How to motivate students
- Thread starter MikeA
- Start date
If you want to motivate students, turn them against each other in the classroom. Make them want to be at the top of the class. I don't care if you have a 99%. If another student has 100%, you better have 101%, or else you're the worst student EVER. Comparing students to each other works fairly well.
That's what my teachers did, anyway.
That's what my teachers did, anyway.
Almost a guided Lord of the Flies, if you will.
So true, and in the coming economy of the United States, a job flipping burgers at McD is going to be far from the bottom of the ladder
I work in a business (graphics) that is associated with the Boxtops for Edu program.
Nothing beats a con game dressed as something that on the surface serves the education of children. After all, who would question that?
True, but I don't think anyone dreams to be a burger flipper at McDonalds.
It could motivate them to work harder to get the job they want and like.
It does for the students who are already motivated to achieve or are at a decent grade level (as in As and Bs), but the kids who are already far behind and/or struggling won't necessarily see it as a way to succeed, but rather reinforce their low self-esteem and further distance them from education.
I think the biggest and most effective way to motivate students is to put as minimal stake into grades as possible, but rather get them excited about learning. When they are invested in their learning and don't see it as a chore they'll gobble anything and everything up. It's a lot more rewarding to see a D student get excited and get a C+ then see an all A student get another A. That C+ most likely will feel amazing for the D student as well.
Oddly enough, I never found the antics to be the least bit fun nor motivational. In fact, they made me care far less about my education than I did before. They also aged me horribly into a hopeless depressive case. I honestly can't think of one good thing I got out of the games... They did, however, create the mess you see before you today. Good job, school and teachers (and, even in college, things aren't different. Education is still bullshit).
From experience, that's false. I started out as an A student, but after encountering the tactics I stated above (out of a very dark sense of humor, mind you) my grades plummeted to C's because the teachers and students made/make me feel like a worthless piece of shit. Without them, I'd be in a much better place right now. Isn't education grand? I'd think not.
Just my two cents:
when my teachers employ games to teach a lesson, the focus goes from mastery to ego. Less about knowing and more about feeling superior. My grades tend to fall into the D/C- range from high A's when I was allowed to be auto-didactic. While I understand teachers have limited resources when dealing with all their students' learning quirks, having multiple veins that allow variety is better (imo) than mass-appeal.
when my teachers employ games to teach a lesson, the focus goes from mastery to ego. Less about knowing and more about feeling superior. My grades tend to fall into the D/C- range from high A's when I was allowed to be auto-didactic. While I understand teachers have limited resources when dealing with all their students' learning quirks, having multiple veins that allow variety is better (imo) than mass-appeal.
!!!BATUDA ROYARU!!!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMOCEF4n_zs"]YouTube - Battle Royale (2000) - Kinji Fukasaku - Trailer - [HD]‏[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMOCEF4n_zs"]YouTube - Battle Royale (2000) - Kinji Fukasaku - Trailer - [HD]‏[/ame]
Ahh, I should have started what I said with some. In my experience in the classroom as a student and as an educator generally the kids doing well continued to do well, and the ones falling behind fell further behind. Definitely not the same always, but I think you're right that a lot of kids would do better without such tactics. It makes a competition out of what should be a personalized matter.
