EDUC 2130 Lesson 8

In this lesson we I watched one podcast of my choice then I answeres a few questions about the podcast. I chose to watch and review the podcast titled, Motivating the Unmoitivated Students. I feel like this podcast had a lot to offer I feel like it taught me a lot. I now feel like I could be capable of motivating my students.

What was the title of the resource (Podcast) you decided to review?
- The title of the Podcast I chose was the one titled motivating the unmotivated student.

Provide a two paragraph overview of the information contained in the Podcast.
- This podcast taught me many things about how to motivate kids in the classroom. This podcast presented many different reasons why some students feel motivation in the classroom and while other students also don’t feel motivation. I also found that a lot of students are not as vocal in the classroom because they are not praised for prior vocal comments in the classroom. This podcast taught me that it is important for students to feel like their opinions are important in the classroomThis podcast also discussed the smarter kids and the reasons they become unmotivated in the classroom. These kids become much unmotivated when they are faced with information that is challenging to them. This podcast taught me that even the smartest kids need extra encouragement to continue to thrive in the classroom.

Why did you choose this Podcast?
- I chose this Podcast because I’m always wandering how to motivate people. I also chose this podcast because I believed it would give me extra knowledge to help motivate kids. I also watched this video because I want to be a teacher that can motivate students. One thing in this podcast that was surprising to me was that a lot of students are told they’re special of gifted become unmotivated when they get challenging work. I always thought that smart students always stayed motivated. This finding was really surprising to me, but I do understand why these kids become unmotivated. I was slightly surprised by the accusation that a lot of students don’t answer question because they desire praise from their teacher and have never received it.

In your opinion, describe two of three of the most important things you learned from listening to the Podcast.
- In my opinion the most important thing I learned from the podcast is that rather if a student is right or wrong they still need to be praised for even attempting. Students who are never praised are less likely to answer out loud. I also learned to never poke fun at a kid who gives a wrong answer and to not allow other kids to pick either. I also learned that the kids need to feel attached to important people in their school.

How could you use the podcast information in YOUR classroom?
- I could use this podcast in many different ways in my classroom. The first way I could use this podcast’s information in my classroom is to ensure that I praise students for class participation. I can also now be aware that even the smartest of the students can become unmotivated when the criteria becomes harder than the initial lessons. I will try to keep every student in my classroom motivated to be the best they can be.

Summary:

Through this lesson I’ve learned a lot about how to motivate students. I learned that one of the most important things in the classroom is to praise the students for their responses. I also learned that even the smartest of students can become unmotivated. This was a very shocking discovery I thought that really smart people never lost their motivation.

Research Question: What are some simple ways to motivate students?

Reference: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/09/six-ways-motivate-students-to-learn/

Research Analysis:

Through doing this lesson I became very interested into how I could help to keep my students motivated in my classroom. I wasn’t a student that long ago and I remember those days of no motivation and not feeling like being at school at all. I believe it is very important for students to feel motivation every day to do their absolute best in school no matter what they are doing.

My research led me to this article that gives six ways to keep students motivated. The first way mentioned by this article to help keep students motivated is to fine tune the challenge. This means that we present the lesson on a basic level for basic level students and at an advanced level for advanced level students. Some students are too bored because of things too easy while others are frustrated because of it being too hard. The second way is to begin with a question not an answer. When people are required to just memorize answer they lose motivation, but when they are presented with life questions they dig deeper into things.

The third way presented is encourage students to beat their personal best. The fourth way is to connect abstract learning to concrete theories. Give the lessons but also connect them to something that is concrete that will require the students to go deeper into the subject. The fifth way is to make it social. Give the students social groups to communicate in which will give them more motivation to study deeper. The final way to help keep students motivated is to go deep into all subjects. Every subject is more interesting the more you dig into it.

Research Summary:

Through my research I’ve learned ways that I can help to keep the students in my class stay motivated. I’ve also learned that it is a lot easier than I initially thought to keep my students involved in the studies. Through this research I found out just how simple it is to keep students interested and motivated in the classroom. I hope that as I become a teacher I will be more able to keep the kids in my classroom motivated.