Retrieved from: http://i.imgur.com/6KTR7.png
When looking back at my previous education courses, there is one idea that seems to have been stressed a little more than others. Time and time again, we are reminded that we should not teach our future students the way that we enjoy being taught. Since EDUC4P19 is made up of fourth year university students, it is safe to say we have all excelled in our academic careers. We figured out how to “play the game” and have now put ourselves in a position to become successful adults.
With all this in mind, it is important to
remember that most of the students we will teach will not learn the same way we
do. In fact, there will be many students who will not want to learn at all. Motivating
these particular students may be a difficult task, but that does not mean they
should be ignored. Interweaving
Curriculum And Classroom Assessment touches upon this issue, stating that, “by
providing positive, supportive feedback with a focus on capabilities and
possibilities, students feel good about their accomplishments and are motivated
to work on their challenges” (Drake, 2014, p.22). Unfortunately, it is hard to
provide feedback when some students just refuse to do any work. That is why I
have decided to do some digging and find out how people are keeping students
motivated.
Retrieved from: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/09/09/bicycle-desks-motivate-math-students/
In order to ensure that students remain
engaged, China Middle School utilizes FitDesks (above), which are essentially bicycle
desks. They were originally installed as a way to help students become more
active, but teacher Joshua Lambert soon realized that they were actually
increasing productivity. He told the PortlandPress Herald, “Eighty minutes is a long time to sit in a math class. You can
just see them fidget, see them need to move. This makes a world of difference”
(McGuire, 2015). The FitDesks seem like a great short-term solution when it
comes to maintaining motivation, but not all classrooms can afford them and
students cannot spend their entire days pedaling away.
Another interesting resource I came across is Pocket Points.
This app rewards students for not using their phones in class. According to an
article from TechCrunch, “Academic buildings
on campus are geofenced by the company, and once inside a student can open the
app and successfully check in. Students then lock their devices and accrue
points for every minute that they stay off their phones while
remaining in class” (Tepper, 2015). Pocket Points has partnered with roughly
1,200 businesses, allowing students to cash in their points for real-life
prizes like free meals and baseball tickets. The app is meant for
post-secondary students, but with the amount that high school (and some
elementary) students are on their phones, I would not be surprised if a similar
service made its way into the younger grades.
The FitDesks and Pocket Points are two extremely innovative ways
to ensure that students are engaged, but I believe the best solution is a much
easier one. The focus of the above video is Cochrane Collegiate Academy
and more specifically, the amount of professional development its teachers receive.
The school was once in danger of closing, but it turned things around thanks in
part to Academic Facilitator Shana Oliver’s program for teachers. The video
states that, “Teachers who received at least 49 hours of professional
development per year could be expected to boost their students’ achievement by
about 21 percentile points” (American Institute for Research, 2007). Cochrane teachers
receive roughly ninety hours of professional development. One of the most
important lessons she continues to pass down to her colleagues is the
‘interactive learning non-negotiables’. These are things that Oliver feels
should be present in every lesson: essential question, activating strategy,
limited lecture and graphic organizer. By including these four elements in
their lessons, Cochrane teachers are ensuring that the students are
consistently engaged and motivated throughout the day. This has resulted in
higher test scores for the school and judging by the video, a more
student-friendly learning environment.
References
Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
McGuire, Peter. (2015, September 9). Bicycle desks motivate China Middle School students. Portland Press Herald. Retrieved from http://www.pressherald.com/2015/09/09/bicycle-desks-motivate-math-students/
Tepper, Fitz. (2015, September 10). Pocket Points Rewards Students For Staying Off Their Phones. TechCrunch. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/10/pocket-points-rewards-students-for-staying-off-their-phones/
