Blog #7 - We Can Do It!

Every secondary classroom will have students with varying skill levels. Some will be at or above grade level, and some will be below. It is not uncommon for students to enter high school a few grade levels behind when it comes to reading. This can be frustrating, because reading is required for almost any class a student will be in. As teachers, our job is to help bring these students up to grade level, and there are many ways to do this. However, even though teachers have their pick of strategies when it comes to helping struggling readers, none of them will be very effective if the student is not motivated to learn. Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction states that teachers focus too much on what teaching strategies to use and not enough on how to properly motivate their students to learn the material (Hinchman, 2014, p. 40). If this is the case, how should we motivate our students to learn?

First, we must understand what motivation is and what it is not. According to Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction, “motivation is something individuals develop as a result of experiences with particular tasks, subjects, people, and at various moments in their lives” (Hinchman, 2014, p. 37). Although this is how motivation is defined, it is perceived as something entirely different. Later on the same page, the authors say that motivation is perceived as something that is: connected to self-discipline; similar to immediate encouragement; and that students either don’t have it or that it is quickly fading (Hinchman, 2014, p. 37). What motivation is and what it is perceived to be are two completely different things, so we must teach out students in ways that motivate them to use the strategies we are teaching.

Second, we must understand what it means to learn, as well as what the roles of the teacher and student are in the classroom. Adolescent Literacy: Turning Practice into Promise states that, “learning happens when the brain makes connections among engaging experiences” (Beers, 2007, p. 249). This means that the students’ job in the classroom is to relate learning experiences to either their life or to other learning experiences, whether that is yesterday’s lesson or a lesson that was taught in another class.

While writing these blogs, one theme keeps reoccurring, and it is the theme of variation. Learning is not a one-size-fits-all activity, so our teaching methods should not imply that it is. When students are given a variety of reading materials to choose from, they become more motivated because they were able to choose (Hinchman, 2014, p. 46). Although this information can be found in a textbook, it is also common sense. If you were presented with a short story, a recipe, or a political cartoon to analyze, which would you choose and why? I would choose the recipe because I love to cook. Even by process of elimination, I still come back to the story. I find political cartoons very difficult to understand, and short stories can sometimes be kind of long. At this point, I am feeling confident in my choice and am motivated to read and analyze a recipe.

When teachers realize that the diverse needs that their students have when reading can often be attended to through the use of variety and motivation, our classrooms will not only become more successful, but more enjoyable. Most of our students know how to read; the real challenge is teaching them why it matters. 

References: 
Beers, K., Probst, R. E., & Rief, L. (2007). Adolescent Literacy: Turning Practice into Promise. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. 
Hinchman, K. A., & Sheridan-Thomas, H. (2014). Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction. New York, New York: The Guilford Press.