Dear Ms. Wormwood,
We hear that you are struggling with managing student behavior, specifically from Calvin. We think that we may have some helpful insights that you can consider as you move forward in class. We think Calvin can be motivated through the following five aspects of education: Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, Classroom Management, and Communication with Calvin's Parents.
Curriculum: Anqi
Firstly, in terms of subject teaching, you need to incorporate more real-life elements into the content. Subject knowledge usually has a strong theoretical nature and can easily seem disconnected from daily life. Therefore, it is necessary for you to establish a connection between your courses and the real lives of students or social reality. For example, you can introduce family budget management in math classes, or combine recent hot topics and real cases in social subjects. As far as I know, some students in your class (Calvin) cannot see the relationship between mathematical knowledge and living a better life. According to Self-Determination Theory, relatedness, autonomy, and competence are the main factors in promoting intrinsic motivation. Among them, relatedness refers to rooting tasks in the student perspective. When students see themselves in the curriculum, feeling that what they are doing is connected to themselves, or that what they are learning is needed by themselves and the world, their work will feel more meaningful. This can significantly increase students’ intrinsic motivation, thereby promoting their learning.
In addition, you should also provide your students with a variety of choices in the direction and form of completing the course content. For example, you can allow students to choose a branch of interest from the many core concepts recently studied for deeper research, and select from different reporting methods such as writing, speaking, making short films, performing, and drawing to express their knowledge. The autonomy factor in Self-Determination Theory refers to giving students the right to choose to realize their initiative. This allows students to feel that they are heard and valued, and also ensures that their learning is out of their own will rather than being forced, thereby increasing their intrinsic motivation.
In terms of content coverage, I highly recommend that you try your best to combine the course content with the interests of the students. You can understand the interests of your students through methods like questionnaires. If a student mentions a movie they like, you can play a clip from the movie in a language class and guide the students to discuss the grammatical phenomena in it. According to Interest Theory, the development of interest is divided into four stages: triggered situational interest, maintained situational interest, emerging individual interest, and well-developed individual interest. Students’ personal interests are relatively stable psychological tendencies, and linking course content with personal interests is a reliable way to keep students focused and thinking actively in class. In addition, you can also add some novelty or social interaction methods that are attractive to the vast majority of people (such as what you think your students might like), sparking students’ triggered situational interest through external stimuli. As the course progresses, you can maintain students’ situational interest by providing meaning and involving personality in lessons, and even pave the way for the further development of personal interests. Such course design that supports students’ interests can help you improve their learning motivation.
I believe you can follow three steps in your teaching sequence. In the first stage, you should allow students to engage in some autonomous exploration. For example, let students conduct initial research on aspects they find interesting regarding an open-ended question. This directly satisfies students’ need for autonomy (Self-Determination Theory) and applies students’ triggered situational interest by allowing them to find novelty that is attractive to them (Interest Theory), thus promoting their learning motivation. In the second stage, you should systematically provide content knowledge while students’ interest and questions are fresh. At this point, you cannot simply follow the textbook logic; instead, you should follow students’ cognitive logic. For example, you can directly connect knowledge instruction with students’ original questions. This can help students see that learning these seemingly “dry” concepts is a necessary path to resolving their own doubts. This influences students’ valuation of outcomes (the results of learning will be highly attractive for meeting personal needs), greatly enhances the instrumentality of learning in students’ minds (being able to get what they want through learning), thereby increasing learning motivation (Expectancy Theories). In the third stage, you should provide students with opportunities for real-world application, which can solve problems around them or affect some people. As I mentioned at the beginning, this satisfies students’ need for relatedness and promotes their sense of meaning in learning (Self-Determination Theory). However, you also need to pay attention to the purposes students pursue in academic tasks. For students with a performance-approach orientation focused on proving they are better than others, and those with a performance-avoidance orientation focused on avoiding embarrassment, you should guide them toward a mastery/learning orientation focused on true understanding and progress (Achievement Goal Theory). Providing a psychologically safe environment can help students understand that mistakes are also part of learning, and that the classroom is not a place for judging ability but for improving ability. This can prevent students from adopting avoidance attitudes and enhance their motivation.
