The students in your class who are struggling have probably always struggled in school. That becomes a pattern of frustration and failure. What are you doing to disrupt that pattern? What are you doing to be a game changer? I’ve been reading The Game Changer: How to Use the Science of Motivation With the Power of Game Design to Shift Behaviour, Shape Culture and Make Clever Happen by Jason Fox. Besides having a spectacularly long title, the book is long on great ideas too. The author makes a strong case for ways game design can be applied to bring motivation to life and work.
Source: The @DavidGeurin Blog: A Surprisingly Beneficial Way to Think About Motivation
Interesting article about motivation and students. I recommend that you read the whole article. This is what caught my attention. Perhaps I’ll read the book too.
The book shows how we are motivated to do what we are currently doing in a given moment. That’s why it’s not helpful to assume someone just isn’t a motivated person.
Whatever we are doing is what we are motivated to do.
As a result, it doesn’t make sense to try to change motivation. It might be possible, but it’s very difficult. We will default to activities that provide the richest sense of progress. Motivation isn’t the problem. The problem is the work itself. We want work that is satisfying.
We meaning WE, all of us. The adults in the school want meaningful work, and so do the students. All of us.