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Post by Maria Gutierrez on Sept 21, 2011 5:46:47 GMT -8
How do you motivate the unmotivated student - the student who has "turned off" to learning but still comes to class?
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Post by Clare Larkins on Sept 26, 2011 11:56:14 GMT -8
Do you feel that because the student is still coming to class there might still be some motivation there? How do you build upon that?
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Post by pguarda3 on May 1, 2013 8:48:46 GMT -8
I have a student who is new to my classroom. He was in a placement and was just released. Now that he is in my classroom, he refuses to stay. He has stated that everyone is retarded and that he is not like the students in my classroom, because he does not act like them. However, his behavior is very unacceptable, but he does not see this. He is very unmotivated to stay in class and do work. Instead, he argues with staff, and leaves the classroom to go and see his friends. How can I even begin to motivate him?
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Post by Clare Larkins on May 1, 2013 12:30:31 GMT -8
That's a really tough one. How long has he been there? It's hard to make a relationship with any new person, but especially a student who wants to be there, but ultimately I think he can begin to succeed with the strength of his relationship to someone there (doesn't have to be you if he relates better to an aide, for example.) I'd start by having a conversation with him, at a time when he's not upset. If you can, pull him aside while others are working and try to understand what he wants. Does he want to move to a different classroom? A different school?
There are likely a lot of other issues at play (and you don't say how old he is), but he may have missed a lot of material in the past and school is just not a place where he feels successful. I would try to help him develop goals and show how doing the class work can help him achieve them. If his grades are X and his behavior is Y, then they will consider moving him to the school he wants. If he gets X scores in reading achievement, he will be prepared to apply for that job he wants, or whatever.
If he has friends there, how are they doing? Can they help motivate him? Can you construct ways that his being with them is productive? Have them work on a project together or something? I'd just be trying to pull in any interest.
If it's that he feels he is "above" your class academically, have him work on something else. I had a student who felt he was above my class in math--and he was very good--so I copied the unit tests from the end of each chapter, made him a packet, and told him to work on it until he couldn't any more and that's where we would pick up so he could learn. Then he was working for himself--it was to his benefit to do it and he could move at his own pace.
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