Throughout these three stages, you need to pay attention to making the teaching of learning strategies explicit. This means your teaching content should not only be professional knowledge but also include teaching students how to appropriately conduct task analysis, set achievable proximal goals, manage time effectively, use learning logs effectively for self-observation, failure attribution, and so on. According to Self-Regulated Learning Theory, many students cannot effectively self-regulate because teachers lack explicit instruction on “how to learn.” By placing knowledge of learning strategies on the same level of importance as subject content, you can significantly improve your students’ self-regulation effects during the forethought, process, and reflection stages of learning, and ensure their motivation remains in an enhanced cycle.
Instruction: Zackary
Ms. Wormwood,
While it may be easy to become frustrated with Calvin for his lack of effort that he puts forth, it is important to remember that when he is motivated and takes the time to put in effort, the work that he outputs is very high in quality. Thus, Calvin is not an idiot as you may think, he just isn't given the proper ways with which to express himself. On top of that, Calvin does not have the tools that he needs to succeed in his class. It is your responsibility as the teacher to help foster more productive patterns in Calvin and allow him different ways to display his genius, aiding his motivation and building positive internal patterns.
The material that is used in the classroom should serve as a medium through which to foster more productive patterns in Calvin. Your approach to teaching is all about whether or not Calvin can memorize content material, like memorizing which president did what. While those are good points of general knowledge, that is not the purpose of school. Yes, there are standards on what students "should" know, but they likely will not take that knowledge with them throughout life. Do you think a kid is gonna know who the president was in 1824 in another 5, 10, 20 years? No! But the study patterns that you instill in them through the learning process? Being able to learn quickly in their long-term jobs? Absolutely! Your students, as with all humans, are going to be lifelong learners. Don't get so caught up on making students feel bad about themselves over a number, espeically if they did study. Instead, start to incoprorate more reward for those who give the most amount of effort, and teach your students how to learn effectively. Instill those behaviors in them early on so that they have the tools to be successful in all aspects of life.
Speaking of the material in the classroom, when teaching the class, allow your students more choice in how they choose to express their knowledge. When giving out a unit assessment, give your students the freedom to choose how they display that knowledge to you, whether that's a creative project, or an argument essay, or an action plan, or writing a letter to somone to help them solve a problem that they are unaware of how to fix. If your students feel like they can control their learning, they will be much more likely to learn AND retain what they have learned. Not to mention, when they can choose to express themselves in a way that they are passionate about, they will be more motivated to do their work and learn in the classroom.
Assessment: Richard
How should learning be assessed?
According to various motivational theories, students such as Calvin should be assessed using essays, videos, or presentations that provide access to the assignment rubric (Achievement Goal). This allows students such as Calvin to develop skills over time that enable and foster mastery performance. Within this assessment style, allow students to select a topic that fosters a sense of autonomy (Self-Determination). While incorporating various checkpoints to encourage or correct aspects in their essays (Interest). Lastly, allowing students to correct their own mistakes becomes a part of the learning cycle (Self-Regulated).
What kinds of assessments should Ms. Wormwood use?
Ms. Wormwood’s use of assessments to track student learning should be centered on portfolio projects, such as essays, posters, and reflections, which allow students to reflect on their work. Using choice-based projects that build autonomy will foster a classroom culture that allows students to be the leaders in their education (Self-Determination Theory). This will also help students believe they can succeed and be interested in the topics they are learning about, which builds value in the assessment (Interest & Expectancy).
How should she use and discuss these assessments with Calvin?
Ms. Wormwood’s use of assessments tailored to Calvin allows and fosters one-on-one discussions with Calvin. With each assessment tailored to Calvin’s interests, it will also provide an opportunity to discuss ways to improve his project, redirecting learning from a performance-based approach to one of mastery (Achievement Goal). While potentially allowing Calvin the opportunity to look for improvements or strengths in his project, enabling him to take an active role in his learning (Self-Regulated). Through these discussions and choices during the assessment, Calvin has autonomy in the classroom that aligns with his interests (Self-Determination & Interest). Ms. Wormwood acts as a guide, allowing Calvin to take a low-stakes assessment that fosters his interest in the project.
Classroom Management: Dylan
Teaching is tough! It takes someone who's flexible, caring, patient, and really loves working with kids. Each kid is different, with their own interests and needs. A thoughtful, kid-focused way of doing things makes a big difference in making a classroom where everyone can do well. Here are some ideas to help make things supportive and get things done in the classroom.
