Day2


 * __Day 2 - Motivation and Minds On__**

For my own use and future reference, I'm pasting here the work we did as a group on September 12th: Ideas for Motivating Students - Brainstorm

- Fun activities * - Help others * - Relate to their life * - Academic achievement - Parents - Delicious treats * - Competition - Avoiding work - Curiosity * - Recognition, praise * - Encouragement * - Humor * - Acknowledgment - Choice * - Teacher embarrassment - Collaboration * - Technology * - Stickers * - Peer pressure - Physical - Future goals *

I am a little concerned about the emphasis put on the fun side. I have no problem with the image of a student coming skipping to school, confident and all smiles. But the next step will be the high school, where fun in class might not have such a strong presence. Later, in college, it may diminish even further. And finally, with or without college, once entering the workforce they will discover that nobody makes an effort for their own entertainment and will feel displaced, lost and entirely de-motivated. The learning process is not stopping with the school years. A new job, a new culture, new work colleagues, to be a life-partner, to be a parent, to be a responsible member of the society - these are all things that need to be learned, and by associating the learning process with **FUN**, we may be effectively crippling a person's abilities to learn in situations that are not presented in a fun way. A student that is constantly being entertained will grow up an adult seeking instant gratification - which, in my opinion, is not a desirable trait for our society.

Finding the humorous side in day to day situations is another matter altogether.

I will probably design fun activities to **//__some__//** extent, but I will maintain my focus on recognition, meaningfulness and praise. Technology, if it's available. Encourage curiosity and exploration even if the results are not spectacular.

There appears to be some debate surrounding stickers. At this point I am inclined to use them on a very infrequent basis - see if the motivation goes up or down.

I will definitely be having students contribute to the class rules at the beginning of the year. It is easier to have themselves reach the same conclusions that I as a teacher would simply state as a class rule (e.g. only one person speaks at a time, if it's not a group activity). They will follow the rules more willingly as they are their own rules.