Motivating and engaging students is challenging. Edward Deci, one of the premier researchers and authorities on intrinsic motivation, wrote: “The proper question is not, how can people motivate others, but rather, how can people create the conditions within which others will motivate themselves?” When we are trying to motivate students—often unsuccessfully—the energy is coming from…
Motivation in the Classroom
It’s important to reinforce student self-motivation on a regular basis: Praise Effort and Specific Actions If we only praise students in general—”You’re very smart”—many will then try to avoid taking risks and stretching themselves. They will focus more on maintaining their image and believe that they will embarrass themselves by making mistakes. Praising effort— “You…
Involvement or Engagement?
We need to relate to families not as clients, but as partners in school and community improvement. “Hello, is this John’s mother? This is his English teacher, Mr. Ferlazzo. John has had a rough day.” “I like teaching in this school because the parents don’t bother us much.” “We need parent volunteers for the fund-raiser.”…
Alternatives to Collective Punishment
I suspect many teachers have had an experience like this: A paper airplane, ball of paper, or pencil flies through the air, or somebody makes an obnoxious noise. The object is probably aimed at another student, and it may or may not hit the intended target. The noise is just meant to be funny. You…