First, kids need to feel valued, great, and safe. If they feel in charge and like they belong, they're way more likely to get involved in a good way. Calvin, for example, really wants to do things on his own, so giving him choices can work well. If the classroom is all about respect, not just bossing people around, kids will trust each other and feel safer.
Giving simple choices during the day helps kids like Calvin feel in charge. Like, do you want to start with math or the reading? During class discussions, if he's having trouble, let him explain his thinking instead of just moving on. It shows him that what he says matters.
Validate his process and effort, even if it needs to be redirectioned. If kids know what they're supposed to be learning and why, it helps them feel sure of themselves. If Calvin thinks an assignment is boring or doesn't matter, maybe that's why he checks out. Making what he's learning relate to what he likes can make a difference. Using dinosaur stickers or letting him write about what he wants can turn work into something fun.
Besides helping kids feel in charge and making learning matter, teaching them how to learn on their own can make the classroom better. You can put up posters with tips like how to focus, manage time, solve problems, and keep going. When Calvin gets distracted, those posters can help him get back on track by himself.
Also, it's good to make the classroom about getting better at things, not just competing, so kids feel okay taking risks when they're learning. Cheer them on when they make progress, try hard, and get better. It helps them focus on learning instead of just trying to look good. Provide well detailed rubrics with clear, attainable, achievable, and measurable goals. Be supportive and cheer them on even if they fail, failure is part of the learning process and does not mean they are less than.
If you give Calvin support with being in charge, making learning matter, learning on his own, and getting better at things, he'll probably act out less. But even more important, it makes a classroom where all the kids feel important, able to do things, and excited to learn. Thanks for caring about your students and trying new ideas to make the classroom better.
One-on-one Interaction: Samara
We notice that when you interact with Calvin it is most often in one of two ways. Either you get frustrated and lose your temper or you dismiss him. Both of these responses are reinforcing Calvin's motivational pattern, which is why he is not performing well in your class. We think that you need to have more one-on-one interactions with Calvin in an effort to accomplish three things that go hand in hand with each other.
Get to the bottom of what is causing Calvin's poor performance
Build a rapport with him
Get to know Calvin better as a person
Working toward these three things, in addition to adjusting your curriculum, instructional and assessment methods, and classroom management will get Calvin to a place where he is willing to apply himself and learn effectively in the classroom.
First, you need to recognize that Calvin is not stupid or set out to be an inconvenience to you. He is experiencing amotivation in school because of several underlying factors relating to his learning psychology. Calvin is very intelligent and bored because your class structure offers little to no autonomy where he can be adequately stimulated. He doesn't see the value in anything that he is supposed to be learning, so he spaces out and misses information. He does not want to be perceived as dumb, so he dodges your questions by giving irrelevant answers or coming up with a reason that they are invaluable. He is a perfectionist and becomes frustrated when he is unable to do something to the best of his ability, so he avoids tasks like homework and projects. He needs your help to get past these barriers to his learning.
The last two goals are very closely related. Building a rapport with Calvin will help to combat the previously mentioned barriers to learning. In order to do this you need to get to know Calvin as more than a difficult student. Getting to know Calvin will also help you get to the root of his issues because it will familiarize you with how he thinks, which will lead you to why Calvin misbehaves. Every time that Calvin interacts with you it is a negative experience, after which he leaves feeling worse about himself. This is only reinforcing his amotivation. Taking the time to build this rapport will encourage him to trust and respect you. This in turn will make him more willing to engage in the class content and comfortable with making and learning from mistakes. Becoming more comfortable with these things in school will help him to improve his performance. Additionally, getting to know Calvin will create a sense of empathy for him and make you more willing to help him. This will make Calvin someone you root for rather than someone you resent. We have a few ideas to get you started on building this rapport. First, discontinue the majority, if not all negative responses to Calvin's behavior. Instead, find ways to gently redirect him when he misbehaves. Ask him questions about himself. Ask what he enjoys outside of school. Does he have any specific interests? Etc. Tell him a little bit about yourself. You can answer the same questions that you ask him. Reinforce desirable behaviors. Reward him when you think he has done something well and tell him why it was a desired result. You can try complimenting him or giving a high five when he does something that you ask him to do. You can positively acknowledge when he adjusts his attitude. Talk to him as if he is on your level, do not condescend to him.
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We hope that you have found our insights to be helpful. You should be able to make adjustments to the ways that you teach and interact with Calvin and see the results in his school performance. Please let us know if you have any follow up questions.
Best regards,
Team 4