencil box. Once the teacher or other adults in the classroom re-direct him he will begin the task and then is motivated to finish it.
I find that motivation comes from the adult in the classroom helping the children achieve through encouragement. I also find that motivation comes from the individuals self confidence in completing a given task.