"Because prior knowledge and motivation are so intimately connected, it is nearly impossible to talk about one without the other." I never really thought about motivation being tied to prior knowledge. We have heard so often, build on students prior knowledge, but I never saw it as a motivation strategy. Now that I think about my own experiences, I was so much more interested in learning when I knew a little about the content. So can we access prior knowledge in every objective we teach? This has been a burning question in the back of my mind. Will every student have some type of prior knowledge on every subject? How will I know if I have done my job of activating prior knowledge? My conclusion is this...Teach in units that connect to each other and that way students always have something to build on. (Plus so much more!)
Conley also talks about knowing and using learning strategies. Even when students do not have an extensive background knowledge in a subject, they can use learning strategies to make sense of the content. That is where we come in. It is our job, in the earliest years, to teach students types of strategies, when they are useful, and of course how to use them. Chapter 7 mentions several strategies that are useful for students and teachers. These can be used to help students make sense of information and let the teacher know what prior knowledge exists. Part of keeping students motivated is not beating the dead horse. If we know what the students understand, there is no use in drilling that concept over and over.
Increasing motivation can be a tricky concept to me. How can I make a student care? I am dealing with this issue now in tutoring sessions. I am learning more about the student in a school setting and about her home life through discussion. Come to find out, there isn't much of a push to succeed at home. No one reads with the student and no one checks her homework. Only time will tell if I have succeeded in motivating the student, but I have decided to use some of the strategies mentioned in Chapter 7. The first and most simple is to be caring and compassionate just by showing an interest in the student doing well. Working with content that interest her. Give her praise when she has done a good job and give her encouragement when the session did not go so well or she gets frustrated. Lastly, give her strategies or techniques that she can use in any subject matter.
As I said, only time will tell if these strategies work for my student. Yet, I think that if we keep the simple suggestions that Conley presents in mind, we will become more successful in our teaching careers. Students will learn to enjoy learning when the teacher believes in each one of the students. After all, ALL students have the ability to learn, we just have to find that switch that motivates them.
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As a teacher, we should get to know our students so we can activate prior knowledge. Sometimes children need that little push of motivation to become interested in the content. If we can connect the content being taught with their prior knowledge than we can help our students a great deal.
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 offers great ideas and tools to use in teaching, I agree with what you said about being compassionate and caring to your students. I know as a student, I was more willing to succeed in the classroom when my teacher gave me praise and provided some type of motivation. I hope that we are able to achieve that in our tutoring sessions this semester.
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ReplyDeleteYou make valid points about students who are unmotivated and have no prior knowledge. I wonder the same things. However, my questions is how do you handle a student who has a plethora of prior knowledge about a subject. For example, little John knows more about the solar system than you planned to teach. How do you keep him interested and not bored with the subject matter. How would you differentiate instruction for this student?
ReplyDeleteMaybe your student in clinicals has a lack of motivation due to his parents lack of interest. You said the student does not get read to and his homework does not get checked. Maybe the sudent's parents don't want him to exceed. Speaking from experience, my dad did not get past the 6th grade and every day I heard how education was pointless and just a waste of money. Luckily, my mom cared enough about me to check my homework and make sure it was done. Maybe your student doesn't care because it has been passed down through generations. (Just something to think about!)
I think we can find some prior knowledge in every objective we teach. We may have to s-t-r-e-t-c-h it sometimes though. We may even have to relate a new concept to another concept by using a third concept the two have in common. Follow me? As far as making a student care, have you ever thought about actually using the strategies we need to be teaching the students to use as a fun way to engage the student? This approach will require changing the strategies up a bit to add more enjoyment for the class. I hope teaching strategies in an exciting way will encourage some children to want to learn. Of course, we will have some students who truly do not want to learn. Others will try to pretend they do not want to learn because they have a fear of failure. It is our job to help the students overcome these fears and experience some success to use as a basis for building the confidence to put forth an effort to learn.
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