![]() ![]() John Hattie actually cites “boredom” as having a negative impact on student achievement - even more so than depression. Providing choice whenever possible also increases the likelihood assignments are completed.Īssignments that are perceived as boring or irrelevant will always lead students choose something else, especially if the task is difficult. Especially with middle school kids, anything that is novel, gross, taboo, funny or incorporates talking and movement is more likely to get finished. Check out Dave Burgess’ “hooks” as a means of making the material more compelling. We need to make assignments relevant however possible, make real world connections, connections to previous learning (scaffolding), explain why it’s important to future learning, etc. Teachers don’t like to hear it, but sometimes the problem is the assignment itself. To paraphrase Rick Wormeli “We know the old saying ‘You can lead a horse to water’ but the question isn’t ‘how do we make him drink’ but rather ‘how do we make him THIRSTY.’” ![]() The simplest answer is because the task assigned is NOWHERE NEAR as compelling as whatever else they’re choosing to do, such as talk to friends, etc. Task completion is behavior and since ultimately behavior is a form of communication, we have to ask “What is this student telling us by not doing the work?” or put differently “Why aren’t they doing the work assigned?” You’re right to treat it as a behavioral one, not an academic one. ![]() John (Middle School teacher, name changed). Anything you recommend? We are trying to treat refusal as a negative behavior rather than punish with low scores.” We are looking for general resources on supporting students who refuse to work. ![]() , shoot me a message at /Edunators, or on Twitter Mark, Got a question I can help with? Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. I think it's a pretty universal concern and I'm happy to provide some thoughts on the topic. I recently recieved this email from a colleague at a school I've been working with as they transition to Standards Referenced Grading. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |