(p. 192) “Motivation can be deeply connected to students’ prior experiences with success and failure.”
The ability to motivate a student is an essential skill for all teachers. If a student is motivated, he/she will make an honest effort on the task that the teacher has assigned. If a student is bored and unmotivated, the student will not want to make that effort. For a teacher to be able to successfully motivate students, he/she must know the students and show care and concern for the students. Sadly, the classroom is the only source of positive structure for many students, and the teacher is the only positive role model. Effective motivation is the backbone of the most successful classrooms.
(p. 203) “Not every student will be motivated in quite the same way.”
Every student enters the classroom with a broad range of knowledge and experiences. They have different interests and different ways of learning. The motivation that is so key to classroom success needs to be applied in a way so as to work for the class as a whole. The teacher can find a general area of interest related to the lesson to be taught and use that to motivate the students and activate prior knowledge. One of the most successful ways to motivate all students is for the teacher to show enthusiasm his or herself.
(p. 201) KWL Charts
KWL charts are simple ways in which teachers can activate prior knowledge. I personally like KWL charts because they can be used for any subject area and for any topic. They can also be used in any grade level.
Like you mentioned, all students are motivated by different things, how would you decipher which motivating tactic to use for a specific lesson? Would it depend on which student needed more help in a certain area of learning? I also like KWL charts, how do you feel about some teachers that feel that if we use KWL charts we are dumbing down our lesson? I believe KWL charts can be used to teach a difficult subject in a more simple and more understable way.
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