Welcome to our blog. We are going to be focusing on what internally motivates students and how our students think. We will be looking at how students think about writing unfamiliar topics and how students respond to testing. We will be looking at outside influences and internal influences that might affect their motivation. We want to look at students' reflections and reactions to specific activities, such as unfamiliar topics and testing, to see what happens to their motivation and how we can effectively help students stay on task and engaged. We will continue to inquire into these topics for the next couple of weeks to dive deeper into our own individual inquiries. Maggie will be specifically looking into how to get students feeling comfortable when faced with unfamiliar topics and how to achieve positive response and feedback from them. Monica will be looking into students' reactions and feelings when taking tests and what actually happens to their motivation during this process. I (Erin) will be looking into general internal motivation and how to engage students' natural internal motivation with classroom practices. We look forward to hearing your feedback and helping us on our inquiry journeys!
This is a great topic. I just had a group of 5th and 6th graders that I was trying to get excited about researching and recording their findings. You would have thought I had asked them to dig to China. Any help getting students excited would be great.
ReplyDeleteHow exciting and challenging is this inquiry! The issue of motivation is one which has stymied teachers. Students are savvy and will always wish to know "what's in it for me." It's a fair question that we all ask for we are all moved or unmoved by our own personal motivations. As a teacher, I find that I rely on my ability to share my own passion for the work with my students hoping that if I can hook them long enough, they will discover their own personal motivation for the process. I would also wonder how motivating factors have evolved in our current state of "point and click" immediate satisfaction. Motivation and Patience are strange bedfellows. I look forward to reading your discoveries and exploration.
ReplyDelete