1 understanding and motivating students

Understanding and
Motivating Students
Responsibility in the Classroom: A
Teacher’s Guide to Understanding and
Motivating Students
Dr. Amy Lew & Dr. Betty Betther

Do you know a student who
 seeks attention or is susceptible to peer
pressure?
 seeks power to control others or is
defiant?
 seeks revenge or hurts others?
 gives up easily or avoids tasks?
Responsibility in the Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide to Understanding & Motivating Students

Motivate Students By Giving
Them What They Need
-believing one can handle what comes
having the sense of belonging
The Four C’sThe Four C’s
Connection-
-having the ability to take
care of oneself
Capability
Counting -having the knowledge that one
can make a difference
Courage

Motivate Students By Giving
Them What They Need
The Four C’sThe Four C’s
 Connection-having the sense of belonging
 Capability—having the ability to take care
of oneself
 Counting—having the knowledge that one
can make a difference
 Courage—believing one can handle what
comes

What are you currently doing
to help your students feel…
 connected?
 capable?
 as though they count?
 courageous?

The Need to be Connected
 Survival depends on our ability to bond.
 Through development we must move from total
dependency to interdependency.
 Move from being dependent, to being someone
upon whom others can depend.
 Children who don’t connect in constructive
ways feel insecure/isolated, seek attention
and are more susceptible to peer pressure.

Connections
Children who feel
connected…
 feel secure
 can reach out
 can make friends
 can cooperate
“I believe that
I belong.”

The Need to Develop
Competence and Feel Capable
 Upon moving from dependence to
interdependence, one must develop the ability
to be independent (some degree of self-
sufficiency in performing certain tasks).
 The foundation of feeling competent and
capable comes with the ability to take care of
oneself.
 Children who don’t feel capable may try to
seek power, control others and/or become
defiant.

Capable
Children who believe
they are capable…
 feel competent
 have self-control
and self-discipline
 assume
responsibility.
 are self-reliant
“I believe I can
do that.”

The Need for Significance-
The Belief That One Counts
 We want to feel we make a difference, that our
existence matters.
 People who don’t believe they count through
constructive means try to prove that they
count through negative means. They may
seek revenge and hurt others.

Counts
 Children who believe
they count…
 feel valuable
 believe they can
make a difference
 believe they can
contribute
“I believe that
I matter and
I can make a
difference.”

The Need for Courage
 To take risks requires courage.
 Children without courage focus on what
they can’t do. They often give up and
avoid.

Courage
Children who have
courage…
 overcome fear
 feel equal, confident,
and hopeful
 handle challenges;
are resilient
 are willing to try
“I believe that
I can handle
what comes.”

What might you do to help your
students develop a sense of…
 connectedness?
 capability?
 worth? (counting)
 courage?

Essential Skills for
Academic Success
 Children need to be able to communicate
effectively in order to connect constructively.
 Children need self-discipline to become capable.
 Children need to believe that they count and
make a difference if they are going to be willing
to assume responsibility.
 Children need good judgment if they are going to
use courage wisely and safely.

Getting a Need Met
 When children succeed in getting a need
met, they gain courage for future tasks.
 When children experience only failure,
they lose some of their courage and
become timid of future tasks.

Misbehavior
 Children who don’t feel connected, capable or
that they count, develop misbehaviors.
 When children don’t get their needs met in
constructive ways they find unconstructive
ways to feed their needs.

Misbehavior
Students who feel
 not connected
 not capable
 they don’t count
 no courage
Act out by
 seeking attention
 seeking power
 seeking revenge
 seeking avoidance

Please Remember
 Misbehavior is NOT the problem.
 Misbehavior is the student’s attempt to
find a solution for a problem they feel
they have.
 We have to help children find alternative
solutions.

Helping Students Reflect on
Purpose of Behavior
Possible questions
 “Do you know why you________
(describe specific behavior)?”
 “May I tell you what I think?”

Helps confirms hypothesis about behavior

Helps students feel understood

Will not be effective if you punish or accuse

Questions Related to
Specific Behaviors
 Attention
 “Could it be that you would like people to
notice you?”
 “Could it be that you would like more of my
time?”
 Power
 “Could it be that you want to show people
that you can do what you want?”
 “Could it be that you want to show people
that they can’t make you do what they want?”

Questions Related to
Specific Behaviors
 Revenge
 “Could it be that you sometimes feel that
others are hurting you and you want to show
them how it feels by hurting them back?”
 “Could it be that you feel others treat you
unfairly and you want to get even?”
 Avoidance
 “Could it be that you’re convinced that you
will never measure up and you would rather
not try at all and perhaps you wish people
would just leave you alone?”

Teacher Interventions:
Demanding Attention (Connection)
 Minimize the attention given to
misbehavior
 Notice behaviors you want to encourage
 Act, don’t talk
 Act before there is a problem
 Assign jobs that get positive attention by
being helpful to others

Seeking Power (Capability)
 Think about what YOU can do rather than
what THEY should do
 When correcting, focus on the behavior
not the child
 Don’t allow situations to escalate
 Give student real responsibilities
 When possible, decide on rules as a class

Seeking Revenge (Count)
 Make a list of positives about the child
 Refuse to retaliate, escalate or humiliate
 Before trying to resolve conflicts, allow
for cooling off period for both of you
 Offer lots of chances for the child to
help others
 Share responsibility for solving problems
with the child

Practicing Avoidance (Courage)
 Create learning experiences from
mistakes
 Set students up for success
 Recognize effort and small improvements
 Teach positive self-talk
 Don’t give up

Encourage vs. Praise?
 Encouragement-instilling courage by
helping students see their strengths and
developing a belief in themselves
 Praise—pointing out what we think he/she
does well

Helping Students Feel
Connected
 Provide opportunities for cooperative
interactions
 Show an interest in each student
 Give positive attention
 Find and recognize strengths and talents
 Show acceptance—separate the deed from the
doer
 Send cards, messages, homework to absent
students
 Conduct classroom meetings

Capable
 Create learning experiences from
mistakes
 Build confidence
 Offer participation in classroom meetings

They Count
 Through contributions
 By helping one another (peer tutoring)
 By helping the community
 Through recognition
 Through participation in classroom
meetings

Courageous
 Don’t expect perfection of self or others
 Point to strengths, not weaknesses
 Don’t make comparisons with others
 Ask questions of student
 Ask questions of yourself
 Allow students to experience natural consequences
 Avoid criticism
 Through participation in classroom meetings

The Three R’s of Logical
Consequence
 Related logically to misbehavior
 Respectful in order to avoid humiliation
(firm and kind)
 Reasonable—logical and understood by
adult and student

What will you do in order to
understand and motivate your
students?
How will you help them feel…
 connected?
 capable?
 as though they count?(worthy)
 courageous?

1 understanding and motivating students

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