#4

In Scholastic's Instructor, a bimonthly magazine for teachers, there was an article entitled "Too Cool for School." In this article, Samantha Cleaver interviews leading researchers in the realm of student motivation. Samantha Cleaver, the writer of this article, is a special education teacher and has a class of kindergartners in Washington, DC. However, her interviews and insight on student motivation gives us lots of great information that can transcend into the high school classroom.

Some authors and researchers she speaks with throughout this article include Richard Lavoie, author of The Motivation Breakthrough: 6 Secrets to Turning On the Turned Off Student; Mel Levine, pediatrician and author of All Kinds of Minds; and Pat Wolfe, educational consultant and author of Brain Matters: Translating Research into Classroom Practice.

I learned a lot by reading this article, and althought it is not an "official" research article, I feel that the researchers' suggestions in this article pertain more to us as classroom teachers than a regular research article can.

It's no question that we, as teachers, look forward to seeing those smiling faces eager to learn every day... but what do we do when that doesn't happen? That's where this article comes in. Samantha Cleaver goes through the research and picks out the best motivational tips so we don't have to.

She reminds us that all students react to different motivators in different ways, so we shouldn't be surprised when what works for one student may not work for another. Therefore, we should motivate accordingly. Also, Dr. Mel Levine reminds us that at the heart of every student lies a desire to succeed.

In order to motivate students effectively, you have to think about the structure of the brain. That's something that I had never thought of before, but it makes sense. When Dopamine is released into your brain, you get a natural high from being successful. Our goal is to get those synapses firing so that the dopamine releases, resulting in a boost in self esteem and confidence. Let's face it, the majority of our students have low self esteem as it is, and in order to get them motivated you have got to boost that self esteem! That's why it's important to let the student know that you care for them and are proud of them.

There are some Do's and Don'ts that were brought up in this article that can easily be implemented into your classroom:

Don't

• Lecture the student. It only breeds negative behavior.
  
• Make everything a competition. It's an automatic self esteem killer for those who never win. It only motivates the one who wins.
  
• Forget to implement technology in the classroom.
  
• Forget other types of learners. They all learn in different ways, so you should address that.
  

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Do

• Let students know when you are proud of them. You may be the only person who does that all day!
  
• "Sell learning to the students." they won't be motivated if you don't seem excited about what you're teaching!
  
• Seek out their advice: it's been proven that students work harder and more efficiently when they are emotionally invested in a subject.
  
• Give your students the opportunity to be creative.
  
• Build a trusting relationship with your students.

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I think that even if you pick one or two of these tips and implement them into your classroom, you will have a group of motivated and happy students in no time!