Motivation
When a student is motivated, there is a change in the way the students attitude and their way of thinking.
i feel you can motivate another person.
finding a correct tender that fits for a persons' value system could be challenging.
some tenders don't not work for everyone but every person has a value system. people are motivated when influence is placed on their value system. either positive or negative, influence on a persons value system will motivate them into an action.
as educators, we can positively influence our students to buy into our class and motivate them during the learning process. it is this motivation we bring to the classroom which makes all the difference.
Jeff,
There are folks who believe it is not possible to motivate another person - that all one can do is to establish an environment in which a person decides to take the actions we would like them to take. What do you think of this position?
Jeffrey Schillinger
when i am trying to motivate a student sometimes i start by working on their self esteem. if i can find something positive that maybe i can compliment them on and raise their self esteem, this small boost to the ego can lead to more interaction. i have found from past experiance the actual compliment is not as important as the segway it creates....i try to remember this when i step up to motivate the non role model student. finding the compliment can be harder but find something, even if it seems insignificant.
You have a tough one. How many generations welfare I wonder? I hope that you have some time (a few months) left with this student. The first place that you can start is where you have the most impact, the classroom. It sounds like your student has no sense of self worth, or self confidence. One of the things that I make great use of is fill in the blank quizzes and tests. This gives you great latitude in grading. For someone that has never felt success, there is no sense of self worth, or self confidence, you have to start building that up. That means better grades and showing progress in school. If I have a class that has a large percentage of under achievers, I will give them an exam, I do not have them turn it in. I go over that exam giving them the answers that I expect, remember, this is all fill in the blank, then I will tell them to expect that same exam tomorrow. The next day, I collect the day before's exam and give them the same exam again, collect and grade as usual. I do not expect verbatim answers, just as long as they get the concept. This allows me to get them several exposures to the material so they get it, and latitude in grading. This also lets me start setting a pattern for success. When a student goes from getting all F's and D's to getting B's and C's, this will get you some leverage on them emotionally, "Hey you did a really great job on that exam, keep up the great work." This is where you start setting up a pattern for success, even if you keep having to give every exam twice for a while, throwing in the odd surprise once only exam for good measure of overall comprehension. This is not a sure fire works-on-every-body plan, but I have been pretty successful with it. Good luck, I hope it works for you if you use it.
How do you motivate a student who has never been successful in school, does not have any positive role models at home, and the only reason they are in the program is to receive childcare and financial support?
